Today I will comprehensively and systematically answer the question "How to make your own game" from questions to methods to tutorials. First, let’s take a look at the question itself. People who can ask this question are basically novices, novices, people with zero foundation and no understanding of the field of game development. Why do you say that? Because only when you don’t have any knowledge about a field, you would ask such a broad question.
Imagine that the questions you usually ask at work are mostly directed at a specific piece of work or a certain thing. For example, you may ask how to extract certain rows of information that meet the requirements from a spreadsheet. , instead of asking how to make a spreadsheet; you may ask how many minutes it takes to fry the sweet and sour pork, but not how to cook; you may ask me how this game character wants to achieve a double jump. How to do it without asking how to make a game...
So you see, anyone who asks very broad questions is basically someone who has no understanding of this field, that is, a novice. But there is nothing to be ashamed of as a novice. After all, who is not a novice when they come into contact with a new field?
Since you don’t have any knowledge about the field of game production and development, it is necessary for us to give a brief introduction to it first.
First of all, game is a general term, which refers to all the games you have seen, played or heard of. Just like TV is a general term, it includes TV sets of various brands, sizes and production processes.
The games we are talking about here refer to electronic games, that is, games played on electronic devices. So what does an electronic game contain? It contains at least one idea or creativity, some programs that can be executed on electronic devices, some pictures or text that players can see, and some sounds that players can hear.
What does a game contain?
Of course, some of the items here are not necessary. For example, a pure text game does not require pictures. For example, if you insist on making a game without sound, it is not impossible.
Usually in a game company, there are specific people doing each part. For example, the planner is responsible for the creative ideas of the game, the programmer is responsible for developing the program that allows the game to run, the artist is responsible for drawing the pictures in the game, and the sound effects are responsible for producing the sounds in the game.
Game companies have different departments that work on different parts of the game.
As the scale of the game increases, each piece of it can be further subdivided. For example, planning can be divided into main planning, system planning, numerical planning, level planning, etc. Programs can be divided into main programs, client programs, server programs, etc. Art can be divided into original paintings, modeling, animation, special effects, UI, etc... In short, you have to know that a large game is composed of many People perform their own duties and work together to complete the game, such as the well-known "Honor of Kings". The development of such a game may require at least a team of several hundred people.
The team that makes a game usually consists of many people
Since making a game requires so many people and so many things, is it possible for me to make a game myself? Yes, because games vary in size. Large games require the cooperation of many people to complete, while small games may only require a few people, or even you can complete it alone.
It is definitely impossible for one person to build a building, but if you want to build a cabin for yourself, this is feasible.
After understanding the above, let's go back and look at the question "How to make a game yourself". We already have the answer to the second half of the question. It is possible to make a game yourself. One person cannot make a big game. But you can make a small game.
Then let's look at the first half of the question, how to do it?
What I want to share next may be the cheapest way for a novice to learn and make a game. If you want to learn to make games, I suggest you keep it in your collection!
A game needs at least one idea, or creativity. I guess you must have this. You must have the idea of making your own game, and then you will ask the question "how to make a game". Read this article article.
Here we mainly talk about suggestions on game ideas or things that need to be paid attention to for novices in game production. Ideas must be small and realistic. The first thought was "I want to make a game like Honor of Kings", which is called unrealistic. We have already learned above that large-scale games require the cooperation of many people to complete, and it is impossible to achieve it no matter how you think about it.
I wanted to make a simpler airplane battle game. This idea is more practical because it is possible for you to realize it.
There is no need to think too complicated about the creativity of the game. The main reason is that your current ability cannot realize your own ideas at all, so too many and complicated ideas will hinder you. When you find that you can't make it at all. , will also feel very depressed.
Let’s start with a simple point and make the idea simple and concrete. For novices with zero foundation, the most important thing is to make a game first. Even if it is a simple game, when it is made, it will Bring you a lot of sense of achievement and satisfaction.
The ideals for game production usually range from simple to complex
Start with a simpler idea, make it, then move on to something more difficult, and then make it... As your game production skills improve, you will be able to achieve more and more, An increasingly complex idea.
Next, let’s look at the program. For most novices, this should be the biggest threshold. Programming! Write code! This is too difficult to learn!
Who says you have to learn to write code to make games? The continuous development of game production software is making the threshold for game production lower and lower. In the past, if you wanted to learn game development, you needed to master a programming language first, but no longer. Many visual game production tools are aimed at the general public who have no programming foundation. Even if you do not have any programming foundation, you can quickly get started and build it. Your own game logic is just like building blocks.
An all-Chinese game production software that requires no programming
As shown in the picture, it is the interface of the WeChat mini game production tool , which is all in Chinese (it’s okay if you don’t speak English). Programming is no longer about writing code, but like building blocks, building the logic of the game piece by piece.
You see, English and writing code, the two most troublesome and difficult aspects for ordinary people, have been solved, so what are you afraid of about game programming? It’s not that complicated. The evolution of tools is becoming more and more simple and popular. Things that only professionals could do in the past can now be done by us ordinary people.
Next, let’s look at game materials. Usually we call the pictures, models, sounds, etc. that need to be used in the game game materials. This is another problem that is difficult to solve for many people. I can’t draw or make audio. What should I do?
It’s okay, the tool has already prepared a lot of game materials for us.
Game material library provided by game production software
As shown in the picture, the WeChat mini game production tool has a built-in material library, which provides a variety of materials, including pictures, text, numbers, sounds, etc. These materials are enough for us to create a good mini game.
In addition, for many novices who do not know art, you can first use some basic graphics (circles, squares, triangles) to make games. After the game is made, you can then find your favorite game materials and combine these basic shapes. Graphics replaced.
In short, whether you can draw or not, the material should not be an obstacle to your action.
You already have the idea, and the program and material game production tools can help you do it. Can you then make a game? Wait a minute, there is one most important thing that needs to be done, and that is "doing". Make a game! How can a game be released without "making" it?
So how to do it? Learn to do.
Here, Little Ant has prepared a game production tutorial for you with no basic knowledge. This is an original series of tutorials written by me. It has helped many people make their first game in life. I hope it can also help. you.
This series of tutorials assumes that you are a person who has never been exposed to the game development industry, has no concept of game development and production, and is a complete novice. Under this premise, the tutorial will start from the basic knowledge of game development, help you keep moving forward by combining practice, and finally integrate the knowledge you have learned to make your own first game.
I call this series of tutorials the "Everyone Can Make Games" tutorial series, and here's what it's all about:
Everyone can play games
Have an idea of the game first
Some common "jargon" in game development
If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools
Everything you can see and hear are resources
Don't block me, I'm going up there
You're here to help me take notes
If anything happens, remember to @me
The logic of game blocks
Game Block Clone
Game block collision
Animation of game blocks
The process from idea to game design
Integrate them together to make mini games
Share mini games with friends
After getting started, what should you do next?
This is a series of basic introductory tutorials that can help you start from scratch, understand the basics of game development, become familiar with game production tools, and make your first small game.
*You can search for "Little Ant's game development tutorial" or send me a private message to get this free game development series production tutorial.
Don't think that after you learn it, you can make "Honor of Kings" or "Call of Duty". This is too harsh on it. It just helps you get started and take the first step in the world of game development. As for how to go in the future?
Maybe you will fall in love with making games because of this experience, and decide to continue to advance in the future or find a job in a game company. Then you may need to choose a more professional game engine (such as Unity, Unreal, Cocos Creator) to study and learn. . Maybe you just regard it as a hobby and make some interesting ideas of your own for friends to play. Then the WeChat mini game creation tool is enough for you. Or maybe you want to make some money for yourself through the games you make, then WeChat's mini game production tools and WeChat's complete mini game business ecosystem will be your best choice.
No matter what, we have to take the first step. Only after taking the first step will we know how to go in the future. You have gone from a novice with zero foundation to a developer who can make your own games, and the door to the vast world of game development has been opened to you.
Where to go next? Warrior, it’s up to you!
I hope that such an article can help you systematically and comprehensively answer the question "how to make your own games". It is not easy to be original. You are welcome to like and share to encourage creators to move on.