Alright, so for a while, I’ve wanted to create a game. I have a few ideas, but the thing is, I have no idea how to start in terms of coding. To get to the point, I’d like some advice as to getting started, or some good places that could show me how to get started. Thanks…
I think where you start in the design process is very much a function of what kind of writer you are, and what kind of game you’re designing. Personally, I’ve been a huge tabletop RPG player all my life (and a DM for 90% of that) and most of my ideas stemmed from old campaigns that got scrapped, so I found it most natural to start with the stats sheet, and a handful of the most important variables (and only one of those variables didn’t get culled from the list). I’m a very ‘character centric’ in that way.
I think that, even if stats aren’t going to be the ‘be all, end all’ of the game, if you are going to have them, it is really necessary to decide on what exactly they are going to be early on, if just because it will probably otherwise end up being difficult to code any diverging paths (as you can’t be certain of what checks will be against).
Start at this page:
I would first play around with a really simple game, based off one of their examples. Test after each change, so you know immediately if you’ve introduced a bug.
My first and only published game is a super-short CYOA – no stats. You can see it at http://troublewithwumples.webs.com/
all of this is good advice. Definitely get comfortable with the code and try a short game. Make sure you use an editor with line numbers, such as Notepad+. Once you understand the code, then it is just writing the story, as any work of fiction but sculpting it into a CYOA.
And offer scenes for feedback on these forums – maybe the most invaluable part of the process.
Okay. Thanks for all of your advice~
I checked out the code a bit (definitely am going to need some practice). I appreciate any more advice. When I have something to show, I’ll definitely post it here. Won’t have anything up for a while though because I can only work weekends due to school coming up next week. Please offer up any other tips you can that you think will help!