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[X-03]

Thank you very much , and now all I can do is hope the project will work. If I come across any other barriers, I'll politely ask. Wish me luck!

EDIT: Especially since it's my first EVER serious project *nervous smile*, but I'll make it small, then expand on it, like Minecraft, SS13, etc.

[X-03]

So, I just got told that since my knowledge of C is minimal, there's no way I can do it and I should give up. I really don't know what to make of it, but I'll just try anyway and hope they're not right. The only thing is, I'm not certain I CAN do it, since I got plenty of errors just trying to make a text adventure and here I go being pessimistic. Either way, estimated project time with just me programming and one artist?

[Vel]

A very, very long time if one thinks of 'time' in terms of 'weeks'.

That said, there's no such thing as 'impossible' when it comes to coding videogames: it's all about how much time, effort, and skill you put into it.

But when I say 'impossible' I literally mean 'not mechanically possible'... so don't mistake it for not being a whole lot of work.

[alexandertnt]

Good luck! Just remember, if it becomes fustrating take a break but don't give up. You will have times when it becomes fustrating.

So, I just got told that since my knowledge of C is minimal, there's no way I can do it and I should give up. I really don't know what to make of it, but I'll just try anyway and hope they're not right. The only thing is, I'm not certain I CAN do it, since I got plenty of errors just trying to make a text adventure and here I go being pessimistic. Either way, estimated project time with just me programming and one artist?

You can do it. Because you can learn to program, and thus can code this. However, learn to program first. Start with hello world, looping hello world etc first. Then practice on simple games, like arcade games. Programming is a skill to be practiced and the game you want to make is no simple game.

As for time, depends. Given it would really be time-to-learn-and-practice-programming + game development time. Probably years...

[X-03]

Both of those confirmed me making a small demo of it first. Now, hopefully I won't grandly mess it all up. Said artist is not, however, in the team yet, and is not probably even aware OF said team. And several years seems like quite a bit of work, but I already know about how to make a loop, how to compare strings, and have made my Hello World program a year or 2 ago. So. This'll be fun

[hemmingjay]

You would much better be advised to use an already built game engine and use your energy to learn scripting.

[TheCze]

hi, just thought I'd give you some programming advice.
Don't start with a complex game, it might be your dream game and it is tempting but you'll probably simply get frustrated and won't finish it. Instead, make small arcade games at first. Try different genres to find out what different problems can arise. At first you should simply try to copy existing games. Start with something like Breakout. Then try a sidescroller, something turns based, a simulation etc. Try to figure out a way to make physics and object collisions work. Then, AFTER you've mastered all the basics of video game programming and actually finished a couple of games on your own, take a look at engines or libraries that take away some of the workload for you (like physics or creating a graphic engine). It won't do you any good imo to start with a engine like Unity right at the beginning. Even though it can yield simple results very fast, you'll run into problems sooner or later and the knowledge you have gained in the beginning will help you solve those problems.

[Microcline]

TheCze is right.  At this point it's best to do simple projects that will enhance your skills, as stated by this article.  They don't have to be boring, given that Ludum Dare, 7Day Roguelike, and the TIGSource Compos have shown that quick one-man gimmick projects can be quite fun to work on.

Both of those confirmed me making a small demo of it first. Now, hopefully I won't grandly mess it all up. Said artist is not, however, in the team yet, and is not probably even aware OF said team. And several years seems like quite a bit of work, but I already know about how to make a loop, how to compare strings, and have made my Hello World program a year or 2 ago. So. This'll be fun

I'd just focus on programming until you have something playable.  If it's not fun to play with flashing CP437 characters, tarting it up with 300 million in art assets isn't going to make it any better.  There's also the fact that for software projects working in a team counter-intuitively tends to require a higher degree of skill than a solo project.

You would much better be advised to use an already built game engine and use your energy to learn scripting.

If he were talking about 3D, I'd completely agree with your statement.  Even for a large number of 2D projects I'd agree that GameMaker or Flixel/Flashpunk is the way to go.  However, if his eventual goal is to make a game that's essentially "SS13 but underwater", I'd say that learning how to code is probably in the long term the best option.  We all remember how much the "robustness" of SS13 is exacerbated by using BYOND.

I'd suggest picking an IDE early and learning how to organize, as game files can become very large very quickly.

[Megaman]

I concur with the rest, but hey, you've got plenty of time. If you really want to do it, no matter how long it takes, you'll end with a good product.

[Darkmere]

The previous posters are correct. I'd add from being a failed programmer, this:

Start with manageable things. Having a huge goal is great (Look at DF), but figuring out individual systems in do-able chunks is how you achieve that goal.

Learning by doing is great, to a point. Learning while working on a big project that forces you to constantly re-evaluate the noob mistakes you made when you were just getting started, is not. Start with smaller projects that incorporate one idea, so that perfecting that idea gives you a victory rush, and you're eager to apply that to what comes next. Working towards a huge goal first will do the opposite, as each new victory forces you to re-evaluate what you didn't get just right before. This is why code debugging and maintenance are pains in the ass.

COMMENT YOUR CODE AS YOU WRITE IT! No matter how elementary it seems, in a month you won't have any idea what int cleverintname was supposed to do, should you need to modify it later.

Also, C can give you a syntactic grounding for C++, but once you've gotten small things going, it will be much easier long-term if you switch to learning C++ or C# as soon as you're comfortable doing so. Procedural languages have their place, but object-oriented is mandatory for the scope you're hoping for.

If I may ask, how comfortable are you with data structures and manipulation, file I/O functionality, and graphical conventions? There's a HUGE gap between "hello, world!" and compiling an alphabetically sorted list of all the items in crate #84572 of SeaLab's cargo bay. And that's just a crate.

[X-03]

In response to all: Yes, I decided that I really MUST get some practice before I work on this, so postponing away! I've managed to misplace everything other than my compiler anyway, and judging by the simplest problems that I have, I'm going to begin smaller projects. In response to the last question, you wouldn't believe how UNcomfortable I am. Thanks for the input and aid, I'll begin it as soon as I have some proper experience!

[Moghjubar]

The only thing is, I'm not certain I CAN do it, since I got plenty of errors [snip]

This is going to be your major hurdle:  Not the making of the errors, but being worried about them, and treating them as something bad instead of something to overcome and learn from.  Bugs and other issues are a natural process of development.

Also, I will second Unity(edit: as an engine to use, not necessarily to learn stuff to start): from my small dalliances with it, it seems like a better option for someone more worried about making a game and not doing insane things / low-level required stuff.  There are things you will not be able to do in Unity (free), or even Unity (pro) should you want to spend big bucks, but neither would stop you from making a game like this.  You also have several options on scripting languages with Unity, so you can pick your poison.

Regardless of the path you choose, you WILL spend long hours on INCREDIBLY STUPID problems!  You WILL spend time doing things that don't end up in the final product!  Some of the things you do won't even be on your game; they will be tests and trials of concepts and code as you learn. Etc, etc, blah blah blah, programming pep talk, yadda yadda.

Map out a quick plan for the entire project as best you can (it won't be perfect), split it to doable small chunks, try to get the feel of the entire thing.  You will know if you want to continue with it or not once this and the first programming chunk is done.  Don't be afraid to put in shitty art just to get something in: a box and an implemented function is better than dread and doom and nothing done.  The rest is just progress and making sure you keep going and don't lose heart.

[X-03]

Thanks for the [INSERT CLICHÉD NAME FOR THE AWESOME SPEECH HERE], I appreciate it . I DO treat them like learning experiences, just I hate said experiences, since it takes me 3 hours to program 10 seconds because of some hidden stuff going on . But yeah, I'm currently jumping some compiler-related hurdles, since I postponed getting said compiler until now and am using Windows, so GCC is something I'll have to live without for now. I'm currently working on a tidbit-sized project just to get a good feel for it, then working on something slightly bigger than tidbit-sized. The actual problem I have is that I can't seem to get an editor up, which means I can't even start, slightly embarrassing, although expected, since I moved from an Ubuntu laptop to a Windows computer and oh boy I'm rambling again. To sum up, as soon as I can get the editor up, it'll be fine! I'm using Cygwin, which may or may not be the right piece of software for writing a program...

[Darkmere]

Notepad++  served me well enough as a small-scale, free code entry program. It's no IDE or anything, but it will go through basic syntax and color code things to make debugging easier.

[MrWiggles]

Why not just use SS13, but set it underwater? There an SS13 'mod' where its set on Mars.