/crickets/
Did you guys lose interest already?
Sorry bro, I was writing a sizeable reply but I am on mobile and it was a pain. Planned to replay propely on laptop later but forgot. Insha Allah I will get back to you this evening.
I am thinking our options are Casual, Arcade or Puzzle.
Each is built around simple mechanics and Insha Allah achiveable in our timeframe.
I used to write a few simple games when I was younger and I would guage the success of my projects by the number of man hours spent developing it vs the number of hours spent playing. With regards to this we should develop something that the MG users are intrested in playing, so maybe something that can have a compeditive aspect to it, perhaps some multiplayer integration like a scoreboard (simple) or netcode for live multiplayer (probbably too ambitious).
I love Abrars idea for an Islamic FF style RPG. Im not sure if it is possible for a 1 month project.
Anyway, I am in favor of arcade games. I have wanted to make a Twin-stick shooter (top down) for some time. It can start as about a simple mechanic as you can make (Move the circle, throw smaller circles at larger circles) then branch off as either single player with basic AI or multiplayer with netcode.
In terms of coding, I am most intrested in Game-engines + mechanics, so I am happy working on a puzzle game as that sounds intresting to develop from a engine perspective. Same goes with the Visual novel idea I mentioned earlier.
The theme can come into things once we have an entertaining mechanic, but we should be able to figure out how to Islamisize almost anything. We can start a discussion about that after we pass the first stage of development.
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I had a long chat with @abrarsyed on this (Iâm on Google Chat during working hours if you guys want to talk). He was actually joking about an Islamic RPG. But he should have known better than to joke about that with someone who spent 2+ years using RPG Maker 
Both of us agree that an Islamic FF-style RPG would be really awesome. And itâs doable with RPG Maker. But for a first project, not a good idea.
Iâm prorposing month-long prototypes with you guys. Make it fast and cheap, and either polish + launch it (if itâs good) or dump it if itâs bad.
TLDR: Iâm willing to embark on this epic quest with you guys to build an awesome RPG, if I see two things.
1. New Team Risk
We need to get good at working together. It takes time. If we can do that over 2-3 monthly projects, weâve proven we can collaborate. Letâs start small first.
2. Commitment Risk
RPGs are no small feat. If you can commit to âIâm serious about this for one year,â I will do it. One year is a long time, and things happen. IMO people are two types: those who have excuses and back out, and those who have excuses and push through regardless. Which are you?
In Conclusion
@Wulf please throw your hat into the ring. Youâre my go-to person when it comes to taming RPG Maker (mashaAllah tabarakallah)
Itâd be pretty cool to join a larger team! Can I decide after Ramadan?
If we go the RPG Maker route, is there actually much coding involved? I am primary concerned with what transferable skills I can develop in these projects.
Efficient memory/processor use, complex but reliable mechanics, data structure handling and all that stuff would be big ticks for me.
At the risk of envoking feature creep this early in the process, can we go the Final Fantasy tactics route with a Strategy RPG?
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If youâre taking the non-RPGMaker route, I would definitely want to join. But first, I really want to see this forum off the ground.
Ashes, I think it was you who introduced me to LibGDX. Itâs a really nice framework.
@Severok, I guarantee you wonât be bored if you take a non-RPGMaker path; thereâs plenty to learn in terms of algorithms, high-level efficiency, and software architecture.
RPGMaker is not that exciting from a programmerâs perspective.
Taking a quick glance at libGDX, I have never tried Java before, but I am willing to learn
@Severok your interests are mostly low-level. I canât guarantee any of them (except maybe interesting algorithms). I can say, in general, game development forced me to learn:
- Depth-first and breadth-first search, flood-fill algorithms
- Constrained random, procedurally-generated everything
- Performance testing: profiling, fixing
- Data structures
- Lots and lots of programming languages and platforms: C#, Java, Ruby, Python, Windows, Linux, Android
I would suggest: try it one month and see if you like it.
@Wulf sure, decide after Ramadan.
One thing that I think youâre wrong about: RPG Maker is very code-heavy. I spent two years making it sing and dance in all kinds of interesting (halal dance yaâne) ways, such as:
- Procedurally generating dungeons at runtime
- Creating NPCs with a random face, name, graphic, etc.
- Linking dynamically-created events to code (eg.
x = Npc.new; x.speak) - Getting away from binary file formats and using text (JSON) for all data and data types
- Custom everything (eg. weapon skills that affect damage in battle)
Also, I should clarify one thing: if we use RPG Maker, thatâs for the early (first couple of months / prototyping) phases of the project. If it really takes off, we will scrap it and write Our Own Thing.
Yeah, I understood the idea was to get the team synchronized first w/ RPG Maker.
And yeah, it is pretty code heavy when you want to make it different from all other rpgmaker games; however, what I meant by ânot so exciting,â is the fact that you have to first understand a code base before you can really dig in.
Perhaps itâs me â Iâve always found RGSS very unwelcoming, and have had better experience elsewhere.
I think itâs possible to pull off 1-month products without RPG Maker.
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Nah itâs not you @Wulf, their API, frankly, sucks.
All: I started an independent thread to develop and keep track of ideas. Please drop some âlikesâ over there so we can get started.
Also, we wonât start with RPG Maker. Letâs start with something easier. @Severok I need your arcade/puzzle ideas!!!
Abrar and I started chatting about different options as far as development tools and programming languages. Hereâs a âshort listâ so far â let me know what else youâd like to consider. I will shortly inshaAllah open a poll and we can vote on what we want to do.
We would like that whatever you choose:
- Is easy to set up
- Can be developed on Windows or Linux
- Generates either web output (Javascript or Flash) or desktop (Windows and Linux binaries)
List of Tools
- MonoGame (C#) â runs well on Linux, one code base gets you Windows + Linux + Mac
- Unreal Engine (C++)
- Unity (C# and/or Javascript)
- PyGame (Python)
- CraftyJS or some other JS thing (CoffeeScript/Javascript)
- LibGDX (Java or Ruby)
- HaxeFlixel (Haxe)
C# gives me the most terrible flashbacks to my undergrad thesis project.
I love Python for messing around.
I am mostly experienced in C, but enjoy C++ on occasion.
I am up for learning Java if wulf is favoring libGDX
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Thanks Severok 
However, I vote on unreal engine. But our first project has to be dead simple 
Something you could finish in three days if you knew the ins and outs of the engine
That sounds like a job for Python.
I once wrote a simple graphics engine that rendered spinning 3D wireframe shapes at different positions distances and rotations.
Took me all of one afternoon.
Not a game, but if any language can produce something in 3 days I would have to say Python.
As long as I have a 1-click build toolchain, I am happy. One thing I really hate is a complex build setup, and a multi-click build process. Building should be completely automated⌠Setting up the IDE though can take some work, thats fine.
I think that rules out a few options⌠I just dont know what they are⌠Im cool with python honestly⌠but its one of the languages where I have yet to learn the âwayâ of⌠I know the âwayâ for C++, java, Js, PHP, and groovy⌠but python yet eludes meâŚ
I donât think you understood me Sev, I meant we should do a project in unreal engine that is on a smaller scale; such that if one knew the ins/outs of the engine, they could finish said project in 3 days. (that is, if UE4 is chosenâŚ)
But yeah, python is pretty handy for fast development!
Abrar, LibGDX uses gradle 
Anyway, IDK if I should be contributing to this discussion⌠Iâm still unsure of how things will be after Ramadan.
My bad Wulf.
I thought you were advocating the Unreal engine for a later project once we have the process down and are ready for more ambitious games.
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I would avoid Unreal Engine like the plague. C++ code can be notoriously difficult to understand. Compiler and linker errors can drive you to the edge of insanity if youâre not really reallly really good at deciphering them. All this, to me, translates to working at a slower pace.
It sounds like Python is Teh Peoplez Choice â easy enough to set up and make builds for. As long as we can build PyGame and get Linux and Windows, we should be good.
BTW I agree with Abrar about dead-simple builds. I also (perhaps forcefully) advocate that game data should be as editable as possible. If Saif or BloodMoney canât open up a text editor, change a few variables, and maybe drop new images/audio and run the game, then weâve failed to support them sufficiently as team members.
It must be that easy.
Does anyone have time to put together a quick âHello Worldâ PyGame project and see how much work it is to compile and build for Linux and Windows?
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