Hi

[snailmask]

Hi am new. How do i start making a game or whatever?  This is confusing. Can some one explain this to me?

[Chris]

1) learn HTML and make a simple website on a free host, next install there a free forum (like phpBB)
2) learn basics of PHP & MySQL
3) take a look on a free scrips source codes to understand how it works
4) make a design doc
5) write the game
6) find testers and put the game online, then fix the bugs
7) once everything is all right make a public release
administrate the game, make new releases, fix bugs, catch cheaters, organise promotion, find helpers
9) go to point 8 and repeat

[Josh1billion]

4) make a design doc

Not entirely necessary, especially not for someone's first project.

[raestlyn]

Well, Design Doc helps even if its for first game. i used it on my first game and personally think its a must.

[FirePenguins]

I'm a fan of a vague design document.  I like to get my ideas roughly sorted out before I start coding the game, but while I'm coding I fill in the details and make a lot of changes.  What I include is the basic game.  How it is played? Are there turns? Is it real time? Are players individuals or on teams? What the main pages I will need?  But I don't outline every page, every function, and every unit.  I leave that for while I'm working on the game and have a better sense of what it is going to be like.

[leZourite]

I am with Firepenguins (though my current project had a 4 pages design doc before i even started to code).

The reasons are simple, changes, deadlines (if you have to meet any deadlines of course  ^_^), ideas that are good on paper and difficult to implement  -_-

But design doc is good as a basic guideline : You know where you are going, you can of course do without it's just much more difficult passed some stages. (IE when the game is so complex that you start losing track of what you did)

[robotix]

Welcome, and to answer your question, everyone else has it down except #1 should be:
Know what you want, how much you want it and if you think you really can go through with it.
Otherwise, it's all a waste of time..