The goal is to make a 2d-side scroller. I don’t mind if 3d objects are used, especially for the background, but it needs to have 2D scalable vector sprites. On top of that, I’m not satisfied with Flash games, as I haven’t found a single one that even has one level that can hold a candle to my old favorite console 2d Side scrollers.
I’m currently learning C++, but I basically possess no programming knowledge. I’m just trying to work towards a goal. The games I want to make will basically be casual games, but I essentially want them to look like BlazBlue (though probably not nearly as detailed, for practicality’s sake).
That’s it in a nutshell. I want to take the most efficient path for this, without sacrificing quality. It seems like I should just continue learning C++ and eventually OpenVG. If I knew what tools were used to make BlazBlue, that’d probably help.
Well your in luck! Unity doesn’t have much scripting compared to a lot of programs. But still learn C++ HELPS SO MUCH. And i’m not sure exactly what your looking for in Unity, but if you want to see some cool 2D stuff it’s done try googling Pirates vs Ninjas game or ZombieVille USA or find it in the Unity Gallery. I hope that answered some questions
Unity is definitely a real 3D engine, unless you start working with tools like SpriteManager (found in the Asset Store). Of course I don’t know what it is -exactly- that you’re going for, but saying a program doesn’t suit your needs just because you haven’t seen someone use it in the way you want to (in your example: Flash) doesn’t make much sense. Just because someone hasn’t made a full 3D MMO using HTML5 in Dreamweaver yet doesn’t mean the program’s not suited for the job. Being innovative and using the tool in new and creative ways is entirely up to you! =)
As for the programming part: While C++ is a great language to master, it’s not an easy language to learn, especially if you’re new to programming. It’s also not used in either one of the engines you mentioned (Flash and Unity). I’d suggest starting with an easier language to get a feel for programming first, such as perhaps JavaScript (either pure or UnityScript). Don’t feel discouraged though; either way it’s perfectly possible to learn how to program!
I think the best advice I can give you is to try and make a Proof of Concept in whichever program you like, just to see if what you want is possible. Worst case scenario would be that you learned something and got some experience.
Thanks for the responses. Being the aspiring but currently-clueless programmer I am, I am glad to get some helpful feedback.
I checked out Pirates vs Ninjas and Zombieville USA here in the gallery. I also checked out another more 2d-oriented game made in unity, not just 2d in gameplay, but in artistic style.
What Blazblue did was basically what Flash does, only more refined, and not browser-based. Basically, I want 2d graphics that don’t suffer from pixelation at higher resolution (like scalable vector graphics/.svg etc). If SpriteManager can do this, I would be more than happy to purchase and utilize it.
I don’t have a smart phone, but I might have to get one, just to experience the casual game market for myself. Maybe JavaScript or UnityScript is indeed the programming language I should be learning right now.
I’m all for making things easier for me. I don’t want to re-invent the wheel, but I also don’t want to take short-cuts that will leave me with a bunch of bloated code and bugs I can’t fix myself (like “I Want to Be the Guy”).
I am after the Proof of Concept. If I could make just a couple of screens of the type of 2d game I’m after, not even a full level, I’ll be happy. I’m just trying to find the right path to set foot on. In my search, a lot of GameDev material out there leads to C++, which is why I’m learning it (though I still feel rather blind).
Neither Unity alone nor Unity + Spritemanager will allow you to have scalable vector graphics like Flash. You would have to reimplement vector data rasterization either with a scripting language (C#, JS or Boo) which would be quite inefficient and probably end up with worst performances than Flash or write a native code plugin of your own which (no offence meant) seems way out of your league.
Starting game development from scratch with C++ is the most hardcore way you can imagine. If you wan’t to make games and 2D games specifically I would recommend a thousand times to start with Flash. You say Flash games don’t meet your expectations, but maybe you haven’t seen the right games. There’s thousands and thousands of Flash game out there and most of them are… well, barely ok. That doesn’t mean the tool is bad. Making decent Flash games will make you a step closer to what you really want. But the limitations of the Flash platform is also a very good way of forcing you to go one step at a time and not imagine you can even prototype a AAA game (like Blazblue) which you most probably can’t.
I imagine a lot of people here could recommend other tools to make 2D games maybe more adapted to your needs.
No offense taken. I appreciate your informative post.
Sounds like I should re-consider learning Flash.
There’s a lot of crappy flash things out there, but with the posts here regarding Flash, not just in this thread, I’m starting to feel like a retard for brushing it off. :o
I knew this would be a humbling thread if it got responses.
I feel better about considering Flash now. I may even abandon my C++ studies to look more into it. No regrets though. I favor the design potential of svg so much that it’s probably worth it. Even if I just end up using the flash platform as a functional storyboard.
There’s still a pretty good handful of games out there, many of which I’m possibly unaware of, that are using these high definition vector graphics, without flash. Like some Backbone entertainment games (HD Remix), Castle Crashers (I think), etc, so perhaps I got a little over-inspired.
Flash is a joke (profit wise). Either way, if you still insist on developing on it, unity will be soon compatible with Flash too. It will be able to compile games for flash using Molehill that is, and coding can be done using Action Script
I think that an awful lot more of people are living of Flash development thant Unity development just by the simple fact that a lot more people are using Flash. Now I agree, Flash game development is not the most profitable market you’ll ever find but the guy is learning from nothing… I don’t think you can expect him to make money before a year or two, if he’s good at it. You don’t turn into a professional game developer in a week.
Using Molehill or even Molehill through Unity will change pretty much nothing apart from the ability to cache vector graphics into bitmap textures. It won’t make it easier for him to learn game development, far from it. Moreover Molehill is no magic layer over Flash which make anything in Flash hardware accelerated. You can’t hardware accelerate everything that Flash is doing with as few restrictions as Flash is enforcing on its users.
Flash games are typically free games found on portals. You either earn money by ads or sponsorship and to earn money you have to be good at it. There are a few example of commercial games done in Flash and sold as such (Machinarium, Dofus…). But don’t believe because you use Unity3D you’ll make money. People spend money on good games, not amateurish experiments. And it takes months if not years to learn the trade whatever the engine, whatever the tools.
Thank you. I’ve already got the mindset that this could take me years to make anything worth mentioning. I’m not really setting out to make the most profitable game, but I do think money helps to motivate me. I’m not going to get ahead of myself too much, in that regard.
Thanks for name dropping those two Flash games. Machinarium looks absolutely gorgeous. I’ve wanted to see Flash at its best, and that’s a great example. The other game also looks good but I’m not into MMOs.
In any case, that’s inspirational. It’s nice to see what Flash is capable of at the highest level.
If you go the Flash route you should use ActionScript 3.0 (as opposed to 2.0), which is Object-Oriented and very similar to other languages, so your skills will be quite transferable.
The FlexSDK (which allows you to build flash apps) is free and you can use code-editors like FlashDevelop to make coding a lot easier. I can’t recommend you actually purchase the Flash IDE because it’s pretty terrible for doing anything, especially game programming. I never was able to get FlashDevelop to display debugging information though… but that could just be my problem. I had to use the actual Flash IDE to debug.
Not exactly. I was learning making games by following very basic tutorials for recreating Arcade games, such as breakout or Asteroids. This was back when I was considering Torque Game Bullder. However they got out of business and I switched to Unity (they are back again, BTW. But I think I’ll stay with Unity).
The point is, start small. Learn from tutorials and you will be able to replicate basic Arcade games within a week or two. Then you can start making your dream game. Maybe I’m not the right person to talk about these things, since I havn’t yet published anything yet, but my 2D platfromer is making steady progress (I have a job and studies, so I can’t devote full time to the roject) and is already well playable. Sure, the graphics consist of blocks and there are no backgrounds, but it is playable and gameplay is pretty smooth.
Just make something simple, make it a prototype, then you can show it to other people and maybe they can join you.
No regrets though. I favor the design potential of svg so much that it’s probably worth it. Even if I just end up using the flash platform as a functional storyboard.