What better time then now?

[raines80]

I am hands down a total noob to most of things on this site. I have been an avid online gammer for many years now (think back to starcraft /diablo era) and I see a lot of potential in PBBGs. I have scoured the net for a good MMORPG that can be played in a browser window, but have yet to find one I truely like.

To the point-

I have some minor background in html and I have a deep graphic design background. I want to make a MMORPG that I would play and enjoy, but I want it to fit into a browser game. I am not looking to make a MUD. I want this game to be atleast 2D. I have already drawn up a lot of the conceptual art work and have designed numerous maps. I have created a whole world on paper that I want... no... I need to put into a game.

I have read the tutorial and have enjoyed much of this site, but I am a VERY visual person. Could someone give me an idea of where to start this journy?

[Soul]

Hi raines80, welcome to the forums!

It sounds like you've got a lot of interesting material to contribute Could you perhaps share some samples of your work?

[Harkins]

No better time than now.

Start with signups, then logging in and out, then displaying a map. It'll be a lot harder than those 12 words sound right now, but you'll build it if you want it. And folks here will help answer the questions you have along the way.

[JGadrow]

Welcome to the forum. Really, I think you should just pick a language that looks semi-understandable to you. However, if you choose PHP I believe you'll have the greatest available support here on bbgamezone. That being said, regardless of your chosen technology, just dive into the project. As you work on things, you'll definitely encounter issues and knowledge deficiencies. Just do some reasearch or ask around for help and, before you know it, you won't need to ask quite so much anymore.

Personally, I prefer to use a top-down approach to development. Plan and implement from the broad strokes first and then follow with the minor details. For example: If I'm creating a calculator application, I create a global "Calculator" object. Make sure that my program compiles and works. Then, I know that my calculator needs a command parser (for taking user input) and a display (for showing results). I create those two objects and embed them into the calculator. Compile and test. Ok, I know that my command parser needs to accept a string and determine numbers from it. So, I add a string parameter and start building the 'parse' logic behind it. Compile, test, etc.

I hope that's a good enough example to give you a clear idea of what I'm talking about.

[raines80]

Thank you all for the input. It is kind of crazy.... Back in the day when I was around 15 years old me and my buddy said "Hey, lets build a clan website for Starcraft."  We just dove in and created on the old site geocities. Slowly, but surely, the site began to grow... we started checking out sites we liked and stealing their ideas    . It wasn't long before the site had close to 200k members and it was almost a full time job. We started from nothing, but a desire to do so.

The reason I tell this story is because... I am now 29. I work for the FAA and I have been out of the actuall online design game for a loooonnnngggg time. I have some basic knowledge for C++, html ... but it has been a while. I have continued to do some graphic art work on the side, but nothing like what I am about to try. I just hope I have the same drive and the ability to take in new information as I had 12+ years ago.

Wish me luck...... I am about to dive in head first and see what happens   

[jannesiera]

Good luck! You have a great community here to back you up, so go for it!

[JGadrow]

lol wow... oddly similar. I had a SC clan site years ago that I did with geocities as well. That was before I began learning HTML and all that jazz. First time I ever did anything with forms. lol

I can't wait for SC2, but I'm not going to have nearly the time to devote that I did when I was 16! lol

[raines80]

LOL... that is weird. A SC clan using geocities, what are the odds?  ... lol..    I was in the same boat.. no clue what HTML was. Just started making the site.. went to other sites , clicked on view source, copied/pasted, and changed to fit what I wanted...  lol.

[KoI]

If you're a visual person, I wouldn't start with doing signups and logging in, personally, especially if you are just learning a programming language for the first time.  Those are elements that require a fair portion of learning for the completely noob, and the end result is basically just showing someone a logged in page, or showing a denied message, so it's not all that cool.

For me, both times I sat down to learn programming (Actionscript through flash first, then PHP/MySQL), I made a game to do it. But what I initially started working on was functionality within the game that I could immediately see the results of my learning on.  So for PHP, I started by creating a form to allow me to raise combat troops, and then sort them by column.  It was a complex piece of work for a noob, updating troops ,updating gold, updating turns.. it's juvenile now, but at the time it was fun to do, and I could immediately see the results of the work.  I learned about updating forms, retrieving info from and updating a database, and more.

Then, once I had a handle on it, I scrapped it, and moved onto the meat and potatoes, like the log in system, new accounts, etc.

If your project goes anything like mine, then your goals for the project will change as your skill at PHP gets better. So I'd recommend working on samples to build up your knowledge for the first month or two, before you set out to actually start putting content into your game, otherwise you'll likely just end up changing it. 

My game has been in the works for like 4 years now, it's snowballed into a massive feature creep as my skills at PHP have gotten better, and I would definitely suggest sitting down and mapping out how you want your game to work, the features you want included, etc., and that will eliminate some of the development time.

[Chris]

showing someone a logged in page, or showing a denied message, so it's not all that cool.

Of course these are cool! How could you tell something like that In my opinion if you don't like programming enough to find a pleasure in writing login system then maybe making a computer is not for you? I mean, most of the time you will be tracking bugs, writing tech code not visibly related to the gameplay, optimising code to run on your hardware and so on. Writing code related to gameplay (like inventing new monsters, quests and items) is a rare event

[jannesiera]

showing someone a logged in page, or showing a denied message, so it's not all that cool.

Of course these are cool! How could you tell something like that In my opinion if you don't like programming enough to find a pleasure in writing login system then maybe making a computer is not for you? I mean, most of the time you will be tracking bugs, writing tech code not visibly related to the gameplay, optimising code to run on your hardware and so on. Writing code related to gameplay (like inventing new monsters, quests and items) is a rare event

Chris, you don't have to become a programmer to make a game. I need to be able to program, but you don't need to become a professional.

We, individuals who create games as a hobby, may have an interest in programming. But for many of use making the game is our priority, not writing the code. For many people an authentication script is boring. That doesn't mean they don't like to code, it only means they're not programmers.

Coding and being a programmer are 2 different things. Creating a game and being a game designer are 2 different things. The designer may code, the programmer may design, but they are different.

Shouldn't you encourage the designer to code? He should know what's happening behind the curtains. What the hard work of the programmer is.
And shouldn't you encourage the programmer to design? He should know that it's not so easy as it sounds. That he respects the one who's idea he is coding.

[raines80]

Thank you all for your opinions and your direction. I have found extremely useful starting points from multiple entries here.

To clarify why I want to take on the daunting task of creating a 2D/3D pbbg I will say this....

I have always been a man of ideas. I can take a concept and turn it into a design very easily. I have a concept for a game in my head as we speak. I have put most of the design down on paper already. The issue I have is thus......   A lot of my ideas are not that appealing to others until they see them as a working project. They have a hard time seeing the same possibilities as me and most people lack the vision to understand the possibilities. This is the very reason I want ot create my own pbbg.

I want to have creative control over every aspect of the game. I also want to continue in projects later where, if needs be, I can step in a write code to get my point across. I don't want to be left out of the loop on any part of my games.

This may seem way over top, but I know I have the ability to create some of the most stunning PBBGs online. I have the creative ability, the gamming background, and desire that lately has been boardering on the side of insanity. The last thing I need is the tools.

Thank you all again for your thoughts on starting points. I think you all make great points and each opinion is valid. I will try each of your ideas out and see which one will be the best fit for me.

[KoI]

showing someone a logged in page, or showing a denied message, so it's not all that cool.

Of course these are cool! How could you tell something like that In my opinion if you don't like programming enough to find a pleasure in writing login system then maybe making a computer is not for you? I mean, most of the time you will be tracking bugs, writing tech code not visibly related to the gameplay, optimising code to run on your hardware and so on. Writing code related to gameplay (like inventing new monsters, quests and items) is a rare event

Yeah, those are cool, but that's not what I meant really.  He hasn't even gotten to his first line of php yet, so building a secure log in page should be the least of his worries.  I'm a visual person too, as he has expressed he is, and likewise I need to see results fairly quickly to measure my own progress.  There's just not much to see with a login page, but there's a whole lot of code that goes into it.  There are lots of little apps you can write that will progress your skill a lot faster than just diving into the big stuff that you're not going to understand.

There's a reason why a 1st graders curriculum doesn't begin with Calculus.