[digithree]

Hi, I'm looking for some C/C++ coders to start a game project with.
I have ideas but am open to suggestion.
Anyone interested in a small-ish scale project post here
and see if we can get something together.

[KYA]

digithree, on 20 Sep, 2007 - 09:35 AM, said:

Hi, I'm looking for some C/C++ coders to start a game project with.
I have ideas but am open to suggestion.
Anyone interested in a small-ish scale project post here
and see if we can get something together.

sounds fun, but would need more details

[csmanoj]

I'm down. Put your idea out. Let's discuss.

[digithree]

I was kind of hoping to brain-storm, so I'll kick things off.

First of all, what language will we agree on? I suggest
C/C++ with allegro, but would be happy with VB(or even QB!)

Then the genre. I would love to do either a mini RPG or a
simple arcade style game.

As far as story goes, I'm a fan of zombie films and games,
something about a character in a zombie infested world perhaps?

[KYA]

digithree, on 21 Sep, 2007 - 05:29 AM, said:

First of all, what language will we agree on? I suggest
C/C++ with allegro, but would be happy with VB(or even QB!)

A vote for C++ here, could do 2D with DirectX also if we wanted.

digithree, on 21 Sep, 2007 - 05:29 AM, said:

I was kind of hoping to brain-storm, so I'll kick things off.

Always good to put ideas on the table

digithree, on 21 Sep, 2007 - 05:29 AM, said:

Then the genre. I would love to do either a mini RPG or a
simple arcade style game.

Once again either would be fun, but the first would be vastly more time consuming, possibly resource consuming, how much time/effort do we all have to put into this? Also, it's better to start with a small, finishable project then to be too ambitious right off the start. Gets discouraging that way.

digithree, on 21 Sep, 2007 - 05:29 AM, said:

As far as story goes, I'm a fan of zombie films and games,
something about a character in a zombie infested world perhaps?

hmm zombie rpg? Probably not. A side scrolling zombie "arcade" game sounds fun though.

[digithree]

C++ using DirectX sounds good.

I agree that we should keep things simple, I'm
up for coding an arcade game with that in mind.

In fact, in general we should keep things simple from
the beginning.

Let's decide on a scale for things. How many people do
we need to spread the work load and what roles
should they fill? I'd say 3 or 4 people.

Join us

[BrainStew]

I'd be very interested.

C++ w/ DirectX sounds great to me as well. (as it is the most widely used)

I have a little experience with some 3d games using servers so this shouldn't be to hard.

The zombies/rpg or arcade ideas sound great. Let me know.

[KYA]

digithree, on 21 Sep, 2007 - 09:53 AM, said:

Let's decide on a scale for things. How many people do
we need to spread the work load and what roles
should they fill? I'd say 3 or 4 people.

Well, 2 coders, 2 artists?

It seems like you wanna do an online thing, so we'd need a person who's got some experience with that so, 3 coders and 1 artist (what role do you wish to play?)

[MorphiusFaydal]

One can never have enough artists.

[KYA]

MorphiusFaydal, on 21 Sep, 2007 - 07:55 PM, said:

One can never have enough artists.

[digithree]

Personally, I have no experience with writing online games, but if
BrainStew wants to look after that aspect, I'm up for it.

I agree, we should invite as many artists as we can get!
Perhaps the designs could start right away.
We need sprites, backgrounds, designs for screen effects, etc.

I wish to code for this project, so that's me pinned. Everyone else?
On that subject, are we going to use a common wrapper for DX?
If we are, maybe OpenGL or if someone has their own
recommendation or one they've coded themselves.

Do we throw sound into the mix?

[BrainStew]

Sound is super easy, don't worry about that (comes at the end). The whole arcade/2d thing sounds best to me. Easier is always better on a project like this. The simpler it is the better chance we have of finishing it.

I would love to be a coder, but I don't think we should be limited to only 2 coders, 3 sounds better to me. Just remember, a video game is a lot of work.

I would love to code for this project, just know that I'll be learning alot along the way (I'm not an expert, but I do have enough exp to stay afloat)

We need to plan ALOT, then decide which tools will fit the job best. The DX SDK's are common and free so I'd suggest we use the lastest of those. Plus DX are the most common set of tools used for gaming.

When you say online do you mean multiplayer? Should we run the game from a server? Peer to peer?

edit: PS: I've never used OpenGL but would love some imput from someone that has.

This post has been edited by BrainStew: 22 September 2007 - 07:08 AM

[digithree]

So that's 2 coders, can we persuade a third?

I pretty much always have to learn new stuff when I take on
a new project as well, it's an enjoyable part of it for me!

I'm going to propose some areas of planning and people can
post with ideas referencing these areas(if you all think that's a
good way to open the dialog a bit )

1. Graphics & character design
2. Controls(input)
3. Basic storyline
4. Game flow/progression (objectives,levels,etc.)
5. NPC AI

Feel free to add to this list.

We need a clearer idea of the parameters of the game
before we can start designing an engine, in my opinion.

So...

1. Graphics & character design
Proposed: 2D side scroller

3. Basic storyline
Are sticking with zombies? How about this: in a world infested
with zombies, man is forced to co-exist with them. People are
still reclaiming the world, and semi-skilled but heavily armed
mercenaries make a living ridding abandoned cities of the zombies
that inhabit it. So you plow your way through waves of zombies.

[BrainStew]

Digithree, I like your ideas so far!

4.) Levels seem the easiest and best idea. I always liked the whole "boss" thing in arcade games. Maybe a boss of some kind at the end of each? (huge zombie, a lot of zombies, a bad ass mercenary, etc).

[Zerosix]

what if we can make this game online and make people to play 10 hours a day to make the highest level and items