Need some engine advice on my diablo clone?

[mavox]

So my game is in the early stages of development, its a mix of castlevania SOTN and diablo, basically overhead, low polys, and coop. The overall visual fidelity is not my biggest concern, gameplay is.

Now what engine would render me the smoothest development and cost efficent from what I just described? Opinions? I've got one programmer and an artist on board and I'd like more, but we just coming out of the completed storyline/concept stage, working on some modeling etc.

Thanks ahead of time.

[roswell1329]

The answer to your question will be dependent on the capabilities of your volunteers. You will want to pick a platform that matches their strengths. For example, if your artist prefers working with 3DS Max, you'll probably want to find an engine that works best or natively with .3ds models. If the engine you select cannot accept the format natively, you will want to see if any converters are available.

The same holds true for your programmer. You'll want to pick an engine written in the language he is most proficient in. There are game engines out there for a number of different languages. The most popular are probably C/C++, but there are engines for Java, Basic, C#, Python, and ActionScript to name a few.

Here's a list of engines you can pick from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_game_engines

I also like to plug the DarkBASIC Professional and DarkGDK development platforms for people new to game development. I've found these tools to be very helpful for small and independent developers that are just starting game development or doing so as a hobby, although you can definitely sell your creations under the engine's license. These platforms simplify many of the functions available for DirectX and make them easily accessible and usable. DarkBASIC Professional is obviously Basic language, but the DarkGDK is all C++.

Hope this helps. Good luck to you and your team!

[mavox]

very helpful thanks