Hi,
i mean what are the Minimum Requirements for a Game Developer?
And what all stuffs to do and not to do for making a successful game?
Any ideas?
… You mean what to do to meet to make a successful game, correct? I’ve never made a commercially successful game (but I’ve never put my games out there before, either). To me, a game has to be commercial-feeling; professional, as well as incredibly fun. Most games aren’t either of those, but the best ones are fun as well as professional. For a game to be professional, go for the same feel throughout the game in terms of texturing, modeling, etc.
Usually, games stay in a self-made comfort zone - most times, they stay a certain type of game. However, blending game genres (if done well) can help to make the game feel unique. For example, how would you classify Challenger for the NES? At first you’re running on a train throwing knives at birds, and the next level you’re walking around top-down style trying to escape a weird landscape. It wasn’t an exceptional game, but it left a memory for me because it was so weird for blending those styles. A similarly hard to classify title was Dick Tracy (also NES). You would drive around the town to certain buildings (top-down), and then go inside to traverse the building (side-scrolling).
A game can be wonky and crazy, but even crazy games like Katamari Damacy have consistent art, gameplay, music, and style (it doesn’t suddenly change from cartoon-ish to realistic sometimes, UNLESS that’s a gimmick for the game, which, if done well, could be an effective gimmick).
For a game to be fun, you could:
a) improve on other games, like Mario, Sonic, Metroid, Cave Story, Halo, etc. (but don’t think that you will make a better game quicker than the game developers, though), or
b) come up with a unique idea for a game (which is EXTREMELY hard to do, as every idea has already been thought up and made into a game), and improve that idea to be fun.
Even the best idea for a game can be an utter failure because it just isn’t fun. Conversely, other game ideas, like Shadow of the Colossus, which didn’t have a major storyline or even a major gameplay structure (it just had you run around attacking the 11 or so bosses; no shops or NPCs to talk to), proved to be extremely entertaining, and a success. It gave you the feeling that you were playing Shadow of the Colossus, not just a copy of another more popular game. I suppose in the end, the game needs to feel unique.
Whoever develops a game = game developer ;). There is no strict definition
This depends on what you mean with “successful”
I know this answers are not really helpful, but these are very very general questions. There are no concrete answers. All you can get are opinions.
@Joeman16
Great Descripton there.
so there must be a balance btw game play and performance and good looking right?
Also a good storyline is essential too.
Cloning other games is a good idea,coz it gives you the inspiration.Is there any legal issues regarding this?
Doe it really need 2 or 3 years for developing a successful game?
@Monster
Thanks for the comments.
No, games can be made as quickly as you can put them out - if you decide to make 1 level with 3 enemies, maybe it’ll take a few days, but if you want a huge open-world type game with multiple missions and cinematics, then it’ll take longer. I wouldn’t really clone other games, but you can take the favorite portions of your games and put them into another mold to make something new.
Doe it really need 2 or 3 years for developing a successful game?
Depending on the game you are developing, a successful game can take 2-3 years to be done by the big companies.
Your game could take from 0 to infinity, it only depends, when you will decide, that it’s ready.
Play lots of games, look at what parts you like and what parts you don’t. Read lots of gaming mags/internet sites to see what reviewers and other users like in games. While it’s quite subjective, there will be some consensus on things that do work and things that don’t.
As Joeman16 pointed out, coming up with new ideas is not easy, and good ideas don’t always translate well. But one thing I’ve found really helpful is carrying a notebook everywhere so I can jote down any idea no matter how rubbish before I forget it - even a bad idea might inspire a good one! Also expose yourself to as much inspiring media as possible. I’m currently in the early stages of designing a SciFi game, to aid me I spend a lot of time watching SciFi movies, reading SciFi books, browsing google images and playing SciFi games.
It’s good to think outside the box, and games that are a little different tend to standout more than a run-of-the-mill FPS. But move to far away from the box and you’ll leave your audience behind. Shadow of the Colossus does a lot of things very different to many games, but it works because at it’s heart is a familiar action game mechanism of puzzle solving obsticles (they just happen to the bosses in this game) and hitting things with a sword. Deus Ex mixed RPG elements with a twisting storyline and gave the player freedom to play the game in their own way, but at the core it’s still a solid and simple FPS. You can add as many complexities, twists and variations to a game, but if the fundamental concepts aren’t well designed then the game wont be good. Image playing Shadow of the Colossus but for the basic action-game genre mechanisms (camera, jumping, climbing etc.) the designer decided to complicate them needing lots of buttons to climb and whole strings of combo moves for attacking.
Also there are plenty of articles on game design dotted around the net that can give good pointers and things to consider. But ultimately I think the only way to become a good game designer and make successful games is to make games. Make lots of simple/fun games to practice the basics of game design. Doesn’t really matter if they’re good/bad, successful/unsuccessful at least this way you’re getting first hand experience of what does or doesn’t work in a game.
With regards to development time, this article might be of interest:
EDIT: I just remembered an old link that illustrates my above point about keeping the core game play mechanics simple when designing games.
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/design/features/evolution/default.asp