New here! Asking for tips as a future game developer

[yz.en_]

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting a discussion here at F95. I've been lurking a lot here for the past years and have came to realize that I have passion for creating stories and visuals as an artist.

I want to create a game of my own too. But I don't know where to start. I have a big project planned in mind and I plan to dedicate years into developing it and sharing it with you all.

Now to the main question...

As game developers, where do you guys get your renders in 3DCG characters and animation?

Is there anything you can tell me that will help me start on with this long journey?


(Cute Jill pic for attention)

 

[Icarus Media]

Now to the main question...

As game developers, where do you guys get your renders in 3DCG characters and animation?

Is there anything you can tell me that will help me start on with this long journey?

You can use DAZ Studio, you can use Honey Select 1 or 2, you could use Koikatu, you could learn to draw yourself, you could pay and artist or get them on board with the promise of shared patreon money, you could use TK17, you could use Virt-a-mate, you could use AI generated art, you could use Blender. Lots of options for you.

 

[Icarus Media]

Tagging some devs for you as well:

recreation WhitePhantom noping123 PTGames Rafster MoonBox

 

[yz.en_]

Oh wow, that was quick. Yeah I draw art too, I'm just not confident enough with it yet.

But yeah thanks! These are a lot of options to pick from. I appreciate it! I'll make sure to check them all out and see what would work for me.

 

[Atemsiel]

Generally for 3d, there are 3 main sources. There's Daz3D, which I know almost nothing about, other than it has the potential to create the best graphics of the 3 I'm talking about, and also that it needs a pretty decent PC (I think)

There's illusion games, which are usually either Honey select (1 or 2), or there's koikatsu, which is where you see almost all the 3d anime looking games coming from. These are both fairly easy to use in comparison to Daz, and don't require nearly as much of a beefy computer. The tradeoff is that some people will outright ignore games made this way, because they don't like the look, or for reasons I guess you'd have to ask those people about.

Then there's virt-a-mate. I don't really know anything about it, but I've seen some games made using it. Generally though, you'll find most 3d games are made with one of the first 2 I mentioned.

Before you decide what you're gonna use for the visuals, decide what kind of game it's gonna be. A VN? Linear? Sandbox? Decide that, and find the best engine for it. Since you said you like to tell stories, and you don't mention gameplay as such, I'll assume you'll be leaning towards making a straight forward VN, with maybe some branching, so you'll probably be using Ren'Py.

If you haven't already, lookup some tutorials for it (Assuming I was right). It's seriously easy to use, and you can learn most of what you'll need to know in like an hour. After that you'll find that you just get better at it as you use it, but for the sake of actually getting started, just learn what you need to know, and then actually having the project underway will give you the motivation to learn more stuff, as you lookup how to do specific things for what you're trying to do.

Once you've worked those bits out, just start I guess. You don't have to release whatever you make, so just start making something, and when you're happy enough with it to release it, then do so, and keep on going.

 

[Rafster]

As game developers, where do you guys get your renders in 3DCG characters and animation?

Is there anything you can tell me that will help me start on with this long journey?

Icarus Media covered it all. Daz 3D is the most famous choice here, along with Ren'py. I wish I could help, but my game is a text based sandbox, made in twine with real porn, so I don't have experience with renders.

My second game though, will be another twine sandbox, but with sims 4 characters. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Icarus Media]

Blender -

You must be registered to see the links

DazStudio -

You must be registered to see the links

Honey Select 2 - https://f95zone.to/threads/honey-select-2-dx-r10-illusion.53457/
Koikatu - https://f95zone.to/threads/koikatu-repack-rx15-illusion.14554/
TK17 - https://f95zone.to/threads/the-klub-17-hook5-v7-5-15-tk17-pervokptr.7322/
Virt-A-Mate - https://f95zone.to/threads/virt-a-mate-v1-20-77-9-meshed-vr.6881/

 

[Nagozo]

Oh wow, that was quick. Yeah I draw art too, I'm just not confident enough with it yet.
View attachment 2191132
But yeah thanks! These are a lot of options to pick from. I appreciate it! I'll make sure to check them all out and see what would work for me.

This is just my opinion as a 2D enjoyer but if your art looks like that you might as well just start making 2D games and save yourself the trouble of learning to create 3D art. Pretty sure you're already a cut above average. Just manage your ambitions -- spending years on your first game might prove difficult. Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy the process.

 

[yz.en_]

Generally for 3d, there are 3 main sources. There's Daz3D, which I know almost nothing about, other than it has the potential to create the best graphics of the 3 I'm talking about, and also that it needs a pretty decent PC (I think)

There's illusion games, which are usually either Honey select (1 or 2), or there's koikatsu, which is where you see almost all the 3d anime looking games coming from. These are both fairly easy to use in comparison to Daz, and don't require nearly as much of a beefy computer. The tradeoff is that some people will outright ignore games made this way, because they don't like the look, or for reasons I guess you'd have to ask those people about.

Then there's virt-a-mate. I don't really know anything about it, but I've seen some games made using it. Generally though, you'll find most 3d games are made with one of the first 2 I mentioned.

Before you decide what you're gonna use for the visuals, decide what kind of game it's gonna be. A VN? Linear? Sandbox? Decide that, and find the best engine for it. Since you said you like to tell stories, and you don't mention gameplay as such, I'll assume you'll be leaning towards making a straight forward VN, with maybe some branching, so you'll probably be using Ren'Py.

If you haven't already, lookup some tutorials for it (Assuming I was right). It's seriously easy to use, and you can learn most of what you'll need to know in like an hour. After that you'll find that you just get better at it as you use it, but for the sake of actually getting started, just learn what you need to know, and then actually having the project underway will give you the motivation to learn more stuff, as you lookup how to do specific things for what you're trying to do.

Once you've worked those bits out, just start I guess. You don't have to release whatever you make, so just start making something, and when you're happy enough with it to release it, then do so, and keep on going.

This is very insightful. Thanks!

Ehh.. well the gameplay... You might laugh at me for this but I actually wanna create an open world porn game . I know myself that I'm quite ambitious but it would still be interesting to see. That'll be my magnum opus in this community. But for the time being, I'll learn the basics and create what would help me learn and improve on in here with reviews, advice, and criticisms.

I already have a few stories laid out for that game, and I plan to develop it for years until I create something that will surely give me the satisfaction I'm looking for. I know it will be hard to work on it alone as an indie developer, I'm not exactly good at asking people for help.

 

[quetzalman]

I already have a few stories laid out for that game, and I plan to develop it for years until I create something that will surely give me the satisfaction I'm looking for. I know it will be hard to work on it alone as an indie developer, I'm not exactly good at asking people for help.

It would be a big mistake not to ask for help. That was my first mistake. Good luck to you.

 

[yz.en_]

Blender -

You must be registered to see the links

DazStudio -

You must be registered to see the links

Honey Select 2 - https://f95zone.to/threads/honey-select-2-dx-r10-illusion.53457/
Koikatu - https://f95zone.to/threads/koikatu-repack-rx15-illusion.14554/
TK17 - https://f95zone.to/threads/the-klub-17-hook5-v7-5-15-tk17-pervokptr.7322/
Virt-A-Mate - https://f95zone.to/threads/virt-a-mate-v1-20-77-9-meshed-vr.6881/

Wow! Many thanks!

 

[yz.en_]

This is just my opinion as a 2D enjoyer but if your art looks like that you might as well just start making 2D games and save yourself the trouble of learning to create 3D art. Pretty sure you're already a cut above average. Just manage your ambitions -- spending years on your first game might prove difficult. Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy the process.

Well thank you, I appreciate your comment. I guess what puts me down is that I dont really have a following/community of my own or a group of people that see value in my art, I feel pretty mediocre rn which is why I'm trying to study more on my artstyle before I put out something there. But still, thanks! I do enjoy putting quality works out there so I'm sure it will pay off

 

[Atemsiel]

This is very insightful. Thanks!

Ehh.. well the gameplay... You might laugh at me for this but I actually wanna create an open world porn game . I know myself that I'm quite ambitious but it would still be interesting to see. That'll be my magnum opus in this community. But for the time being, I'll learn the basics and create what would help me learn and improve on in here with reviews, advice, and criticisms.

I already have a few stories laid out for that game, and I plan to develop it for years until I create something that will surely give me the satisfaction I'm looking for. I know it will be hard to work on it alone as an indie developer, I'm not exactly good at asking people for help.

I wish you good luck, just be sure not to be overly ambitious and risk burning yourself out early. If you're looking at doing open world, I can't really offer any advice since I have no experience in open world stuff, but renpy probably isn't the right engine for that sort of thing. RPG maker could work, but I've never used that before.

You could "kinda" do it with renpy, as like a really broad sandbox, but it will be a lot of work. Do you have any examples of games with gameplay you'd want to emulate? (Like, open world can mean a lot of different things. We talking like witcher 3 open world, or just a game where you can press the "Go to library" button and stuff happens in the library depending on when you go there?)

Final thing, you mention developing it for years until you're happy with it. I don't know your exact plans, but if you're planning to eventually sell it as a finished product, be sure to familiarise yourself early on with the policies of the platforms you'd be selling on, to avoid issues later. For example, I'm pretty sure steam just outright refuses any games which have both a school setting, and sexual content. That's just an example, but it's something to think about.

 

[yz.en_]

I wish you good luck, just be sure not to be overly ambitious and risk burning yourself out early. If you're looking at doing open world, I can't really offer any advice since I have no experience in open world stuff, but renpy probably isn't the right engine for that sort of thing. RPG maker could work, but I've never used that before.

You could "kinda" do it with renpy, as like a really broad sandbox, but it will be a lot of work. Do you have any examples of games with gameplay you'd want to emulate? (Like, open world can mean a lot of different things. We talking like witcher 3 open world, or just a game where you can press the "Go to library" button and stuff happens in the library depending on when you go there?)

Final thing, you mention developing it for years until you're happy with it. I don't know your exact plans, but if you're planning to eventually sell it as a finished product, be sure to familiarise yourself early on with the policies of the platforms you'd be selling on, to avoid issues later. For example, I'm pretty sure steam just outright refuses any games which have both a school setting, and sexual content. That's just an example, but it's something to think about.

Hmm.. Yeah, I should take platforms to account. I suppose if it's a huge project then working alone on it would be really rough but I'm still just a college student rn. Maybe I'll find a team that will help me build the game in the future.

My plan.. Well I plan to make an open world game with a storyline that would revolve around a detective solving crimes around the city while meeting various women, enemies, a lot of crazy stuff really. I want it to be adventurous and rewarding.

I'm also inspired by the latest games this year. So in my head, the game would somewhat be like a 3rd person open world crime solving game filled with lots of lore within and ofcourse a lot of H content lol.

But yeah before I get to that, I might as well just create something I could possibly do for the time being.

 

[Icarus Media]

Keep in mind that whatever software you use to create your CG's you will also have to use and engine, which will require learning at least the basics of a coding language as well. Renpy is based on Python with some additional commands and syntax, RPGmaker I believe is Javascript, Unity is C#. There is a LOT of skills that are required in development, you don't have to become a master of them, only be willing to learn and keep persevering.

Not to dishearten you but to use an analogy:

How many people on this site could cook a burger better than Mcdonalds?
Now how many can build a better business system?

One can be good at coding, or drawing, or 3d modelling or one skill, that's focussing on the burger.
But you need a modicum of each to build the game, that's the business system.

Mcdonalds is the real estate they put the restaurant, it's the marketing, it's the logistics, it's the farming contracts, it's the staff hiring, motivating and retention, it's the ordering and stocktaking, it's the finances, it's the food idea creators etc etc. sure you don't have to learn each, but you should know a little of each at first. You can be the best on the grill but that's only part of the equation with then trying to open a franchise of your own. Same with game development.

As long as you're willing to learn, keep at it and keep going. And don't forget, most of us devs don't bite so don't hesitate to ask questions. We won't say it's absolutely amazing but neither will we say it's crap either, we're generally firm but fair in what we do and whats required.

 

[Rafster]

I know myself that I'm quite ambitious

Be careful with your ambitions. I started just like you, even worse, the games I use as reference ARE Twine sandboxes, and I thought, hey, I can do mine as well.

Turns out, even with a programming background as mine, with an easy entry software like Twine, is quite an enormous task. It took me 1.5 years to do something that could finally be called game, and even after that, my game only have 4 locations (I'm adding a fifth on the next update). If you go the open-world/sandbox/free roam route, be prepared to program, HARD.

Take your time. If you want, make a new thread on the Programming, development & art section of the forum to see if you get players that test your betas, and improve it over time until you have something that can be published. You can gain a following even before you publish your game here.

Many devs go directly and publish their 0.01 versions right away, and improve the game with the feedback after that. but I don't recommend it, I started with a dev thread here (and also I had a discord server with other gay devs as myself, where I published the betas. that was lucky) and published many versions of the game following their feedback, until I was confident enough to have the official release rolling, along with the patreon. You only have ONE chance to get a good impression on the players, don't rush it. If you publish a barely playable game, with a patreon right off the bat, it won't net you too many subs. Happens a lot with Twine and VNs on Ren'py.

There is a bad side though, sometimes players want to upload the games before its time... sigh, I don't have an answer to that.

 

[yz.en_]

Keep in mind that whatever software you use to create your CG's you will also have to use and engine, which will require learning at least the basics of a coding language as well. Renpy is based on Python with some additional commands and syntax, RPGmaker I believe is Javascript, Unity is C#. There is a LOT of skills that are required in development, you don't have to become a master of them, only be willing to learn and keep persevering.

Not to dishearten you but to use an analogy:

How many people on this site could cook a burger better than Mcdonalds?
Now how many can build a better business system?

One can be good at coding, or drawing, or 3d modelling or one skill, that's focussing on the burger.
But you need a modicum of each to build the game, that's the business system.

Mcdonalds is the real estate they put the restaurant, it's the marketing, it's the logistics, it's the farming contracts, it's the staff hiring, motivating and retention, it's the ordering and stocktaking, it's the finances, it's the food idea creators etc etc. sure you don't have to learn each, but you should know a little of each at first. You can be the best on the grill but that's only part of the equation with then trying to open a franchise of your own. Same with game development.

As long as you're willing to learn, keep at it and keep going. And don't forget, most of us devs don't bite so don't hesitate to ask questions. We won't say it's absolutely amazing but neither will we say it's crap either, we're generally firm but fair in what we do and whats required.

Alright I'll be sure to keep this in mind! Yeah, it'll be a long shot before I'm able to develop a product that I'd be proud of but I plan to start small, learning the basics, and build my way up from there like other developers did. Luckily, I know a bit of programming since the university I'm studying at offers a 4 year course for 2d and 3d animation as well as game development all in one lol. But yeah I definitely need to get better at it. I hate programming :v

But yeah, it's nice to get to know the ropes if I wanna develop games of my own. Thank you for your time! At least I know where to start now.

 

[Atemsiel]

Hmm.. Yeah, I should take platforms to account. I suppose if it's a huge project then working alone on it would be really rough but I'm still just a college student rn. Maybe I'll find a team that will help me build the game in the future.

My plan.. Well I plan to make an open world game with a storyline that would revolve around a detective solving crimes around the city while meeting various women, enemies, a lot of crazy stuff really. I want it to be adventurous and rewarding.

I'm also inspired by the latest games this year. So in my head, the game would somewhat be like a 3rd person open world crime solving game filled with lots of lore within and ofcourse a lot of H content lol.

But yeah before I get to that, I might as well just create something I could possibly do for the time being.

Yeah I'd say for now, dial back your scope a little bit, at least until you're out of college. It sounds like your plan isn't so much to make a porn game (Which is kinda what we do here xD), but instead to make a game, which happens to have porn in it (presumably).

At that point you'd be needing actual coding skills, and you'd have to be well versed in what I'll call an "actual" game engine, like unity, or unreal. You may have these, I don't know. Not to discourage of course, but first projects of that kind of scope just don't really end up happening. (Think like those kickstarter projects you see that promise the world, but then never end up delivering.)

For now, if you want to tell your stories, pick up one of the the 3d softwares that Icarus linked, and maybe make a short visual novel of one of the many stories you want to include in your open world game. If nothing else, this will help you to get into the rhythm of creating, and gives you exposure to visual storytelling.

I'd definitely suggest against throwing your all into an open world game while in college though. I'm doing a basic visual novel with branching, and even being able to work on this for 10 hours a day wouldn't give me enough time to get things done at the rate I want. An open world game is gonna be that x100 I suspect.

As the others have said though, (most of us) don't bite, so never be afraid to ask these questions.

(I think the others have basically already said most of this, but yeah. Good luck on whatever form your project ends up taking.)

 

[yz.en_]

Be careful with your ambitions. I started just like you, even worse, the games I use as reference ARE Twine sandboxes, and I thought, hey, I can do mine as well.

Turns out, even with a programming background as mine, with an easy entry software like Twine, is quite an enormous task. It took me 1.5 years to do something that could finally be called game, and even after that, my game only have 4 locations (I'm adding a fifth on the next update). If you go the open-world/sandbox/free roam route, be prepared to program, HARD.

Take your time. If you want, make a new thread on the Programming, development & art section of the forum to see if you get players that test your betas, and improve it over time until you have something that can be published. You can gain a following even before you publish your game here.

Many devs go directly and publish their 0.01 versions right away, and improve the game with the feedback after that. but I don't recommend it, I started with a dev thread here (and also I had a discord server with other gay devs as myself, where I published the betas. that was lucky) and published many versions of the game following their feedback, until I was confident enough to have the official release rolling, along with the patreon. You only have ONE chance to get a good impression on the players, don't rush it. If you publish a barely playable game, with a patreon right off the bat, it won't net you too many subs. Happens a lot with Twine and VNs on Ren'py.

There is a bad side though, sometimes players want to upload the games before its time... sigh, I don't have an answer to that.

Oof now this is intimidating, well I understand, you gave me a good heads up on what's to come pursuing this career but I'll still push it. Thank you for your response!

I'll be sure to keep this in mind as well in my notes when the time comes. I wish you best on the game you're developing!

What do you mean by players wanting to upload the games before its time though?

 

[Rafster]

What do you mean by players wanting to upload the games before its time though?

The uploaders here may be anyone, as long as they have a working copy of your game, it's just a minority of games that have the devs managing their threads. Sometimes players rush and upload here unfinished betas of a game, when the dev is not confident enough to launch it. It's rare, but it happens.