How To Make An Rpg For N00bs

[Glaiel-Gamer]

1. Read AS MAIN http://www.newground..229808&page=9999
AT LEAST all of the beginner and intermediate topics. And if you dont get them, read them again. Read them all twice.
NOTE! This might take more than a few days

2. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
Suggested order of making games:
a. Simple Dodge Game
b. Simple maze game
c. Pac Man game
d. An arcade game
e. A platformer game
f. A space shooter game
NOTE! This could take anywhere from 2 months - 2 years

3. Research more advanced AS topics. http://www.google.com is your friend. Look up stuff on AS. Practice practice practice.

4. MAKE SURE YOU ARE EXTREMELY FAMILIAR WITH THE FOLLOWING AS TOPICS:
Arrays
Variables
Functions
Shared Objects
If's, While's, For's
Clip Events
And everything in the beginner-intermediate topics of AS: MAIN

5. Now it's time to make your RPG. With your newfounded AS abilities you should be able to figure most of the stuff out. Remember, if your having trouble, visit the NG flash forum for help. But be specific and post the code you already have! Nobody will just write you an engine.
NOTE! Making an RPG could take months. If you dont feel like putting in the time, GIVE UP.

Summarized for the n00bs who dont want to read it all:
Learn AS
Spend TIME on it
Done expect someone else to do it for you.

[XwaynecoltX]

You could add that searching the many tutorials here on newgrounds could help, aswell as some of the basic tuts that are in flash, and then the tutorial sites such as flashkit....

but yes practice makes perfect....

~X~

[caseyo]

At 9/27/05 07:56 PM, Glaiel_Gamer wrote:

2. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
Suggested order of making games:
a. Simple Dodge Game
b. Simple maze game
c. Pac Man game
d. An arcade game
e. A platformer game
f. A space shooter game
NOTE! This could take anywhere from 2 months - 2 years

Thanks, I always attempt horribly large projects with no AS backround, this should help. Also if any other avid "ASer" wants to add or switch the order to how they did it, that could also be helpfull.

[Glaiel-Gamer]

At 9/27/05 08:00 PM, XwaynecoltX wrote: You could add that searching the many tutorials here on newgrounds could help, aswell as some of the basic tuts that are in flash, and then the tutorial sites such as flashkit....

but yes practice makes perfect....

~X~

yea prqactice does make perfect

I've been doing flash for i think 3-4 years and I'm finally deciding to make an RPG. Lol even thinking about the massive amounts of code that will have to go into it makes my brain itch.

[Glaiel-Gamer]

At 9/27/05 08:01 PM, ElectricFreak wrote:

At 9/27/05 07:56 PM, Glaiel_Gamer wrote:

2. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
Suggested order of making games:
a. Simple Dodge Game
b. Simple maze game
c. Pac Man game
d. An arcade game
e. A platformer game
f. A space shooter game
NOTE! This could take anywhere from 2 months - 2 years

Thanks, I always attempt horribly large projects with no AS backround, this should help. Also if any other avid "ASer" wants to add or switch the order to how they did it, that could also be helpfull.

thats not quite the order I did it, but looking back I think that is a more efficient way of doing it.

I think I did:
Pigeon Pooper (a button game pretty much, see it at my site)
A space shooting game (VERY simple. 1 on 1 life based battle, extremely cruddy and simple)
Then kinda shot up to more complicated stuff pretty quickly. Almost exponentially. My skills increased more in the last 8 months than they did in 3-4 years.

[SpamBurger]

I know this is off topic but I just wanna see how good I am. Ok, Ive been ASing for 5 months, and am able to do a lot except for extremly good physics seen in magnetism, loading external data from pages, not to good with API but know the basics, something else I just had in my mind but I forgot it. I can do a lot of other things and if age matters, (which I dont think it does) Ill just say Im not old enough to be on newgrounds. ;-)
So, am I average, below average, or above average?

[Glaiel-Gamer]

At 9/27/05 08:11 PM, SpamBurger wrote: I know this is off topic but I just wanna see how good I am. Ok, Ive been ASing for 5 months, and am blah blah

Well, from what I've seen from you, I'd say average. But, since your only like 12 and pretty much started at an earlier age (i think) than me, you'll be pretty good in a few years.

[SaintShun]

all i wanted to know

im an AS n00b

[BleeBlap]

I copy and pastzord u code but it no work :( cause them errers

**Error** Scene=Scene 1, layer=Layer 1, frame=1:Line 1: Syntax error.
1. Read AS MAIN http://www.newground..229808&page=9999

Total ActionScript Errors: 1 Reported Errors: 1

[Glaiel-Gamer]

At 9/27/05 09:22 PM, BleeBlap wrote: **Error** Scene=Scene 1, layer=Layer 1, frame=1:Line 1: Syntax error.
1. Read AS MAIN http://www.newground..229808&page=9999

Total ActionScript Errors: 1 Reported Errors: 1

Lol, see even the error message tells you to read it.

its funny cause that is the message you get with the c&p

[Cojones893]

I've been asing for about 2 1/2 years. I really started getting good when I was taking all my programming classes in college. They taught me all the stuff needed to make stuff run smoothly which is really important when you are dealing with an already power-lacking flash game. If there is one thing I would push on people it would be LOOPs are your friend. Once I mastered Arrays anything was possible. I recently started a game for GoG and I deleted everything I had done already so I could switch to a much easier Array formatted game.

[Glaiel-Gamer]

At 9/27/05 09:41 PM, Cojones893 wrote: I've been asing for about 2 1/2 years. I really started getting good when I was taking all my programming classes in college. They taught me all the stuff needed to make stuff run smoothly which is really important when you are dealing with an already power-lacking flash game. If there is one thing I would push on people it would be LOOPs are your friend. Once I mastered Arrays anything was possible. I recently started a game for GoG and I deleted everything I had done already so I could switch to a much easier Array formatted game.

Congrats on 1000 posts

Well, i started getting good once I hit NG. I dont know what it was, but wanting to get a good score on NG made me work much much harder. Now, I hate it when I'm halfway through making a game, and then learn something new (like mastering arrays), but I dont want to drop the project so I continue working on it with an old way.

Ugg........ the 2 greatest things I learned after the basics were 1. FUNCTIONS 2.Arrays

[Inglor]

I want to make an RPG, but I want to make it for normal people, n00bs playing my games isn't all that attractive, all I have to do is show some hentai...

[Frogcloset]

dont forget flashkit.com
plenty of stuff there

[Mogly]

that was rather patronizing to us non ASers. i don't really find it helpful to read through something like this, when the authors giving hints im an idiot for not knowing AS. still helpful still so thanks

[spawn28]

well i haven't AS'ed for long, but i understand what type of code would go into it, and i know i could make one, but the thing is, i dont have time to make one right now, or i just dont want to spend as much time as it takes to make one, doing all the graphics, AS....

[T-H]

This will stick around for 2 maybe 3 days, then dissapear never to be seen by the eyes of these n00bs you speak of again.

Just leave it so we can all boost our posts by telling them every time they ask.

[liaaaam]

At 9/28/05 03:37 PM, T-H wrote: This will stick around for 2 maybe 3 days, then dissapear never to be seen by the eyes of these n00bs you speak of again.

Or Denvish could add it to the useful links bit on AS:Main next time he updates =P

[bigexplosions]

The much much easier way to make a game is to steal one.

[Glaiel-Gamer]

At 9/28/05 03:37 PM, T-H wrote: This will stick around for 2 maybe 3 days, then dissapear never to be seen by the eyes of these n00bs you speak of again.

Just leave it so we can all boost our posts by telling them every time they ask.

Ya, that was the point. Re-direct n00bs here every time they ask.

[Error101]

good job telling noobs what to make first and how to get better
they should find this useful
goodjob

[teath123]

nice might try out a flash game

[T-H]

At 9/28/05 03:38 PM, Glaiel_Gamer wrote: Ya, that was the point. Re-direct n00bs here every time they ask.

You and liam got points, but I really enjoy lolling at them and telling them "good luck with your rpg" with a nasty little grin.

Anyway i'll bookmark for future reference.

[Newsdee]

I've actually gone backwards... :-)
1) Memory Game
2) Breakout Game
3) Puzzle Game (not completed)
4) Pacman Game
5) Emulator
6) Crappy sig game

I do have a couple of other things but they are not at the "game" level yet.
I mostly focus on building an engine rather than content first, then add content when it's ready.

To the list of useful concepts, I would add:
Switch Case
Tree Structures
Sort algorithms
Methods for code profiling
Clear commenting of code
UML and design patterns (for OOP)

It helps to plan things in advance. You can't plan everything but better to hit a brick wall sooner than 3 months into your project.

n00bs should also bear in mind that game programming, although usually fun, can sometimes feel like (omg) work...

[Glaiel-Gamer]

At 9/28/05 07:10 PM, newsdee wrote: Switch Case

Arrays>Switch Case

The only thing I could think of a switch case function would be giving rankings for specific score ranges in a game.

EX:

score = random(10000)
sc = Math.round(score/1000)
switch(sc){
case 1:
rank="suckor"
break;
case2:
//etc

[Cojones893]

Actually I realllllly like the switch case for use in games. AngryBinary showed me an awesome method of using the switch case. It pretty much works like this:

WALKING=1
JUMPING=2
FIGHTING=3

switch (guy_state) //guy state can equal any of the three above
case WALKING:
walking function
case JUMPING:
jumping function
etc...

I love using that because it will never run code when I don't want it to. AB taught me pretty much everything I know about AS.

[Foreverkul]

Ive pretty much self taught myself, I need to learn functions now tho :( and arrays
You always start with silly stuff, usually copy and paste then you mess it up, which is what I did, then I memorized it and it just came from there.

[Starogre]

Ya, all you have to do is read those 50 some pages over a year or so and try out all of them. You'll then be amazing with AS and make a coolio rpg game for all of your noob friends to see. You will then become popular and > inglor. You will rise to victory just because of this thread.

Well, that AS Main thread is very useful, i use it all the time and i hope noobs go and read it and do some work to be good.

[Rustygames]

I dont think AS:Main is suitable for n00bs
I think its better for developing AS and whenever you dont know 1 of those topics you do it
N00bs should use AS:Main as a starting point I think

[stickmoose]

How to mak gam?