I was wondering what advice/guidance that the Basilisk Wrangler might have for people interested in creating their own game. I realize this is sort of a pie-in-the-sky kind of dream for a lot of us, but at the same time I would be keenly interested in any kind of information he might want to dispense. As for myself, I studied programming in school and so have some background in the field. Through osmosis I have picked up on the basic idea that a lot of games are created using a game engine or some such thing. Although I have a vague idea of the process, I would be really interested in any kind of specific info about how one might go about orienting oneself in this field. I'd be really interested to hear how the Wrangler and the people at Basilisk Games went from having a dream to making it a reality? I realize for people doing this work for a living that likely it probably all seems completely obvious, or at least, the knowledge that seems so foggy for a lot of us is just something you take for granted (I work with enough techies to know that it is rare for IT people to stop and remember that other people sometimes just don't know what they know, myself included...) You guys present such an approachable aspect to the community here in the forums that I thought I'd go ahead and bring this up. So, generally or specifically: how did you grow your knowledge and get to the point where you were able to create your own game? Or, less generally and less specifically: how does one go from being a complete noob at game design to becoming a first lvl game designer 1AB?

Salutations,
Scales

Your question is not a simple one to answer, mostly because you are asking a lot of complicated small questions wrapped up in one big question. I am going to focus on one sentence:


Practice. Start by making a simple pong game. Then add some features to it, such as a menu screen and game options. Then make something more complicated, like a Bejeweled or Tetris clone. Then try to make a small adventure game. When you think you are getting good at making games, post a download link on a game developers forum and have some people play your games...if you survive the harsh criticism, use that pain to make your games better.

Only after you make several small games from start to finish will you understand how to make a big game. Seriously, this is the best way to learn. School can help, books can too. But hours spent at the computer making your own games, and examining other people's code, will be where you get your greatest knowledge from.

There is a larger question in there that you are asking, and that is "how do I break into the gaming industry?" My answer is still the same: practice making games, all kinds of games, until you understand the process. When you finally make a game that is worth selling, just contact a few distributors and let them see what you've made. Send review copies to gaming magazines and websites. A good game will generally sell itself.

Thanks, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer what was such an open ended question. I'm really looking forward to playing Book 2 when it's ready. Thanks for your efforts! Book 1 was a lot of fun as well!

Do you happen to have a recommendation for a game engine that would be well suited for beginners? And, would it be alright to ask what game engine you used to create Book 1 & 2?

At any rate, thanks again, and can't wait for Book 2!

i don't know about ur first question but i can tell you what engine were the games made with (it's a custom engine called Blitzmax)
i hope i did u any good

Actually, it's not an engine; but a coding tool to write programs.

oh im sorry for my mistake

Well, to be even more specific, it's a programming language that is dedicated to making games.

So basilisk, I think you should post that game you put up for criticism.