How to code a game like Earthbound? - Developers

So I have been watching some Let's Plays of Earthbound and thought "That doesn't look to hard to make in my off time." So basically I want to learn coding so I can make a game like Earthbound. I have no programming or coding experience so a tutorial would be nice. Also I don't think I will just pop right in and instantly know how to code. I know it will take awhile to learn.

Learn programming first you can't make games right off the batm try learning python or C# then you can look into game programming. Also, don't go around looking for books, the internet is really a great resource for learning it won't be required i have this for you [url]http://www.programmersheaven.com/ebooks/csharp_ebook.pdf[/url](A bit outdated but it will do the job or if you want something more up date and simple i suggest this: [url]http://www.csharp-station.com/Tutorial.aspx[/url] :)

I'm going to have to disagree and say that you should get a book. I'm not saying that you can't do without a book, but a good book will teach you a lot in a nicely laid out order and pace, especially when you don't have any programming knowledge. To be a good game designer you are going to need a good programmer. There is so much to a game that you don't even think about. I'm going to suggest flash as a good platform to start making games on. A lot of people are going to disagree with this, but really it is the best platform to make simple games, and plus most AS3 programming knowledge can be transferred to other languages, especially if the person is smart and starts working with classes.

Ok thanks for the tips. Going to look up stuff on the web tomorrow and I'm going to the book store this weekend I think.

Don't expect instant results, you'll actually have to work on a project to get a result. It's crazy.

Some people are better at learning from books, others are better at learning from the web. Find a book at your local library (or Barnes & Noble) and see if it suits your preference.

You could just use RPG Maker for this.

Make it in flash, I used to make flash games and I have to say that it is really easy compared to big boy stuff, not to mention that you can share your work easily on the net.

"That doesn't look hard to make in my spare time." If you think you can make Earthbound in your spare time, maybe you should contact Valve and get a job as Lead Programmer on all their projects.

[QUOTE=robowurmz;24819612]"That doesn't look hard to make in my spare time." If you think you can make Earthbound in your spare time, maybe you should contact Valve and get a job as Lead Programmer on all their projects.[/QUOTE] We'd have EP3 by the time Portal 2 was supposed to be released! And Portal 2 for Christmas!

[QUOTE=robowurmz;24819612]"That doesn't look hard to make in my spare time." If you think you can make Earthbound in your spare time, maybe you should contact Valve and get a job as Lead Programmer on all their projects.[/QUOTE] Anything can be done in spare time if you spend enough spare time doing it. It's not like he's going to be setting a release and sale date.

[QUOTE=Senney;24822001]Anything can be done in spare time if you spend enough spare time doing it. It's not like he's going to be setting a release and sale date.[/QUOTE] But it's not really like anyone would go "Oh boy, I wanna spend the next fifteen years doing this in my spare time!"

[QUOTE=esalaka;24822146]But it's not really like anyone would go "Oh boy, I wanna spend the next fifteen years doing this in my spare time!"[/QUOTE] I have been playing videogames for atleast 10 year now in my spare time, and I bet there are even people with 30 years, so 15 years is doable. Oh, and it's still fun!

[QUOTE=Shammah;24823297]I have been playing videogames for atleast 10 year now in my spare time, and I bet there are even people with 30 years, so 15 years is doable. Oh, and it's still fun![/QUOTE] You've been [B]playing[/B] games, he's intending to [B]make[/B] a game. The difference is significant.

If he's passionate there isn't much difference. But I think we know from eachother what we mean, this is just for the sake of argueing.

[QUOTE=esalaka;24821525]We'd have EP3 by the time Portal 2 was supposed to be released! And Portal 2 for Christmas![/QUOTE] Portal 2 was supposed to be released for Christmas. :confused:

[QUOTE=arienh4;24836221]Portal 2 was supposed to be released for Christmas. :confused:[/QUOTE] Did you account for Valve time? (I recall it was supposed to be released in Feb 2011, anyway)

[QUOTE=esalaka;24840915]Did you account for Valve time? (I recall it was supposed to be released in Feb 20011, anyway)[/QUOTE] Only 18 001 years to go, I can't wait! :neckbeard:

Just some notes for you - not everyone can become a coder. It's not simple as you think ("coding" a game using a tut without any programming knowledge). - programmers need creative mind and mathematical thinking. Do you what it takes? If you think you have dedication for this, go ahead and start learning. Start with some more simple language like PHP or Vbasic. Then C++. That's just the coding part. There's lot more to learn when it comes to game developing. Just my thoughts. Don't punch me in da face.

There's also a hell of a lot of work to put into a game besides the coding - there's story elements, design elements, user interface, sounds, art, music, level layouts, key game mechanics... there's a hell of a lot of stuff to do before you can get to the code - coding without a clear plan of how it all works is doomed to fail (as I have found out) and you need to plan ahead for everything. Only then can you even begin to start coding, and once you start that there's loads of stuff to watch out for there too - finite state machines, program architecture... it's hard. It's very hard, if you're on your own. Which is why I am flabbergasted by independant game developers - they put in so much work into their projects, it's unbelieveable. If only big corporations (aside from Valve) put in the same amount of effort.

[QUOTE=esalaka;24840915]Did you account for Valve time? (I recall it was supposed to be released in Feb 2011, anyway)[/QUOTE] It was initially announced to be released in Christmas. It was later postponed to 2011.

[QUOTE=arienh4;24843616]It was initially announced to be released in Christmas. It was later postponed to 2011.[/QUOTE] That's... What I meant?

[QUOTE=esalaka;24844449]That's... What I meant?[/QUOTE] "Was supposed to" means the initial release date.

[QUOTE=robowurmz;24819612]"That doesn't look hard to make in my spare time." If you think you can make Earthbound in your spare time, maybe you should contact Valve and get a job as Lead Programmer on all their projects.[/QUOTE] Sorry to stride in all over your snarky comments, but top down 2D games are actually pretty simple to make, at least in a technical sense, and at least to the point where comparing them to multimillion dollar, high-end, extremely well-polished and optimized 3D First-Person-Shooter projects is kind of ridiculous. Also, to the OP, I would recommend to learn XNA and C#.net, as its a pretty simplified library made for hobbyists really, yet still gives you a pretty good technical understanding of everything that goes on in game making.

[QUOTE=a203xi;24846906]Sorry to stride in all over your snarky comments, but top down 2D games are actually pretty simple to make, at least in a technical sense, and at least to the point where comparing them to multimillion dollar, high-end, extremely well-polished and optimized 3D First-Person-Shooter projects is kind of ridiculous. Also, to the OP, I would recommend to learn XNA and C#.net, as its a pretty simplified library made for hobbyists really, yet still gives you a pretty good technical understanding of everything that goes on in game making.[/QUOTE] C#.NET? Anyway, what you said doesn't invalidate his point. It's not something you can do in your spare time with no programming experience whatsoever.

Well, if you spend around 6 months learning C# in your spare time (with a book or whatever you like), you can make a game like Earthbound in less than a year. Getting the sprites and all would take more time than programming the game.