[Krazy]

Dear all,

I have a concept for a browser based game. I am quite confident this game will be profitable. I'm prepared to invest my own money into this concept. My problem is, is that I do not know where to start. I have zero programming experience.

I'm prepared to learn a language or software to help me develop this game. Can someone point me in the right direction please.

Further down the track I will probably employ coders to help develop the game.

Any advice would be appreciated. And if you have experience in coding a browser based game and we be interested in partnering on a new project, send me a private message and we can discuss it further.

Krazy!

[dbfootballa3]

This depends on what you want.

Would you want it to be graphical, textbased, or what?

If it's going to be graphical then use Java OR Flash&ActionScript ( Correct me if I am wrong ).

If it's going to be textbased then PHP & MySql are the way to go.

Like I said before It all depends on what you want.

[WolfCoder]

To make browser games, I learned JAVA to make Applets.

I have to warn you, I've seen many people say browser games can be profitable, but only 5% of people actually pay roalties and stuff.

I'm not trying to be mean or anything but my first ten video games were bad even when I thought they were good concepts.

At least post your concept to see if everybody will want to play it. That way you have many opinions to review and keep in mind to ensure your concept will take off.

[Krazy]

It is not a graphical game.

It is a turn based text game (each hour you get certain number of turns), as opposed to a MUD which is realtime text.

[dbfootballa3]

Then I suppose PHP & Mysql are the way to go!

[WolfCoder]

People still make those?

[Acid Reign]

yes, and they're actually very popular.

mpogd

[born2c0de]

PHP with MySQL is the way to go although I think a little bit of Javascript would be useful too.

[1lacca]

AJAX might worth a look (or a search on google), too to complement the things listed above.

[WolfCoder]

Acid Reign, on 17 Jan, 2006 - 04:25 AM, said:

yes, and they're actually very popular.

mpogd

Ah. I'm not a very big fan, actually, I fall asleep over text games...
But that's just me I guess, if i'm not button mashing or action playing in a video game, or I'm not seeing cool stuff, i'm asleep.

[Dilerious]

But what is the actual program called for Java programming?

[Amadeus]

Again, there are several compilers available...eclipse, javac...

[pfristoe]

I'm new at this too, but I've been trying to get into Java. Have you heard of NetBeans? And if you have, what do you think of it?

[1lacca]

Quote

Have you heard of NetBeans? And if you have, what do you think of it?

You could get much better responses if you posted these kind of questions in the java forums, but anyway, here comes my opinion:
To start from zero, most IDEs (Netbeans, Eclipse, etc) only add additional difficulity to learn the language, as you have to get to know the editor as well. So I would recommend compiling your first couple of applications on the command line with javac and editing it with notepad / vi / whatever texteditor you use - I believe the official Sun Java tutorial starts with that, too. If you are over it, and you know the concept of classes, packages, what is a main method, etc., then you can start experimenting with IDEs trying to find the one that best suits your need.
About Netbeans: I use it almost on a daily basis, and I think its convenient and good. As it is written entirely in Java, it might need a more powerful comp than Eclipse, and might get sluggish on older machines sooner. Eclipse is a more versatile platform, it supports many other languages via its plugin system, so if you are not only into Java, you might benefit more by learning it. If you need a very thin, and easy editor, look for Jedit, or somethign like it, that is like a text editor, but with some essential added functionality like syntax highlighting, etc.