Hey all…so I read the stickied thread about how RPG’s are NOT good types of games to start on…and let me explain that when I say starting on something, I mean that I am a complete NOOB when it comes to all this stuff.
I go to college for screenwriting…NOT for code writing or anything else related to computers.
However, I’m very determined to make an RPG. I’ve already written like 300 pages of the story…it’s going to be mainly story driven, meaning that the graphics and gameplay don’t need to be top notch (in fact I’m expecting the graphics, at least, to probably suck :P).
Anyways, I’m wondering if there are any highly detailed step-by-step tutorials available for how to create a basic RPG world in Blender? I’ve been using Unity’s free version but it seems like Blender might be a bit better…although I’m not entirely sure.
Well, thanks for the help! I know that some of you might warn me against starting with an RPG but to be completely honest, this isn’t something that I’m even thinking of making a profit off of–this is just something that I’m doing for fun on my own spare time…so why would I make a game that I don’t enjoy making at all if I’m doing this “for fun” in my own free time?
Unity is a bit more beginner friendly, although from what I’ve seen, its only for asset placement - you cannot actually create anything from scratch.
That being said, there is no detailed step-by-step RPG tutorial, but if you did want to do it in blender, I would suggest you look around on the net for tutorials on how to model a character, rig him for animation, animate him, and making a very simple scene to test him out. Finding out how to move him around in the 3d space isn’t hard with Blender’s Logic Bricks, but if you want to go into more detail than that, you will have to learn Python Scripting. Both of these will require some tutorials for the beginner. I would suggest using Blender 2.49b since it’s more documented and follow some tutorials on Blender’s main site. Once you get a feel for the interface and workflow, it could be possible. But a successful RPG project is difficult for even some of the most experienced Blender users. So maybe doing this in your “free time” may not be a good idea, as creating a game based on 300 pages of story is nearly impossible, even for the pros. I would suggest you start more simply and maybe evolve it into something more complex like this.
Hope my advice didn’t discourage you, but game development isn’t an easy task and should by no means be underestimated.
Good Luck, feel free to shout if you need any advice.
-The Red Hand
You look dedicated to the project so I will try to help you.
Most people will say that you can’t make a RPG because it takes a lot of code and modeling. I think that you should start by collecting some art on the internet, showing the type of graphics you want. Try finding some videos of gameplay from other games showing some sample gameplay capabilities you want to have. Then make a thread in Team Projects and post everything you have found, coders, modelers and others will surely want to help you. You can not make a RPG by your self, but if you have good predevelopment planing people will always help you.
But although a team would help, it’s generally far more work organizing them and motivating them than it needs to be. Like Josip said, predevelopment planning is essential. You have a nice story, but finding gameplay elements that you’d like to mock would also be a step in the right direction. Doing this will help you if you’re looking for a team or not.
You can indeed make an RPG by yourself - it’s just a matter of being patient and working on it for a long time. It may not be easy, but if you just take your time with it, you can finish it.
Wow, thanks for all the speedy replies guys and girls!
@ TheRedHand, thanks for the warning about Unity…I’ve been spending a bit of time on there now–if it only does what you say then I’m very glad I didn’t waste any more time on it, haha.
Yeah, I’m not entirely sure what kind of gameplay elements I’d like. I’m figuring for the gameplay, at least, something more like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion…I find a lot of games where you just auto attack and press buttons to do moves boring…so something where every click means a stroke of sword/burst of magic would be nice.
Graphics are definitely going to be my weakness. I can learn coding and whatnot if I try hard enough, but I’ve got no artistic vision and way too shaky of a mouse-hand to make appealing graphics. So I’m either going to need to find a way to make graphics a lot easier, find pre-made players and animals and whatnot and then modify them slightly to fit my needs, or find someone else to do all the graphic work.
Out of curiosity, where would I find tutorials like the ones that The Red Hand mentioned?
Also, is there a good free site for the types of graphics and art and whatnot that Josip mentioned?
On this page there are 3 tutorials for getting a character going in the game engine. I haven’t looked at them myself, but I have seen many great tutorials on blendercookie to know they are probably not bad:
Also, I recommend 2.5 instead of 2.49. It has some nice improvements, and many of the 2.49 tutorials will still be valid for it.
You will be spending a lot of time trying to find art resources, so you may want to see if you can get someone to help you with that.
And most importantly, be patient and keep at it. RPGs take some time.
