Werewolf game... The preproduction thread

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Post by Morkulv »

Ofcourse, any support is good, but having a few new models and a engine isn't even close to a complete game...
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Post by deruty »

Yeah I sorta just disappeared for awhile didn't I? I haven't really done much since my brief "vacation". I've been going through a heck of a problem working out sound. Its been bit by bit until I hit a solid brick wall. I've emailed the original developers on the syntax for manually fixing this but they're all ignoring me :( .

I'm going to abandon sound in hopes to getting a response later. I'll be working on global geometry and physics now.
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Post by Kaebora »

I finished modeling a werewolf and am in the process of texturing it. It will be rigged for animation by the end of the week if I hustle, however, I'm not revealing anything until I have it properly tested for movement and facial animations. I suppose I can pose it fighting the ninja for kicks.
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Post by Morkulv »

*bump*

Anyone remember this thread? :D
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Post by Shadow Wulf »

Now why did you have to do a thing like that, Morkulv? :roflmao:
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Post by Morkulv »

Because from the beginning when I saw this thread, I wondered how much time was gonna be spend in it and how far it would come. And seeing it became dead I thought it would be at least funny to look back at some of the ideas that were posted here.
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Post by Kaebora »

Basically, all our lives are too busy to ever do a project like the one mentioned. There are better forums out there for game development on a volunteer basis.
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Post by Morkulv »

I know.
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Post by Anubis »

oh gawd!

My mod thread,

When I started this topic a long time ago, i didn't fully realize the sheer abitiousness of the project.

I started to read up on tutorials and stuff and messing around with the unreal engine's level editor. I was kinda glad that this thread did die after seeing what goes into making a computer game.

It takes a large team of trained professionals two to three years to make a game and we were a bunch of guys who didn't knew what they were doing!

However it doesn't mean i gave up on it. as we speak i'm working of a type of game play prototype (the coding for it is a b****!!) and working on the game's bible.

You know to help me get some grants for school and help me get my foot in the door of a developer to get a job wise.
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Post by takyoji »

Gah, I wish I could notice topics a little earlier. Otherwise, I would be glad to help. I understand how to dev in C#, as I've messed around with it a little before. I'm payed to develop software in PHP, since that's what's needed, otherwise I'd probably be playing with C# a little more. Otherwise a friend of mine who avidly develops in C# wants me to write an open-source game engine with him that's build upon the OpenGL framework within the summer time. So I could see that my friend would potentially also be willing to participate.

Otherwise, I'm curious. What rendering framework are you planning on using? DirectX with the XNA framework or the OpenGL framework? XNA is convenient since you can have it operate on a PC, and then it can be ported to an Xbox 360. However you need to buy a commercial license if you ever plan to sell it. Then there's also the option of OpenGL, which is free for any purpose, and of which can operate on Windows, Mac, and potentially Linux. However I'm not directly aware about portability to game consoles. I've heard it's actually also a lot easier to develop for OpenGL.

Overall, I can't exactly predict my future. I'm not sure if I'm going to be very busy this summer, or if I'll have free time.

On a side-note: I still do think it is possible to actually develop a decent game. Obviously probably not the most amazing game imaginable, but still possible. I am also a rather busy individual, however I can still manage to work on a program for an hour each day at least. We'd simply just need to plot it all out at first, and work from there instead of just running off and making various things for a game yet not having a detailed explanation of each thing needed for it.

Secondly, it would be rather wise if someone started a private Subversion repository that we could all commit to. Since just having each separate developer work on their own little chunck of code and emailing it to each other obviously isn't going to make the workflow quick.
Last edited by takyoji on Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Shadow Wulf »

Haha, I think we lost all hope on this, Anubis was suppose to be the leader of the whole project, I was suppose to be the concept artist, and Kaebora was suppose to be the CG designer, and I dont think we ever had a coder or anyone with knowledge of C++.
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Post by takyoji »

You don't need somebody to know C++ if the development is going to be in C#. :P (Since it was stated that a developer that understands C# was needed initially. And yes, I understand C#).
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Post by Shadow Wulf »

Oh right, I forgot. Sorry I didn't even bother to read the original post that Anubis made. So you want to do C#, and you are willing to do it all by yourself? Kaebora is apperantly busy with college (and SL,) so I doubt he'll be able to model anything. Anubis is barely on or active. It would seem like you and I are the only ones who will be able to devote to this.
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Post by takyoji »

Basically the construction of it will go like this:
  • We mutually agree on how the game will be laid out as of the plot, synopsis, etc.
  • The general game engine is made
  • Once the game engine is made, a beta realm is designed which calls for very basic mock-up models (nothing special)
  • The game engine is slowly worked on some more
  • Once the game engine is near completion, levels are then designed. (Character models are designed independently of the production, as the mock-up models will still be used)
  • Then when the levels are all nice and spiffy, the actual character models are needed.
  • Voice acting is worked on and the storyline of the game is actually implemented.
  • Final creative touches and critiques are implemented
  • Then it's optimized
After that, it's done. It basically starts out with the code development and uses basic models for testing and such. Then when everything is done with the engine, the creative and artistic touches are made, and it's done. Also, yes, music would be mandatory. I'm certain we could fetch someone that's talented in digital audio composure (I'd love to start that as hobby, but I don't have the software, nor guidance).

My simple view on the project is: nothing has to be rushed. It's not like we have to work on it 24/7. Also, if you're freaked out about how many people are involved in game development, just don't be. It's actually best to have a middle-sized group and not like 100 people all slaving over creating a game engine, which would be terribly terribly ineffecient. You can usually pull of the programming with around 1-10 people. All the rest are writers, concept artists, sound effects folks, music, voice actors, marketing specialists, and so on. You can easily get by with a small group. Think of it like this: Freeborn isn't being produced by a group of like 200 people, it's being done by a much much smaller group. The rest is pretty much extra modelers and more specifically folks working in the marketing and literature realm of it.

But anyway. As I said, there's no rush, it can simply be an anytime project. I've got work myself, but I'll occasionally play around by writing some of it in my free time.
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Post by Shadow Wulf »

Now comes your main enemy: Time. As in how long will it take? How much time will you have? how long will it be until you loose interests? Ive seen mods not getting done simply for this reason. You could be working on this for a couple of years, will you be able to devote to it as much? If you can get your friend into this project then that would be great. You said you still need to learn more, it would be much quicker if you knew it well so right there you will need to take the time to learn. Normally when a team comes together to make a game or mod they already know enough of their role to do the job.
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Post by Anubis »

We need to start small

key word: SMALL

no matter how much we like the big games we play like halo. such games are not fesible on this kind of man power and vertually no budget since this is all on a volunteer basis.

I think we nedd to go 90s and make a side scroller action game with animated sprites rather than full 3D models with 3D enviroments.

sothing simple will be the best thing for us.
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Post by ravaged_warrior »

Anubis has the right idea. A full 2D game is entirely possible to make on a forum. There was a game called I'm O.K. (made to mock Jack Thompson's ridiculous proposal a while back) which was made entirely on forum contributions.
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Post by Berserker »

Shouldn't a 3D game using an existing game engine be even easier than 2D? Like the Source or CryEngine? Most of the resources are already available. Modders do these kinds of projects all the time.

My idea for a plotline? Straight up, semi-linear, 3rd person action ala Max Payne or Splinter Cell. Plot: You are a werewolf whose pack is found out by the government. They capture you and some of your packmates, and take you to a secret testing facility. In the depths of the facility, somehow you manage to escape... now you have to stealth-kill-run your way out of the compound, rescue your packmates, and eventually fight your way to the top of a major conspiracy to uncover werewolf society.
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Post by takyoji »

2D barely takes anytime. You simply need the sprites. Then collision detection is barely anything. 3D takes a little more time since you have to deal with 3-dimensional mathematics. Otherwise 2d and 3d game engines are pretty much the same as of how they operate. But I'd lean a whole lot more towards doing a 3d game. I've looked through current open-source game engines and I'm thinking that it will be written along side with either OGRE or Irrlicht. If we were to use the Source engine, then EVERYONE would have to have ownership of at least one game that uses the Source engine (I don't either, since I'm console gamer, not PC gamer) in order to play the game otherwise it wouldn't be able to run (from what I know).

If we get a few more people interested and focused into this project, then we could have a separate board for debating over each aspect of the game to take in ideas.
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Post by Ceekur »

2-D would probably be a good place to start for our first werewolf game. Going right to 3-D would probably be a bit of a jump for a first group effort, since it would require a lot more work instead of just general side-scrolling simplicity. And a mod of an existing commercial game would mean that any Pack member wanting to play it or work on it would need to have the game, and not everyone plays the same FPS and the like.

A good platform to start on could be AGS or Adventure Game Studio. Think back to the point-and-click adventure games of the 90s... They were simple in design and yet endless clever in their puzzles and story. It's completely free and doesn't require much programming knowledge. It is however very customizible and can create highly imaginative worlds if the creator wishes to.

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/
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Post by LycanCaly »

I'm going into computer animation in college. I'd love to pitch in, I'm taking pre-requisite classes this fall and into next year, but by next fall, I'll be starting on my major...but my helping depends on how long it's going to take on starting this thing. I won't be ready until maybe a couple years from now. You don't really get into the main animation until junior/Senior year. :cry: Plus, students get major discounts on the new technology :cafinated:
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Post by LunarCarnivore »

i'm techno-tarded but if you need a plot i'm your guy! whoever's working on this, just pm me what kind of game yer looking for, and i can ghost-write it bit by bit. Happy to help!
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