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[Euld]

Myself and some classmates are working on a video game.  It's going to be made using Maya, Unity, Zbrush, and Photoshop.  The only problem is, we're attending an art school, so nobody there knows anything useful about programming.  So I'm wondering, Bay12, if anyone knows alot on the subject of Unity and Javascript and could share some advice on some do's and don'ts.  Or maybe even some brave soul would want to help us with our game?

[freeformschooler]

Is it Java or Javascript you're looking for advice on? Two very different things.

[Euld]

Well dang in that case I'm not sure O_O  I know we need someone who knows how to program in Unity, but had no idea there was a difference between Java and Javascript.

[metorical]

I have some familiarity with Unity and my current project is using it.

Unity supports three programming languages:

1. Boo: Pretty much no one uses this so we can rule it out quickly.

2. C#: A managed .NET language, very similar to Java.  Looks a lot like C/C++ but nowhere near as scary for a beginner.

3. JavaScript: A scripting language predominantly used on the client side (e.g. webpages).

Depending on what kind of game you're making I'd make different recommendations.  If it's the type of game that Unity is typically good at then picking up JavaScript will probably be easiest for you.  If you need lots of complex code then I'd head towards C# to manage this complexity.

I'd recommend that you take a look at some beginners tutorials for each language and see which one you like best.

What are you trying to make?

[metorical]

Oh and I recommend taking the introduction class here (it's free):

http://unity3d.com/support/online-training/

[Euld]

It's a 3rd person action/adventure game about a dwarf who returns to his grandfather's abandoned mine to reclaim it.  The player will use four different monsters to navigate and solve puzzles, use explosive elemental traps to kill monsters, mine outcroppings of gems and minerals, take those minerals to a nearby town to sell, and collect pieces of his grandfather's journal.  A lot of stuff is up in the air right now, so we're trying to put a simply demo together of one level using two creatures.

We've got concept art out the wazoo and completed project documents, it's just a matter now of 1)Whipping the concept artists into making actual technical schematics 2)White boxing the level we have in mind 3)Getting our creatures properly rigged and animated 4)Hoping we can find a programmer or must enough programming knowledge on our own to make things run.

[Armok]

Your resources seem MUCH better suited to making a movie rather than a game. Making a movie of this could get really awesome, making a game no matter how great the art and story is, will be mediocre at best without proper programmers who have done games in the past on the team.

[Vactor]

My advice is to lay out all of your game's logic before you even start writing code.  Your game should be able to be roughly playable by using a rule book (if not enjoyable).  Once you know exactly what elements you need, and know all of the ways interactions can occur, and have defined these interactions in a specific way, you might be able to have someone who can code implement it for you.

You'll want to do the same for how you want art assets implemented.

The worst way to write a game is to try to develop the basic game rules as you code them.

Also keep it as simple as you can.  Once you have something under your belt you can think about making a game you'd want to play.

[Kofthefens]

I've been doing a lot of work in Unity recently (though I still don't know half of what it has to offer). In about 3 weeks, I'll be able to have a bit more free time, and possibly do some programming for you (I might be able to do a tiny bit before then, but nothing substantial). I would recommend using C#. It is far more powerful, and if the deadline isn't too soon, I would be working in C#. I'm happy to give advice, but keep in mind I'm probably clueless in some areas, never having used them.

[lordcooper]

Your resources seem MUCH better suited to making a movie rather than a game. Making a movie of this could get really awesome, making a game no matter how great the art and story is, will be mediocre at best without proper programmers who have done games in the past on the team.

+1

It's much easier to forgive poor art in a game than poor code.  Make a kickass film instead of a mediocre game, at least until you can find (or preferably become) a competent programmer.

[Toxicshadow]

Your resources seem MUCH better suited to making a movie rather than a game. Making a movie of this could get really awesome, making a game no matter how great the art and story is, will be mediocre at best without proper programmers who have done games in the past on the team.

+1

It's much easier to forgive poor art in a game than poor code.  Make a kickass film instead of a mediocre game, at least until you can find (or preferably become) a competent programmer.

That should not be taken as, gameplay is better than graphics.

Your game's graphics flesh out so much in a game. You can instantly tell what type of game it is, and get a rough estimation on how good it is. If you download some 64Kb .exe claiming to be a very good game with immense gameplay, but you load it up and see stick figures on a 1 color background, you're instantly going to close it. You can make up in graphics what you lack in gameplay. My best example for this would be a game called Age of Empires 3, while it's gameplay is, ok, it's graphics are beautiful. From an excellent lighting system to the stunningly well textured models.

There are exceptions to the limited graphics, which would be like a themed game which is intended to have lower graphics or for example be ASCII. Or older games, which are just classic.   And also, this isn't to say gameplay doesn't mean shit, it simply means your graphics are very important.

[Euld]

I had a talk with my group, and it seems they would rather have an "in house" programmer from our school instead of someone online.  I really hope we'll find somebody, but apparently once we have our character models and environment up and running we should be able to find someone faster.  I think I'll lock this thread for now, since there's no reason for it now.