Where to start? (Game creation)

[PowerMike]

I have a few experience of coding (c++, html, javascript) and a little experience with unity 3d.
By playing all these nsfw games i wanted to learn how to create a game like this but i dont even know where to start and what tools i am gonna need.
I want to create a game similar to mythic manor (a map with places to visit, vn style dialogues, choises etc).
What engine i need to create a game like this?
How can i create these models, place them in positions etc? (I read an article about a game call honey select but no clue what do with it).
Any quality tutorial for a completely beginers like me?
Thank you so much

 

[Rich]

In terms of game engine, if you're just getting started, Ren'py is probably a good choice. It uses Python under the hood, but you don't really need to know Python, because it uses a synthetic programming language. Given that you have familiarity with C++ and JavaScript, it probably won't be hard for you to learn.

I don't use Honey Select, so I can't help you with that particular avenue. Daz Studio is used to create much of the imagery that is used in the games you see here. It's free, and there are a lot of tutorials for it (Youtube and the like) and the forums at daz3d.com are VERY "new user friendly."

One bit of advice - start out small. Don't try your Grand Vision as your first project. There's a lot of work involved in making a game, and tackling something smaller first will allow you to learn your tools, develop a style, etc., etc.

 

[DarthSeduction]

I have a few experience of coding (c++, html, javascript) and a little experience with unity 3d.
By playing all these nsfw games i wanted to learn how to create a game like this but i dont even know where to start and what tools i am gonna need.
I want to create a game similar to mythic manor (a map with places to visit, vn style dialogues, choises etc).
What engine i need to create a game like this?
How can i create these models, place them in positions etc? (I read an article about a game call honey select but no clue what do with it).
Any quality tutorial for a completely beginers like me?
Thank you so much

I've heard Honey Select is "user friendly" but based on the fact that I've only ever seen good honey select models 3 times in games, I assume its not as friendly as people say. Daz will take a lot of work to learn, but I've seen the wonderful things that artists can do with it. As Rich said, start small. It seems a lot of the artists around will try recreating characters from games they've played. As you slowly get better and better at recreating them, you'll learn to use all the tools necessary.

I can say, even without much coding experience at all, Ren'Py is really easy to pick up. I took a computer science class 12 years ago, that was the extent of my coding knowledge. Never used it again. I'm coding my own game in Ren'Py, and find it fairly simple to learn, though you'll need to know where to look for help, because their tutorials on their site aren't the best.

Use this forum as a resource, there are plenty of helpful members around. AnnO'nymous is usually around and more than helpful when it comes to Ren'py. There are plenty of writers who'd be more than happy to help you develop your writing skills, myself included. And the fanart threads are full of people of varying skill all doing the same as you, learning how to better use Daz.

 

[PowerMike]

Oh, so Ren'py stands for a program. I through all this time that is a developer or something.
I search on youtube and like i see the coding looks "easy" to learn, if you know some basics for coding. The hard part is gonna be the models and characters. I have zero experience with 3d programs, but also like i see there is tons of tutorial on youtube about this program, so i can learn some basics from there.
Its gonna take me months to learn it but i quess the results would be far better than i use honey studio.
Thank you so much both for the answers.
I am pretty sure that i would struggle in something, again, so i will be back (propably soon) with more questions.

 

[DarthSeduction]

Oh, so Ren'py stands for a program. I through all this time that is a developer or something.
I search on youtube and like i see the coding looks "easy" to learn, if you know some basics for coding. The hard part is gonna be the models and characters. I have zero experience with 3d programs, but also like i see there is tons of tutorial on youtube about this program, so i can learn some basics from there.
Its gonna take me months to learn it but i quess the results would be far better than i use honey studio.
Thank you so much both for the answers.
I am pretty sure that i would struggle in something, again, so i will be back (propably soon) with more questions.

No problem, feel free to ask. Someone will always show up to help.

 

[DSSAlex]

I would suggest you start out with Daz Studio and just play around with it, especially posing and lighting. There's a lot of resources available for free to get started.

 

[Rich]

Its gonna take me months to learn it but i quess the results would be far better than i use honey studio.

Yes, it's going to take a while, just like any relatively-complex product. I'm glad you're being realistic in that respect - unfortunately, some people seem to think that you can start producing Pixar-quality renders with an hour or two of work. LOL Not gonna happen in an hour or two, but if you work at it, it'll come.

From the games I've seen that use Honey, yes, you can get more realistic renders out of Daz. If that's what you want, of course - I think there are some people that like the somewhat stylized HS models. That's totally a matter of personal taste.

I am pretty sure that i would struggle in something, again, so i will be back (propably soon) with more questions.

As @darthseduction said, there are a lot of people here who are willing to help. In addition, if the questions are Daz-specific, don't be bashful about asking questions on the daz3d.com forums - the folks there are VERY willing to help new users. (As well as experienced users who've run into something unexpected.) The one criticism I have of Daz Studio is that they don't make any effort to produce good documentation - they seem to rely on their user community more than (IMHO) they should in that respect. It's a good thing they have a good community...

Also, there are quite a few people who have produced fan art here - in the Big Brother and Dating My Daughter forums, just to quote two places. I'm sure that, as you move along, if you contacted people who are doing art you like they would probably be willing to give you tips and tricks.

Best of luck in your endeavors!

 

[Moccasin's Mirror]

It's always hard to start, for that, we study a lot of game development videos on internet, in youtube, also in udemy, there are a lot of free classes, start with that.
Then, comment how you're going!

 

[Rich]

Absolutely. This is one of those things where you can study all the videos you want, but until you dive in and really start work, it's all just theory...

 

[Droid Productions]

I use Honey Select Studio for the models; it's very much DAZ for dummies, and there's potentially IP issues if you're getting big. You can check out the demo here: (download link in description).

Pros:
- The posing aspect is a lot simpler, which means less control but also easier access for non-artists
- The character creator is excellent, though they all end up looking ... japanese. Which is un-surprising, really.
- Since it's all screen-grabs from realtime rendering the fidelity isn't anywhere near as sleek as DAZ. On the other hand it does mean you can easily iterate and generate screenshots.
- Since I'm using the characters separately from the background, I do a quick pass in Photoshop to give them a transparent background; there's other paths (using IronPython) that might be better for this though.

Screencapture from HSS. Notice the greenscreen effect

Crop and chroma-key in Photoshop (it's a simple one-keystroke Action). Notice the green outline. We use a hue layer and a rough 10 second brush over the edges to kill those

Final pic in-game. Note that there are graphical issues (for example the hair over the left ear), but they're decent enough for a non-artist

Hope that helps!

 

[tooldev]

Let me put the breaks very quickly on the engine part. And let me explain why too.

Its not the engine that dictates your game - its the other way around. You already had the most important parts and lets start with them.

You need to fill 2 boxes:

Box 1 is your skills and abilities. You mentioned C++, javascript and html.
Box 2 is the game itself and its components. You mention a map, choices, dialog

Now you add that you already have a bit of knowledge how to use Unity. So stick to what you already know.Learning a new engine is basically like learning a new language. If you know the basics in Unity you can create almost anything you like in it.

Maps are nothing else than game objects you can click on. Making each map location a scene in Unity with its own game objects could be one way to go.

But before you even start thinking along these lines you need to create a proper design. Understanding UML helps a lot as its fast and easy to model everything out before you place it in code. C# and javascript/C++ are near enough to stick to Unity. Once you have created a proper model of all the game objects it should be a piece of cake to start actual work in any given engine you understand to handle.

 

[marcomi]

I know it is an old topic, but I'm in fairly similar position, and thought it would be better to ask here then start a new topic.
So, I'm a professional software developer, with about five years of doing mostly C#, JS and SQL, and would like to try myself at building games like these as I enjoy them very much.
I am very confident in my coding abilities, and I can easily adjust to use any platform or even create my own one.
However the big obstacle I'm facing is having practically 0 experienxe with art and design - like I never even opened Photoshop in my life.
Any sugestions?

 

[OsamiWorks]

I know it is an old topic, but I'm in fairly similar position, and thought it would be better to ask here then start a new topic.
So, I'm a professional software developer, with about five years of doing mostly C#, JS and SQL, and would like to try myself at building games like these as I enjoy them very much.
I am very confident in my coding abilities, and I can easily adjust to use any platform or even create my own one.
However the big obstacle I'm facing is having practically 0 experienxe with art and design - like I never even opened Photoshop in my life.
Any sugestions?

So, you can find an artist and collaborate. Game design isn't that bad, a lot of work yeah, but project planning around these things isn't the hardest thing.

• 2d artists are really common and a good 2d artist doesn't need much help to produce a decent game.
• 3dcg (not including DAZ and similar software) is pretty rare, especially someone who can also do rigging and animation.
• Game design, there is a lot of information around creating a GDD that will make sense to you

It might help if you had an additional skill like writing to contribute and as valuable as I think project planning is, no one is looking for that skill.

Doing it yourself is the hardest way. You can ignore this chunk if you want, but i think you should see it just to be aware of what can happen and what to expect.

I know a bit of programming, learned a good deal about unreal engine> realized I had to learn sculpting> realized I had to learn to draw if I wanted to get good enough at sculpting> realized I had to learn how to physics, rigging, and other things to make assets that work as intended> realized I needed to learn about animation and pay for what feels like a fifth thing to fit my vision. That point for me was 2-3 years in, learning when I can outside of work, and realizing it was too difficult. I can't work 40 hrs weeks + learn and maintain those skills. I've got a decent understanding of the process from it and going much smaller. Focusing on my writing since I read a little bit more than average as well as 2d art and animation since a lot of the artists don't have styles that fit my vision. About 2 hours of both everyday.

Getting decently good at drawing, from what I saw of a friend of mine who just wanted to draw furry porn, is about 4 months to acceptable and 6 months to exceptional. All I did was send him resources I had gone through and he ran with it. Getting consistent with your style, from a person I trust and go to for my art advice, is about mileage and I'm starting a grinding phase of portraits and poses today on top of my minimum word counts.

TLDR; Pick one
1.) Go small on your own and practice a lot
2.) Look for an artist to collaborate with and maybe try to pickup writing to make yourself more appealing

 

[Droid Productions]

I'm a programmer with a decent chunk of experience. I've been working in the games industry for two decades, but I got bored and disillusioned, so I decided to make my own game without the pesky publishers getting in the way

The first game I made that way was Making Movies, which taught me a lot about story-telling and helped build me a first pass of the engine. I used Honey Select for that, and so (to me) it didn't feel right to charge cash for it. For my second game I used DAZ, which was a much rougher learning curve (yet a fraction of doing all of this myself in Blender).

Some advice:
- Unless you're doing something you *can't* do in Renpy, go with Renpy. It's really well designed for the VN use-case, and has quality of life fixes that will take a LOT of effort to repro
- Go DAZ; HS's got its charm, but legality is dubious, and it'll forever cut you off from sources like Steam.
- If you want to outsource, or find a partner, finding one that does 2D art is easier than 3D; realtime technical 3D art is just a very narrow subset of the industry.
- What seems to attract funding is scratching an itch that's not already being scratched; what is the itch *your* project scratches?