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Game Design Software – Part 4 – Multiplayer Games

Realm Crafter

Many independent game designers are interested in making multiplayer role playing games.  One such software suite designed for the creation of such games is Realm Crafter.  Realm Crafter is an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) engine that you can use to make commercially marketable games or hobby games just for fun.

Realm Crafter allows you to design an unlimited amount of  gaming zones and you can make them as large or small as you like.   With Realm Crafter’s editor you place characters, water, portals, etc. into each zone as you see fit.  The terrain editor makes it possible to create all types of terrain in good detail that you can import directly to the zones you create.  The software comes with several kinds of weather effects for your game:  rain, fog, snow, wind and storms.  Realm Crafter also has shaders which are created using a node based system so you don’t have to know shader coding.

One of the listed features states that the engine comes with animated models, textures and sounds to get you started.  There is also character customization, companions and enemy AI, a bartering system, houses and player item storage systems.  There are player skills and damage.  There is also a chat system.

The developer claims no programming language skills are required when using the Standard Edition, but you can use scripting to add other customizable features to the game if you wish.  The scripting language is loosely based on Basic and there is a scripting editor included.

Realm Crafter Professional costs $300 but as of this writing is on sale for $165.  The player is third person perspective, but the FAQ also states you can set it to first person as well.  The company website shows plenty of screenshots so you can see what the engine is capable of graphically and there is a demo that you can download as well.

A combo package is currently on sale for $215 (normally $400) and includes the toolbox (terrain editor, tree editor, armory, dungeon editor and rock maker).  The toolbox tools are also sold separately, if you prefer.

Game Design Software – Part 3

Reality Factory

Another popular game design software among independent game designers is Reality Factory.  Reality Factory is free to download and claims with it you can design a video game without knowing programming.  RF has a number of users and an active forum community.

Features include a customizable HUD, save/load system, customizable weapons and projectiles, first and third person camera controls, interactive conversation engine with tree builder, basic physics, per vertex lightmapping and radiosity, dynamic colored lighting, projected shadows, bump mapping, sphere-mapping, mip-mapping, procedural textures, avi and animated gif support for cut scenes or animated textures, LOD system, keyframe and skeletal animation.  You can also have special effects like billboarding, particles, water and fire, explosions, decals, fog and rain, mirrors, teleporters, jump-pads, lightning bolts, screen shaking, morphing fields, and curved surfaces.

Reality Factory is based off of the old Genesis game engine.  And though the graphics are not AAA, you can make some nice games with it (just take a look at the screenshots page).  RF does provide a number of models and animated characters (entities) you can download and use in your game.  It uses the .act file for models.  Reality Factory also has TrueSpace® (see trueGENE), 3DS Max®  version 6 and 7 exporters in their “Downloads” section.

Although the Reality Factory website says “Games without Programming”, we couldn’t find any kits or templates anywhere.  That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, we may not have been searching in the right places.  Without such assets it would be very difficult to design a video game with RF without programming.  If you do decide to use some scripting you will find examples of the scripting language Simkin on the Reality Factory website main page (see the left side bar “Tutorials”).  If you’re already somewhat familiar with scripting, then Simkin should not be difficult at all to pick up.

Visit the Reality Factory website at www.realityfactory.info and check out the Downloads –> Demos and Resources where you can view some game demos that showcase some of the capabilities of this game design software.  There is an online book in the “Downloads” section “Making 3D Games with Reality Factory”, which is a Free 214 page pdf ebook.  We recommend using this to start.

Game Design Courses Valuable For Independent Game Developers

Not everyone wants to work for a big game development company.  In fact there are thousands of game designers all over the world who work independently.  Many choose to create games or make ‘mods’ (game level modifications) for popular commercial games just for the fun of it.  For those who do endeavor to make an income from their work many prefer to work for themselves rather than for a game developer.  Some may think because the independent or casual game designer is not seeking to get employed that education is not necessary.  However that is not really the case.

The reality is every prospective game designer, from the hobbiest to the independent professional can benefit from at least some game design training, especially if he/she chooses to specialize in one particular area of game design.  Of course for the indie or recreational game designer it may not be practical or even necessary to take on-campus classes at some far away game design college.   Fortunately good game design courses are available from a variety of sources.

For classroom training you might try checking out your local city or community college.  More and more such schools are offering a variety of classes related directly or indirectly to game design.  Community colleges generally have very low tuition rates, have smaller classes than big colleges and typically provide work labs for hands-on practice.  It is not uncommon for community college instructors to be well qualified people who love to teach and have actual industry experience.  Community colleges are one of the best bargains for a classroom education.

For those who prefer to study at home or do not have local classes available to them online game design courses abound.  Many of the larger notable game design schools now offer courses and even degrees online.  Of course many of those courses are designed to be coordinated together toward earning a degree, but not always.  It would be wise to find out beforehand how inclusive a course is before enrolling.

You will also find organizations online like the Game Institute that offer complete courses for specific areas of interests.  Such companies usually break their courses into a multipart series designed to give you a comprehensive knowledge of a particular game development specialty.   Courses from these providers may or may not be usable for college credit, but that probably won’t be a deciding factor you aren’t planning on seeking to earn a degree.

Finally, don’t rule out your game design software developers.  Many offer video courses or online tutorials all about the functions and applications of their program.  Additionally, it is not unusual for these companies to have their own forums where third party trainers are permitted to promote courses or tutorials for using their software.

Just because you are (or plan to become) an independent or casual game designer doesn’t mean you have to try to figure everything out on your own.  Plenty of quality education is out there for you.  Take the time to look for appropriate courses, invest into study and ultimately you will save yourself from hours of frustration.

Don’t Give Up On Becoming An Independent Game Developer

It is easy to get overwhelmed and abandon the idea of making your own video game when you look at the popular games on the market and the large companies behind them.  Surely these big game development firms have resources the ‘little guy’ can only dream of.  You envision large teams of people working on massive projects with big budgets.   It’s enough to cause a prospective indie game designer to throw in the towel before he/she even begins… and many do, but they don’t have to.

Consider that there are many different kinds of video games and multiple platforms to design them for.  Factor in the millions of people who play video games along with things like smart phone apps.  Figure in the variety of tastes that players have.  Just a little thought and it doesn’t take long to realize there a very large and hungry market full of gamers out there who might well be looking for the exact game you want to create.

Don’t even try to compete with the big companies.  You can’t and you never will be able to so don’t drive yourself crazy trying to.  Instead focus on what you can do and then do it well.  Too many indie game designers try to emulate major popular game play and styles and fail miserably no matter how much software they’ve purchased or how skilled they are as game designers.  Instead of being unique and targeting smaller niche groups with their games, they waste their talents on trying to make games that are simply clones of best sellers.

If you want to be an independent game developer you need to stand out and be different, focus on the attainable, and target gamers who are looking for something special.  You will also need to produce a game that people are willing to spend their money on so take the time to learn your game design software and game engine inside and out, develop your skills and technique.  A lot of new indie game developers will rush through their first games just to get something to market.  Don’t do it!  Your sales will take a nosedive and so will your reputation.  Put in the study and practice, make a polished game, turn out quality regardless of the simplicity of your game concept.

Most of all, don’t give up.  You can make a respectable living in game design if you do things right and target the right customers.  There is an old saying in the business world that says something like, “find a hungry market that is ready to buy, give them a quality product that that will satisfy their hunger and you will never go hungry yourself”.  Do that with your games and you will succeed.

Become a Professional Game Designer

Do you want to dive in deeply into the nuts and bolts of video game design?  Perhaps you would like to create your own game development business to sell your video games online.  Or you might be seriously considering a career in game design working for a major game development company.  Maybe you would like to make your own game design software.  The place to start is with a solid education.

Fortunately there are a variety of education options available for anyone seeking to become a professional game designer.  If you hope to find work with an established game developer you should look into one of the many game design colleges.  Most such game design schools have on-campus residency programs and offer several game design degrees in various areas of study.  You could work toward a degree in Game Art Design, Game Animation, Game Programming or simply pursue a general degree in Game Design.

If attending college as a full time resident is not an option for you, you could acquire your education in video game design online.  Some game design schools allow you to earn your diploma or degree entirely online.  One firm, the ‘Game Institute‘ has online courses you can take for personal enrichment or for college credits that can be transferred to a game design college.

Finally, many independent game designers have learned their skills directly from the websites of the companies that developed the software they use.  Sometimes game design software companies will create training programs specifically for their software programs.  The training you get from them is designed to help you become intimately familiar in the use and application of their products.  Additionally, nearly every game design software has avid followers who frequent their forums and create third party tutorials.

Whatever you plan to do, don’t neglect education.  Becoming a professional game designer is not something you can easily figure out on your own.  Consider your career goals, explore your training options and fill your brain with knowledge.

Disclosures

Game Design Software – Part 2

GameStudio® (aka: 3D Game Studio, A5,  A6…A8, 3DGS)

GameStudio has one of the largest communities (outside of  the Torque® game engine) and has been around for quite awhile.  The game design software uses their own Lite-C® scripting language and has several tutorials and workshops on the main site.  One of the nice things about this game engine is because of such a large community, you have a lot of resources available from free models donated by the community to scripts and purchasable add-ons.

If you wish to know what kind of graphics GameStudio can produce, take a look at the Venice Demo, Warehouse Demo and Car Demo on the GameStudio website.

The GameStudio engine imports mdl7 formats.  You can export from any modeler into the MED (their own modeler) and export it to their mdl7 format or you can create the model in Milkshape 3D® and export it directly from there.

GameStudio also looks like it has templates for a day/night animated sky as well as lifts, particles, save/load game states, gore effects…all without programming.

Now, much of the eye candy (shaders, decal, shadows, etc) depends on which version you purchase.  The free version does come with particle effects, real time shadows, LOD and radiosity lightmapping.  I’ve always gone with the commercial version myself which in addition to the free version has decals, shaders, render-to-texture, and up to 8 person multiplayer.  The pro version has automatic LOD and a distributable level editor (modding) and unlimited multiplayer and a file packer (although you can compile everything but the free version to an exe).  The price difference between commercial ($199USD) and pro ($899) is quite hefty and are those features worth the extra price?  That’s for you to decide.

This game design software has a lot to offer.  Read through the 3D Game Studio website to get details on the features and download the free trial to test out the work flow and see if GameStudio will work for your 3D games.

http://3dgamestudio.com

Be sure to check out every issue of this MONTHLY ezine for GameStudio.   It is free for anyone to download.  It is very well done by George and is packed full of tips, code snippets, etc.

3DGS Resources Pages has everything from demos, textures, models, scripts and tutorials.

Game Design Software – Part 1

Video game design usually requires a lot of programming.  Often even game design engines that are said to require no programming still do.  Fortunately for those who don’t want to spend time learning game programming or creating a lot of game art, there are a few engines out there where you can click together your own game and play them with your friends.  One such game engine is FPS Creator®.

FPS Creator is a complete game creation and authoring system for making first person shooter video games.  Many consider FPS Creator to be one of the easiest game design programs there is.  With it you can make mercenary games or zombies or even create a bit of a story.  FPS Creator is also quite inexpensive.  The full version only costs $50 USD and comes with 800 3D objects to get you started.  There are 50 different art model packs available selling from about $19-29 each, ranging from tropical environments to run down slums.  If you would like to see what types of games you can make with FPS Creator, visit the company’s forum showcase where many people have posted their completed games for others to play.  The forums also have community plugins to enhance FPS Creator and give it more functionality.

If you would like to design a video game but want to avoid programming and hours of game art creation, FPS Creator may be the perfect choice.  You can learn more about FPS Creator at:
http://www.thegamecreators.com/?m=view_product&id=2001

MilkShape 3D – A Popular 3D Modeling Program

If you are new to game art modeling, I highly recommend getting Milkshape.  It is simple to use and lets you get the basics of learning 3D modeling.  The user interface is very simple and there’s not a lot of buttons or tabs you have to wade through to find a certain function.

When it comes to 3D modeling, MilkShape is a popular and highly recommended program. With it you can create primitives like boxes, spheres, cylinders and select faces or vertices to move, rotate, scale, extrude, turn edge, subdivide, etc., then from those primary assets build complete 3D models.  MilkShape is inexpensive (only $35 USD), easy to learn and use, yet quite versatile.  Its user interface is designed for simplicity having a minimal amount of buttons and tabs for accessing features and tools.  MilkShape can export your finished creations to a surprisingly large number of file formats including .fbx, .bvh (biovision motion capture), .b3d, .x, .mdl7 (3D GameStudio/3DGS/A7), Genesis .bdy and .mot, .3ds, obj (.3ds and .obj are static files, they don’t support animations).  It also designed to make and work with bone animations.

Since there are so there is a large community of MilkShape users there is plenty of training and information available for it.  There is a “Hands on Milkshape” book that can be purchased for 33GBP (UK pounds) or you can download it in pdf format.  There is a free chm or html manual on the Milkshape site “Tutorial” page.  However many find learning by video tutorials to be much easier.  There are a number of tutorials available on YouTube.  When searching video tutorials it is recommended you master the basics first, so search such phrases as:  create face Milkshape’, ‘Milkshape extrude’, ‘Milkshape create odd shape’, ‘Milkshape texture’, ‘Milkshape groups’, ‘Milkshape mapping’ or UV, ‘Milkshape animate’ or animation or bones.

For some great online pictures that easily explain how to do primary functions in Milkshape you might want to check out and print this page for quick reference:  http://www.psionic.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/tutorials/lowpoly/mbasics.html

You can visit the MilkShape company website and download MilkShape 3D at:
http://milkshape3d.com

Make Your Own Video Games

Did you know you could make your own video games?  Whether you are into shooters, role play games, massive online multiplayer games or strategy it is possible to make video games right from your own computer.

If you’ve had a great game idea burning in your mind there are several directions you could take to bring your brainchild to fruition.  If you would like to design video games just for fun you might want to try creating ‘mods’ for your favorite PC game.  Many games are now coming with a modification feature that allows players to create new game play and story lines, add or change game characters and characteristics, alter buildings or land masses and more.  Whole online communities have been created around ‘modding’ certain games.  Members exchange ideas, download each others mods and write reviews and rate mod creations.   Creating mods for existing PC games may just be the creative outlet you seek.

Maybe you would like to make a video game entirely from the ground up.  For that purpose there are complete game designing software programs available that will allow you to create entire video games from start to finish.  There has been game design software created for specific gaming genres as well as specific formats, such as the mobile phone, tablet industry.  Chances are if you have a certain type of game you want to make or a specific gaming platform you want to make a video game for there is likely a software that can help you do it.

One of the things to consider when investigating game design software is whether or not you plan to sell your games.  If you want to make video games as a hobby much is available for free online.  However If your desire is to make video games to sell you will likely need to buy your game design software as well as any assets need to construct your game.  Some independent game developers make a very good living making their own video games and selling them online or to game publishing companies.  Pursuing a game design career as an independent game developer can be a very worthwhile and rewarding goal.

Another important thing to take into account with game design software is the programming aspects of the game engine.  Some game engines require a lot of scripting to make a video game do what is needed to carry out your game play intentions.  Unless you are already familiar with computer languages and game programming it would be best to avoid such game engines.  Instead opt for an engine that requires little or no programming.  Be sure to visit any forums for your candidate game engine first as it is not uncommon for game engine developers to claim their engine requires no programming where in reality some programming may be necessary to produce a fully playable game with it.

If you think you might like making video games full time and would like to work for a game development company you will want to take a look at some game design education options.  Most game design schools offer degree programs and guidence to help you prepare for a career in the game design industry.