New Game Announcement

[PirateTUX]

Hello, all!

I just wanted to announce to everybody who browses the game development section here that I, along with my three brothers, will be endeavoring to develop an MMORPG. I am announcing this, not because I'm looking for recognition, but because I'm hoping that, through our efforts, we might all learn something.

I'm going to be posting my experiences working on the game to my blog here on DaniWeb. You see, I've been reading through the posts on this forum, and it seems that there are quite a few users who are interested in creating one of these games, yet there isn't a whole lot of concrete information on exactly what goes into it. Perhaps I can help to fill an information void, as these games are still fairly new to the computer game scene.

So please check out my blog if you'd like. I'm going to do my best to keep it as up-to-date as possible.

[~s.o.s~]

I don't know what kind of expertise you hold in the programming languages you would be using (C++, Python ?) or in OpenGL or DirectX but still I wish all the best to you.

Hope this project doesn't come out to be only a pipe dream due to lack of time / expertise / domain knowledge.

BTW which API you using to develop the game ? Is it a 2D or 3D game?

[PirateTUX]

Ok... a little bit about my background, and the breakdown of the project, so maybe it'll make a little more sense.

I've been programming for over 20 years. I know that's weird for a 27-year-old to say, but it's true. My dad is a computer geek to the n'th degree, and got me started programming Apple computers at the tender age of 6. I started out in BASIC, and moved to 6502 ASM by the time I was about 10. In high school I did some Fortran and started down the C++ road, and in college it was C++ and Visual Basic. Just recently, I decided to get deep into Linux, so I've been studying up in Linux programming, KDE programming, and the like.

As far as the game project in concerned, I'm definately NOT going it alone. First of all, my experience and knowledge programming C++ under the Windows GUI is very very limited. I've done GUI programming (if you can call it that) under VB, but that's it. I don't know OpenGL at all. That's where the rest of the "team" comes in.

I have three brothers who all have expertise in different, complimentary areas. I will give a breakdown on what each "team" member is going to contribute (for privacy's sake, I will be using their first initials only):

Myself: C++ Linux Server programming, network design and engineering, general server administration

D: His Masters degree in Computer Graphics and Artificial Intelligence, extensive Windows GUI programming and knowledge of OpenGL, Maya, and all things 3D.

B: Growing knowledge of C, C++, and programming in general. Also a solid tester.

J: Mad-crazy artist.

Mostly, we intend to use this project as a learning exercise. I have been studying networking and programming for quite a while, and this would be the ultimate test of D's knowledge of OpenGL. We're not planning on using an off-the-shelf game engine... everything from scratch.

[~s.o.s~]

Wow it sure is a good breakdown.

But still building a game engine from scratch is what bothers me the most and is one of the things which can mar the completion of the project....Good luck to you and your Pirates. :D

[jbennet]

maybe you could use something like VBGORE?

[PirateTUX]

:cheesy: I truly appreciate your suggestions for making the coding process a little bit easier. It's really nice to be a part of an online community that, I feel, truly wants to see it's members succeed at what they set out to do. That's really, really cool. The thing is, though, that this project's point is to be very, very difficult to do.

In the world of jazz music, you can tell what a musician felt he or she needed to work on by the songs that they play. You see, artists would write songs incorporating the various difficult techniques they wanted to work on, so that they were forced to face those technical shortcomings and overcome them. Some of John Coltrane's best work was done this way.

That's sort of how I'm looking at this project. There stands a really good chance that we won't ever complete it, however, in the process, we're going to learn about everything from OpenGL graphics to networking to parallel processing to audio to, well, you get the idea. And if this thing does work, well... that would be incredibly cool, too.

[~s.o.s~]

Ah..I thought you were doing it for money, but if not, then I would recommend you to take the most difficult path and learn the maximum you can. :D

Btw, do keep blogging and if I get time, I would surely read them...;)

[John A]

That's sort of how I'm looking at this project. There stands a really good chance that we won't ever complete it, however, in the process, we're going to learn about everything from OpenGL graphics to networking to parallel processing to audio to, well, you get the idea. And if this thing does work, well... that would be incredibly cool, too.

I agree.

Usually the best time to use a game engine is when you actually are capable of making one, and are using a pre-made one simply due to time constraints. I too have tried making a game engine, but lost interest in OpenGL, so my engine is sitting here on my computer, half-written... Meanwhile I'm working on a project that's so secret I won't even tell you guys until I'm done. :twisted:

But good luck to ya on your project. It's something I've always wanted to do. And from the sounds of it, you guys are quite capable of completing it. Please post on the forums once you've got something worth showing, OK? Otherwise I'll forget to check your blog. ;)

[~s.o.s~]

I too have tried making a game engine, but lost interest in OpenGL, so my engine is sitting here on my computer, half-written... Meanwhile I'm working on a project that's so secret I won't even tell you guys until I'm done. :twisted:

Hey Joey, any specific reason why you dumped the project ?

And btw, mind telling us about your next killer app.. ;)

[John A]

Hey Joey, any specific reason why you dumped the project ?

There were several reasons.

Firstly, in the midst of development, I became extremely busy and couldn't get much coding done. The project sat for quite a while. And you probably know how much harder it is to pick up an old project that's been sitting for weeks and weeks.

Secondly, I was quite undecided about my model loading classes. I was planning to create some sort of .obj loader, but then I had quite a number of texture mapping problems after the model data was loaded, and I got quite frustrated. (I've never really done much "real" model loading; I always created my own custom format when I did little demo games.)

And thirdly, and most importantly, I have never really had much instruction in the way of 3D math and calculus. This was alright when I first started learning the OpenGL API, as it was basically just memorization of the function names. I then began finding it increasingly hard to manipulate the points and matrices in 3D space. I read up on it as much as I could, but I guess online tutorials will only get you so far. And this is probably the biggest reason why I stopped.

I am confident PirateTUX and his brothers can complete this project, mostly because of the knowledge of 3D programming that brother posesses. So again, good luck!

And btw, mind telling us about your next killer app..

My lips are sealed. ;)

[PirateTUX]

Absolutely, we are very fortunate that my brother D has the experience that he does. It's funny, when we were kids, he never showed any interest in programming. Now he's a full-ride Computer Science Masters student studying graphics and artificial intelligence! How things change.

I will definately keep you all posted on what's going on through my blog. Thanks for your support!