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Thread: Why not do an MMORPG as you first project?

  1. #1
    Co-Founder / PGD Elder WILL's Avatar
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    Lightbulb Why not do an MMORPG as you first project?

    Here is an article that I was sent on Facebook from the Game Development group. Considering that many new members are highly attracted to the idea of starting with and RPG or and MMO I figured that his might save them a bit of time just to read this beforehand.

    So you want to make your own MMORPG..
    Jason McMillen
    Pascal Game Development
    Co-Founder





  2. #2
    This article was written by famous Sol (Jari Komppa), ex-organizer of TMDC contests where we've participated in several occasions. How did you find his site?

  3. #3
    Co-Founder / PGD Elder WILL's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lifepower View Post
    How did you find his site?
    Social networking.

    It's a pretty good article. Straight and to the point.

    Lets face it making RPGs is kind of boring anyways from a software developers point of view. Once you get through all the interesting code for the more interesting mechanics, you're stuck with only the dull stuff remaining. That's not even taking int account the need for massive amounts of asset and content afterwards. Nope RPGs and MMOs are just a bad first project that only hinder your fun and education in the game dev world.
    Jason McMillen
    Pascal Game Development
    Co-Founder





  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by WILL View Post
    That's not even taking int account the need for massive amounts of asset and content afterwards.
    Assets and contents are definitely hugely time consuming, and there is no "smart" shortcut about them, they're just work, work and more work. If you've got the budget, you can buy models and textures, but you'll aways need to tweak those, and then assemble game levels, etc. which is just plain time-intensive work.

    I would say starting with simple vector graphics games (no assets to speak of), or recreating / expanding old games (already existing assets) is much more rewarding, and you can focus on the game itself rather than how it looks.

    There is a small place for procedurally generated content, but that only goes so far IME: sooner or later, you'll have hand-tweak it, so it matches a difficulty curve, allows more interesting game mechanics, looks less bland once you're beyond the first few levels, etc. and things are back to work, work and more work :-)

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by WILL View Post
    Lets face it making RPGs is kind of boring anyways from a software developers point of view. Once you get through all the interesting code for the more interesting mechanics, you're stuck with only the dull stuff remaining.
    Actually, this is true for most non-hobbyist games. Tedious scripting and UI content (not design) are the tasks that will take most of development time, even though their contribution to the game overall will be less visible.

    Pareto principle applies here: you will spend around 80% of development time on stuff that roughly attributes to 20% of overall impact in the game.

    It is common that by the final release, you will find the game you've worked on non-enjoyable because you've run and played it so many times.

  6. #6
    PGDCE Developer Carver413's Avatar
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    there are many ways in which you can decrease the boredom factor, in game design tools would do two things allow you to play around while your figuring things out, and avoid the repetition of going in and out of the game to see these changes. being able to work on individual parts of the engine would make the work faster without every thing else getting in the way.
    if you can make the design process fun then getting others to help becomes more likely.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by WILL View Post
    Lets face it making RPGs is kind of boring anyways from a software developers point of view. Once you get through all the interesting code for the more interesting mechanics, you're stuck with only the dull stuff remaining. That's not even taking int account the need for massive amounts of asset and content afterwards. Nope RPGs and MMOs are just a bad first project that only hinder your fun and education in the game dev world.
    Will I asume you are atlking about old school RPG-s (guiding a character - avatar trough multiple quests, obtaining items, improving the character by gaining expirience etc.). Yes I agree that making a old school RPG can become dull after some time but if you do a mix between RPG and some other genre you make programing hte whole thing much more interestingand the filan product would probably be even more enjoyable to play.
    How many of you has aready played one of the X-Com games? I belive that many of you has. So if I ask you what genre the X-Com is, what will be your answer? Mos of you would probably say "tactical squad managment". But I will say "mix between strategy and RPG".
    Yes X-Com has every aspects of RPG in it. You caontrol character, actualy a whole squad of characters. Theese characters can evolve by gaining expirience, they can gather and use items, etc. And you can see each mison as a seperate quest. Infact the words quest and mision has exactly the same meaning.
    So Will how many times had you desire to make somethink similar than X-Com?

    Now I won't lie that making such a game isn't dificult. It is werry dificult, but it can still be fun doing it.
    I do agre that making such a game isn't the best choice for a beginer in game development. The main reason for this is that it requres a lot of programing, before there is anything to see. So many pepole might lose interest in it becouse even after a lot of work on it they might not have muc to show off.

  8. #8
    We already think in object model, why don't use that approach to make a role playing game?

    In the deep of game mechanics anything can be randomly generated, just need to have the proper structures for monsters, items, npcs, quests, dungeons, buildings, spells and anything else, even kingdoms/states.

    The only things that need to be fixed and predefined are the game rules for abilities, combat, magic and leveling.

    That kind of approach has a lot of potencial for an unlimited non-linear game.

    As a side effect every player will have a very personal game no matter if he/she is a casual or hardcore one.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by pitfiend View Post
    That kind of approach has a lot of potencial for an unlimited non-linear game.
    Random generation also makes for a very bland/generic gameplay, some games were successful with it like

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_%28video_game%29
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls:_Arena

    but many more failed, and arguably Arena has an overarching story.

  10. #10
    Co-Founder / PGD Elder WILL's Avatar
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    As innovative as the genre can get, and there is lots of room for innovation, it's not one for the beginner. As a matter of fact a beginner trying to make an RPG would be lucky just to come up with a fraction of the content required to make the basic RPG it's self. Thinking on such a scale as a beginner is a sure way to crash and burn at the starting gate sadly.

    Such innovation can be instead put into smaller more classic arcade style concepts and allow for a steadier progression in skills and knowledge and end up much more rewarding for the learning programmer who got into programming out of excitement for creating new things.
    Jason McMillen
    Pascal Game Development
    Co-Founder





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