Information On Dark.Revenants Career As A Game Maker

[Blazer]

Hey guys,

This is mostly just for Dark.Revenant to reply to but I figured there might be someone out there who is as curious about computer stuff as much as me. Or game making.

So what I wanted to ask is exactly what classes are you taking in college and what is your degree? I have been deciding what major I want to stick with and was wondering if you had any
tips, tricks, information to help me out. I'm not completely tech savvy but I know a little bit about computers.

I mean, I know there is such a thing as "google" but it doesn't have everything and I was wondering if you had anything you wanted to share. Anything from experience or what you have discovered.
If not, you don't have to and can just delete this topic.
Or if you want to but don't want to post anything here in the public you can private message me or email me.

Thanks

[Dark.Revenant]

I am a Computer Engineering major. As far as anything I ever apply to gamemaking, it's 90% self-learned. Being an autodidact is not the most efficient method but it's the one that worked for me.

Make sure you listen to others, though. Even if you learn on your own, incorporate the knowledge and wisdom of everyone, including the masses. The worst pitfall someone in my line of work can fall into is the assumption that his work is good. Never assume your work is good. Assume your work is flawed. And, above all else, show off your work to other people. You will sometimes receive mockery, but usually what you see is valuable criticism that you can take to heart for improving your work. The crux of the matter is that everything you make is flawed, so that it can always become better with more work. (You also stop making money from sequels if you feel you have nothing left to improve.)

My Major gives me knowledge about the underlying stuff, like processor architecture, baseline optimizations, advanced techniques that are nice to know but aren't required, and such. I take Honors courses as well (part of my Minor) which involves a wide variety of topics, such as non-profit organizations, new media, the arts, etc. Little of this is required to be a game developer, but it improves me as a whole.


As for actually making games, you should start with modding. It is relatively easy compared to making a game from scratch and costs little. People are always willing to play mods and your name can get out there for free.

After that, you can do one of a few things:
1. Spend your own money by saving up from a job, and use it to hire people to help you make a game (you WILL need help) and release it.
2. Go with friends who do it with you pro bono. Good luck finding those friends, especially if you are the sort who would read Dark.Revenant's Gamemaking Manual. Also, be prepared to split the profit.
3. Find someone with a lot of money and convince them to invest in your game. Be prepared to work on a time schedule, but you can negotiate the terms. Make sure you don't screw yourself over with a contract you'll regret: get a lawyer to read everything you sign and spend as much time as possible negotiating the terms. Game investors are stingy. Also, be prepared to lose a large portion of the profits. The advantage to this is you can get a MUCH larger budget than you would otherwise have with the first two options.

I'll probably end up doing option 3 because I have nowhere near enough money to fund a commercial game and my college friends are not artists.

[Admiral]

Don't forget Battle Niggers.

[JakebIngram]

Good luck to both of you.(Blazer and DR)
I can't wait to try sigil :P

also, do you ever plan on making mafia independent?

[Lord Snewbie of the Shire]

Don't forget Battle Niggers.

+1

That's DR's best work. It has all been downhill since then.

[Blazer]

Thanks for the response and the information. I greatly appreciate it.
I wish you the best in this career and look forward to testing out your work.
Don't mess sigil up ;)

[Grimrailer]

What is sigil about? I have heard that DR is working on it but can't find a summary.

[Blazer]

https://www.sc2mafia.com/forum/showth...ghlight=blazer

There's some info