4 ms·

This is like those learn how to draw tutorials with the owl…

by reactordev 1y ago

SrslyJosh 1y ago
"Game development", "javascript", and "no experience" is quite the combination.
- protocolture 1y ago
  seems like no experience explains the earlier 2
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- chrisco255 1y ago
  If you have little experience programming, JS/TS is arguably one of the best choices for making a game. You have a built-in rendering engine in the form of the browser and it's universally accessible by nearly any device. There's no permission needed for distribution: just create a web page with a live demo and share the link. It's a great way to learn about game loops, pathfinding algos, state management, physics and world building and there's tons of free tools. A couple of my undergrad projects were JS games and they were very fun to work on. Clearly not the right choice for AAA game dev or a full length indie game, but definitely solid choice for learning.
  - __loam 1y ago
    For the record, Godot has a pretty permissive license and can export to the web. It also has JS/TS bindings iirc. Definitely worth a look if you're interested in getting deeper.
    - Benjamin_Dobell 1y ago
      I've been working on improving Godot's TypeScript development experience: https://breaka.club/blog/godots-most-powerful-scripting-language https://breaka.club/blog/godots-most-powerful-scripting-lang... I've got a HEAP of stuff I still need to upstream https://github.com/godotjs/GodotJS/compare/main...Benjamin-Dobell:GodotJS:main https://github.com/godotjs/GodotJS/compare/main...Benjamin-D...
minimaxir 1y ago
There are very few game development tutorials which aren't how-to-draw-an-owl and I'm not fully sure why.
- jamesgeck0 1y ago
  The Broughlike tutorial is pretty decent. It targets a very specific genre, but it does explain every step and you have a serviceable game at the end. https://nluqo.github.io/broughlike-tutorial/ https://nluqo.github.io/broughlike-tutorial/
- whartung 1y ago
  Because most game tutorials are about moving things around, maybe sounds, maybe collision detection. And the actual mechanics of, notably, a 2D engine, are reasonably straightforward. But going from moving stuff around to “game” is a lot of work. A lot of polish, testing, feel, balance, etc. Now, to be fair, a full tutorial of something like Breakout or Space Invaders doesn’t seem like too much to ask, since they’re so simple. But then it depends on what kind of games folks want to write. Something like a simple RPG or platformer can be complete black holes.
abetusk 1y ago
For me, the "owl" was all the polish and game feel. "The art of screenshake" by Jan Nijman of Vlambeer [0] was what helped fill in the steps to "making the owl". I think most people with reasonable know-how can make a basic game, whether it's asteroids, flappy bird, breakout, etc. For me, I never understood how to get past the "finished the tutorial" to "looks like an actual game". Screenshake, aka game feel/polish/production effects, was what made it gel. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdEqssNZ-U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdEqssNZ-U
- socalgal2 1y ago
  The video that inspired that one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy0aCDmgnxg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy0aCDmgnxg
  - abetusk 1y ago
    I've seen it. For some reason, the Vlambeer one really hit home for me, whereas that one fell flat. It's not that they're saying fundamentally different things, it's that the Vlambeer one shows it better.

This is like those learn how to draw tutorials with the owl…

SrslyJosh 1y ago

"Game development", "javascript", and "no experience" is quite the combination.

protocolture 1y ago
seems like no experience explains the earlier 2
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
chrisco255 1y ago
If you have little experience programming, JS/TS is arguably one of the best choices for making a game. You have a built-in rendering engine in the form of the browser and it's universally accessible by nearly any device. There's no permission needed for distribution: just create a web page with a live demo and share the link. It's a great way to learn about game loops, pathfinding algos, state management, physics and world building and there's tons of free tools. A couple of my undergrad projects were JS games and they were very fun to work on. Clearly not the right choice for AAA game dev or a full length indie game, but definitely solid choice for learning.
- __loam 1y ago
  For the record, Godot has a pretty permissive license and can export to the web. It also has JS/TS bindings iirc. Definitely worth a look if you're interested in getting deeper.
  - Benjamin_Dobell 1y ago
    I've been working on improving Godot's TypeScript development experience: https://breaka.club/blog/godots-most-powerful-scripting-language https://breaka.club/blog/godots-most-powerful-scripting-lang... I've got a HEAP of stuff I still need to upstream https://github.com/godotjs/GodotJS/compare/main...Benjamin-Dobell:GodotJS:main https://github.com/godotjs/GodotJS/compare/main...Benjamin-D...

minimaxir 1y ago

There are very few game development tutorials which aren't how-to-draw-an-owl and I'm not fully sure why.

jamesgeck0 1y ago
The Broughlike tutorial is pretty decent. It targets a very specific genre, but it does explain every step and you have a serviceable game at the end. https://nluqo.github.io/broughlike-tutorial/ https://nluqo.github.io/broughlike-tutorial/
whartung 1y ago
Because most game tutorials are about moving things around, maybe sounds, maybe collision detection. And the actual mechanics of, notably, a 2D engine, are reasonably straightforward. But going from moving stuff around to “game” is a lot of work. A lot of polish, testing, feel, balance, etc. Now, to be fair, a full tutorial of something like Breakout or Space Invaders doesn’t seem like too much to ask, since they’re so simple. But then it depends on what kind of games folks want to write. Something like a simple RPG or platformer can be complete black holes.

abetusk 1y ago

For me, the "owl" was all the polish and game feel. "The art of screenshake" by Jan Nijman of Vlambeer [0] was what helped fill in the steps to "making the owl". I think most people with reasonable know-how can make a basic game, whether it's asteroids, flappy bird, breakout, etc. For me, I never understood how to get past the "finished the tutorial" to "looks like an actual game". Screenshake, aka game feel/polish/production effects, was what made it gel. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdEqssNZ-U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdEqssNZ-U

socalgal2 1y ago
The video that inspired that one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy0aCDmgnxg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy0aCDmgnxg
- abetusk 1y ago
  I've seen it. For some reason, the Vlambeer one really hit home for me, whereas that one fell flat. It's not that they're saying fundamentally different things, it's that the Vlambeer one shows it better.