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Where to begin

Started by GaryDeanDerby Mar 23, 2011 at 10:37 PM 8 replies 2.3k views

Original Post

Mar 23, 2011 at 10:37 PM

Hello everyone, this is sorta my introductory post and first question. I'm currently enrolled at the Art institutes and I'm studying Game Art and Design. I've been attending there so far for over a year now and I'm really enjoying it. Anyhow I've become very bored lately and decided I wanted to get a head start on what I'll be learning later on at AI. Me and my roommate decided on starting a very lengthy project of making and Indie MMO. We want to really learn it all and we've already have had people tell us that they are interested in joining us when the time comes.

Now I saw the other post about someone else just getting started. I read through all of the replies as well and didn't know if any of there posts were suited at my angle. Basically I want to get started on programing and wanted to know where I should begin in terms of programing needed for MMOs. I know there is probably a lot of different languages and things I need to learn, and I am ready for this. I don't know if it is possible to specialize in one type of programming for an MMO. If it is possible I would like to browse the different types before I make my pick.

I'm already experienced in 3D art with 3DS Max 2011, Maya and Mudbox. But any starting information pertaining to that would also be nice as well. if its MMO related (or not, Ill still give it a read).

As of right now I'm just dabbling in Python and reading about it. I heard it was a great beginners language so I figured why not, even if it isnt useful for MMOs. If it is useful then tell me. I don't know enough about any MMO coding to determine if it is or not.

Thank you,
y1nn

TheTroll

Mar 23, 2011 at 11:11 PM

The reality is that you need to put the MMO idea on hold for a while. You need to learn to crawl before you can walk, run, jump, fly and finally travel at the speed of light.

MMOs are by far the most difficult game application to make. Not only do you need to have the basic game framework, but you also need the client-server skills and how to deal with security issues.

The sad part is that MMOs are not really made by just a few indie programmers. Most well funded MMO projects fail. That is just a fact.

You might want to start with just programming and then move on to game game programing.

Splinter of Chaos

Mar 23, 2011 at 11:12 PM

It's good to see a motivated young programmer. Now, to make this MMO, you're going to have to take several years where you make simple text-based games/applications, then make simple 2D games with simplified rules, then you might want to make a more complicated 2D game, maybe after that you'll be ready for 3D, but only something simple. (The jump from 2D to 3D can lead to unexpected headaches, beware.) After that, you can make a more complex 3D game, an FPS perhaps. Finally, if you're still set on making an MMO, brush up on networking.

Then again, i might have made it sound like it'll take less time than it really will... Point is, make this a long term goal. Very long term.

GaryDeanDerby

Mar 23, 2011 at 11:23 PM

Point is, make this a long term goal. Very long term.

I plan on it trust me.

Ok maybe my first post was a bit too dreamy in terms of what I want to do. I understand that this is a very long and time devoted procedure. I my self wasn't planning on learning everything it takes to single handily make an MMO, that seems impossible for me at the moment. Here is a better question. Where should I start then in terms of general game programing? I saw the list of books on the main page, those are fine but I'd rather have a personal recommendation. Website's books, and videos would be really appreciated.

Tom Sloper

Mar 23, 2011 at 11:37 PM

I saw the list of books on the main page, those are fine but I'd rather have a personal recommendation.

Why? What's wrong with the experts' recommendations that are equally good for everyone? Why are their recommendations not good enough for you?

GaryDeanDerby

Mar 24, 2011 at 12:20 AM

[quote name='y1nn' timestamp='1300922607' post='4789717']I saw the list of books on the main page, those are fine but I'd rather have a personal recommendation.

Why? What's wrong with the experts' recommendations that are equally good for everyone? Why are their recommendations not good enough for you?
[/quote]

I don't mean any offense to them. I would just prefer a recommendation from someone other then what is listed.All I see is a summary of what the books are of which anyone can tell simply by reading the back. The only ones I see with more detail are the ones that have been featured. I would just like a little more background on books for beginners or anything for someone just starting out really.

Amaz1ng

Mar 24, 2011 at 1:01 AM

Hello,

if you guys are a bunch of artists then you should join my MMO project being done in Unity with Photon for the backend. If you're rusty on 3d math concepts or never had any experience with programming, then you have some time ahead of you before you will really produce anything. But if you join my project, I can give you guys pointers on the coding and math and you can also flex your artistic muscles...that's what you went to school for after all.

I've written my own camera, basic spawn system, player movement, etc....now I'm working on some basic AI and a combat system. I think you guys will find fulfillment in seeing your artwork in a 3d game as fast as possible. And you will have something to put on your resume.

PM me if you're interested.

GaryDeanDerby

Mar 24, 2011 at 6:47 PM

Thanks for the offer Amaz1ng but I'm not really looking for something like this just yet. Ill definitely keep it in mind though.

I think i was misunderstood here. I understand what I want to do is a very lengthy investment, I have more time in the world right now then anything. I just want to be pointed in the right direction of what languages I should look into and any other helpful information would be awesome. I'm not looking to be some kind of huge booming business type deal. That's why in my title description it says project. This MMO I want to make is just a personal project, I'm not trying to make money here. So If starting out in text based and 2d games is the way to go that's fine by me, I just need to know what to look for.

BCullis

Mar 24, 2011 at 7:03 PM

There isn't one specific language that'll get you more prepared specifically for an MMO, any of the imperative languages will give you good programming experience and get you familiar with the general mindset of problem solving in code. Python works just fine, so would c++, c#, or java. They all have decent api's for graphics later on as well, so you could look into pygame, sdl/sfml, xna, and opengl/directx (java has JOGL among other APIs). I'm not familiar with network programming in python, but it wouldn't surprise me if a library exists for that as well, and the others all have stable networking libraries.

If you're already working in python and are comfortable with it, I'd say just stay there for now. Once you've solved an extensive set of problems or tackled a large project in one language, it's trivial to pick up others (unless you break paradigms, like going from python to lisp).

GesterX

Mar 24, 2011 at 8:45 PM

I really reccommend taking a look at Unity3d (http://unity3d.com/) for this kind of stuff. You'll be able to directly import any 3d models you do and use them straight away.
It really is the quickest way to get a working game! You still need to learn Javascript and C# to do the scripting but there are plenty of resources to look at.

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