As said before, this could just be an age thing, so you have to stop and think whether this is really for you. I would suggest just thinking of other things that interest you, and then think whether there are any jobs for that interest and whether you can picture yourself doing that job and enjoying it.

i actually can see myself creating a game in a company some day and really getting working on a project

just as a point of concern, if you are a creative individual you may find working in the games industry very frustrating. Most design decisions are made at management level, usually by people that are not so technically adept nor that hot on gameplay concepts. Otherwise they wouldnt be managers.

The happiest games programmers are usually the poorest! Those who work for themselves in small teams to afford themselves creative freedom. This also avoids the dreaded crunch... Where you get to bring a sleeping bag and toothebrush to the office, and I'm not joking.

bump

Quote from brt900 :

bump

Be ****ing patient. 2 hours between posts isn't a long time, to warrant a bump.

Honestly? ****ing learn Programming or modelling. Else you'll be the janitor.

Quote from ajp71 :

No you don't. Sorry but Game Maker and FPS Creator require no programing or graphics skills, at most you can claim to have used a little bit of level design, but far less than is involved in any decent mod or small web game. If you want to learn to start programing or making games try Darkbasic or one of the simpler Basic programs might be easier to pick up, nothing complicated, I last played in Basic in primary school.

That may be true, but in game maker you can also use code which is programming. Also may i just add even if you wre to use the drag and drop system in game maker its still quite hard because you've gotta understand what each one is doing and look at it in the grand scheme of things. Pfttt i have no clue what that means but yeah game maker can be piss easy to use and require no skills, but it can also be the exact opposite and need LOADS of skill.

About fps creator, pah even so you've got to think about everything else. Game designing isnt about programming or graphics, its about how everything flows. Putting weapons in the right places, making a scene look good, havinga storyline.

And ive tried dark basic before, absolute pain in the arse. Very powerful and probably the best game maker out there i should think, but jesus is it hard to learn.


@Topic creator
are you sure game designing is for you? I used to think it was for me but after trying i realise its an absolute PAIN IN THE ARSE! theres so much to think about and it just gives me a headache, and unless your in a team things can go quite slow and you hate it. Hence why i think its a bit more a hobby of mine instead of a potential career.

Although if your planning to use game maker 6-7 at all pm me i can help out alot with drag and drop and in general with it.

I can help out with either of the rpg makers but theyre both easy to use so i doubt yud need much help, same with fps creator.

Quote from Migz :

Game designing isnt about programming or graphics, its about how everything flows. Putting weapons in the right places, making a scene look good, havinga storyline.

Sure?

Quote from Migz :

And ive tried dark basic before, absolute pain in the arse. Very powerful and probably the best game maker out there i should think, but jesus is it hard to learn.

Darkbasic is a walk in the park, it handles everything for you with a few simple commands that can be found in a convenient help file.

dark basic is significantly more complex than the inhouse scripting system used by Rockstar North, also note that the North in their name isn't a joke, they're based in Edinburgh! Definately not my dream job!

As basic goes dark basic is very powerful but the methods and syntax are inspired by AMOS, which is hopelessly out-dated. The most powerful and flexible I'd say is BlitzMax, as it is fully OO but lacks a built in 3D engine and is not suited to beginners.

I really would recommend Blitz3D as the starting point, as although the graphics engine is out dated the methodology will serve much better for someone looking to go further later on in lower level tools.

Quote from brt900 :

i dont know probably moddelling

Go out and get a 30 day trial of 3dsmax.

Theres hundreds of websites out there with video tutorials(With voices to talk you through it)

I did a bit of modeling last year (When i was 15)
Good fun.
Gets rather frustrating at times, and i was only doing simple concepts.
Following a tutorial is simple.

Making an object by yourself? Extremely difficult.

Quote from Crommi :

Regards to 3D modeling, it really takes some time to learn even basics of it and you need to have some artistic talents to come up with original designs. Most of the time you're facing problems that come up with trying to create certain shape and do it by the rules so there wont be any graphical bugs in the product. It takes a lot of patience and you can find yourself laying in a bed middle of night with your head going on overdrive trying to solve some problems.

Pretty much spot on.

It takes about 2 years to learn the basics of modelling, and another 2 years to learn the intricacies of modelling for a specialist area such as computer gaming where game engines put constraints on vertice distribution and textures.

Start now and you might be good enough for professional work by the time you leave college.

Quote from Becky Rose :

It takes about 2 years to learn the basics of modelling, and another 2 years to learn the intricacies of modelling for a specialist area such as computer gaming where game engines put constraints on vertice distribution and textures.

Considering i had the Basic's of modelling down in about a month...
Learning to model isn't hard.

Learning how to do it good?
Thats a whole different story.
Plenty of people out there can do amazing detailed models within their first few months, it's just a matter of how much you're willing to learn, and how quickly you learn.

Some people pick it up fine, others struggle with it.

As for low-poly modelling, it can be difficult, but it doesn't take two years to learn...

Sure some people pick it up faster, the fastest i've seen anyone achieve a standard for high end shareware / commercial games is 4 years. I've seen good models, but not good game models, from people with about 2 years experience.

I'm not saying your wrong or disagreeing, just that I have not personally witnessed anyone picking modelling up to a professional standard with less experience than that. I have seen a lot of people with less experience make models, but I wouldnt be using them myself and I dont personally work on triple A titles.

If you are at all interested in 3D and games, then get onto Maya, and start going through some tutorials. Modeling is a great skill to have, I only wished I had learnt it sooner- I've only just gone back to school for this stuff and I'm 31! Having a ball though...

P.S. I might need someone's help with applying textures to my models, PM me if you feel like being a tutor tomorrow!

Also, if you have UT3 or Gears, then perhaps start having a look at the Unreal editor. You can make some neat stuff in it (but not model in it), and you'll learn the basic elements of modern level design.

Oh here's an interesting side note if your looking at modelling... My artists tell me that Maya is generally better for organic modelling such as people, and Max is better at non-organics like vehicles, buildings, and so on

I've heard the same thing. Zbrush is also better than Maya if you want to go super organic. It's like 3D silly putty.

Quote from Jakg :

Sure?

I was meant to say it isnt all about that lol. So yeah im sure. It's half about the programming ect but also how the game flows.
Some noob could make a level on fps creator, but that could be just a big room with lots of guns and enemies. Where as yu would need some skill at least to be able to plan out a proper level with guns hidden in places and ways to sneak around enemies ect.

So yeah even though fps creator and game maker can both be used in a way where NO coding at all is used you would still need some skill to be able to make a nice lil game. And acctually iirc both have a coding system so pah

Quote from Becky Rose :

Oh here's an interesting side note if your looking at modelling... My artists tell me that Maya is generally better for organic modelling such as people, and Max is better at non-organics like vehicles, buildings, and so on

Basically, both work just fine no matter what kind of objects you're doing. From what I've read, Maya has an edge when it comes to NURBS modeling but 3DS Max has better tools for polymodeling. The method doesn't necessarily decide what you can do, for an example Rhinoceros is really good program for industrial design and accurate modeling by using NURBS but it's tools are designed for non-organic objects.

Zbrush on the otherhand is slightly different as it's emphasis is on "sculpting", not great for accuracy but fantastic for organic shapes if you have tablet and pen.

I create a lot of my models and textures in code personally, but then I'm a geek. Ive never understood why some programmers need a 'particle' system or need to use world editors to create landscapes and have 'grass systems' and 'tree systems'. For me that just comes as part of the game engine.

I'm making a fun one at the moment, creating a fractally generated area of the Pacific Basin based on USGS data for a WW2 shareware game. With the mesh and textures generated on the fly.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what tool you use to make your media as long as it is fit for task. Speaking of which if any modeller here is able to produce animated humans in a few thousand polys and fancies working on a WW2 shareware game then I'd be happy to talk more

Quote from Jakg :

He doesn't know whether he wants to do 3D Design or Programming - I think he needs to get the basics down first.

theres always time to learn.... we have a 60 year old mechanics apprentice in my garage.... never say Never.

thanks for all your replies and help im still thinking of this as a carrer

just do what makes y ou happy.... imo- id much rather be driving... anything all day long rather then under the bonnet trying to fix them but i dont really have a choice...


my best advice: go onto all the job advert sites and find the highest paying one... then work your way down the list till you find one you are or could get qualified for....