So I have this idea for a game I’ve been developing on paper. I’m just not sure where to start.
The idea is basically a “castle defense” or “king of the hill” type of game. The player will control units in a base, be able to purchase new/improved units and place them inside of the base. Enemies will try to break through the defenses to get inside the base and kill the players units. Think of it like a Tower Defense game, only in a centralized base as opposed to a path.
My problem is, I’m not really sure where to start as far as learning is concerned. I’m fairly new to Unity though I do know how to program and model. I’ve gone through a lot of tutorials just to learn how to use Unity, and I’m pretty confident that I can start out on my game idea. I’m looking for a tutorial or any sort of information that could point me in the right direction as far as this idea is concerned. Would it be okay to follow a “Tower Defense” type of tutorial and just modify it for my needs? Or perhaps there a better way. I’ve looked for Castle Defense type of tutorials but can’t seem to find any.
I know this probably seems really vague. I’m having one of those moments where I know what I want to do, but just can’t get the right words out to describe it. If anyone has any ideas, I would be grateful for the input.
Up at the top of the page is a button called Learn. It has all sorts of fabulous tutorials and is a great place to start. There are also some videos of live classes and other things, plus a very extensive manual. Once you know a bit more about Unity, you can ask more specific questions in the appropriate forums…scripting, animation, etc…for your issue.
Welcome and good luck to Unity. Your game sounds like fun, not especially difficult to do, and isn’t too huge or complex for a first game. Good luck to you!
If you’re already familiar with modeling then you can start there and make some models for your game. Having those models available will be a great help when you get into specific tutorials like mecanim and collisions.
The fastest path to excellence is to fail-fast, and often. Many expects argue it’s best to iterate through a series of smaller projects. In the same way that a young artist would finish many smaller works, before attempting the Cistine Chapel.
Thank you all for your input. I agree with you Gigiwoo 100%. Before I even begin to tackle the game idea I have I’m going to try and make a few smaller games just as a learning experience.
The game I was thinking of I believe would be construed as a RTS. The basic gist of it is this. The game is set in the Vietnam war. The player gets control of a fire base and must design it and arm it. Once they are complete the game beings and they must stave off an attack by the NVA. Units can be upgraded with $ won for eliminating the enemy. I “think” the idea is pretty original. I of course could be mistaken and a game like this might already exist. The closest I could find was “Men of War: Vietnam”.
Anyway, again thank you for all of the input. I really appreciate it.
One of my first prototypes was this. The core of the game isn’t that difficult to implement.
I wouldn’t worry about models to start. Build the gameplay with cubes and balls. Get the enemy to walk to the centre of the screen. Get the base to fire out little spheres. Make the enemies take damage and die.
@Kiwasi is right. Creating a prototype is vital. I would expand on this theme and say you need more than 1 prototype. A minimum viable product, then a clone of this, with additional bonus features that you may have thought of.
Ensure that you create all of the features of the game, play it enough times and tweak properties to make the game as fast/challenging as you see fit. Once the games features are created, you can begin replacing cubes and spheres with interesting models/sprites and create an interface. Then the product is well on the way to being completed. There will be a lot more work (animations, audio, lighting, marketing, selling) which I wouldn’t worry about any time soon.
There are also some videos of live classes and other things, plus a very extensive manual. Once you know a bit more about Unity, you can ask more specific questions in the appropriate forums…scripting, animation, etc…for your issue.