Computer Game Development, Where to Start?

Most rock lovers sooner or later pick up a guitar, sports fans passionately dream of going to the football field, basketball court or professional ring. And those who have played hundreds of hours in GTA, spent dozens of hours in computer clubs for Counter-Strike, or achieved considerable success in WoT or DOTA, are thinking about starting to make money on game development themselves.

The problem is that this direction is taught in a few educational institutions (in our country they can be counted on the fingers). Therefore, most game developers are self-taught.

So where to start?

The first thing you might need to start with (I don't take into account the game itself) is modding.

A mod (short for "modification", modding games) is an add-on to a computer game, usually written by third-party developers or amateurs using an SDK, which is added to the game or special amateur programs designed to modify games.

Mods are usually developed by fans and for fans and provide exclusively free distribution. Unlike add-ons, they often change the balance of power (in strategy games) or the set of weapons and capabilities of the hero (in 3D shooters).

Modbuilding will allow you to understand the internal logic of your favorite game, how it is built and what can be changed in it for the better (and sometimes for the worse).

The second thing you need is to correctly formulate your goals in the development of computer games. That is, ask yourself a number of questions: create mobile applications or browser games, professionally engage in game development, or devote your free time to it? You also need to understand what you like more: creating an interface, gameplay, or writing scripts? Or maybe you want to be a 3D artist? Setting the right goal will set you on the right path.

And, of course, you have a number of questions — what you need to know. I will give examples for writing game scripts, logic, behavior, etc. That is, programming (this is what I actually do).

Question number one: which language to choose? Honestly, any will do (just compile languages such as C++, C#, Java, Objective C, etc.), the main thing is that a novice developer understands the principles of developing not specifically games, but the basics of programming logic (that is, in the future, logic in game development).

Is it possible without programming?

Learning programming languages is a very time-consuming and lengthy process. And enthusiasm may subside. But you want to develop games right now.

Then my answer is: computer game designers!

Game Builder is a program for fast pipeline assembly of computer games, suitable for people without special training. It combines a game engine and an IDE and greatly simplifies the process of creating a yoke, making it accessible to amateurs, not programmers. Constructors open up a huge potential for creating games. Especially for mobile devices where there is a high demand for small games. Popular engines (in my opinion, the most advanced today) such as Clickteam Fusion, Game Maker Studio, and Construct 2 allow you to create games for PC, iOS, Android, HTML 5, Flash, and more.

What is Unreal Engine?

But what about people who seem to be writing code, but do not have enough time to learn all the tricks. As an answer, I will give Unreal Engine as an example.

Unreal Engine is one of the most popular game engines available today. In addition, it is completely free and also open-source. But, when you reach a certain amount of earnings on the game, you will have to pay royalties (this, of course, also applies to other AAA engines, for example, another equally popular Unity engine).

As some people know, you can write game logic in C++ in the engine. But I hasten to reassure you: it also allows you to create game logic using a visual programming system — Blueprint is a visual scripting language that allows you to write game logic without using programming languages. As complex or simple as it may seem, it remains quite a powerful tool on which you can create almost anything: from a simple character or opening a door to procedural level generation.

Unreal Engine itself provides a certain set of tools, thanks to which you can create something of your own without resorting to third-party software (excluding textures). Inside the editor, there is a tool called BSP, thanks to which you will be able to design a scene. Although it is designed for design and not for the final result, it can be used to create a simple model and even convert it so that it can be subjected to physics. You can make a building, some not very complex models, and the like. It also provides tools for creating landscapes, with the help of which it is possible to make a fairly beautiful landscape and enrich it with vegetation and some additional details. By adding a little post processing, you can get a great picture.

Of course, you shouldn't think of UE4 as a set of buttons called "do everything right". The tool is very powerful with impressive functionality, so you won't be able to learn everything at once either. However, if you manage to set a goal for yourself and have enough patience, then you will succeed.

As a conclusion. What do you need to know to get started?

A novice developer needs a lot of patience in mastering mod building, development on special game designers without programming, and also needs to study all the developer's tools. Then it will come in handy in practice. And, of course, love games!

As for more advanced people, the list is much larger. It all depends on what profession you choose. For a programmer — working in high-level languages so that the entry threshold is lower, the basics of modeling, the geometry of things, working in 3D space, and much more — in general, this is what is called the subject area. Love for games and programming is also a must.