I'm new and I got a lot planned, but I don't know where to start. Help?

Hi guys!

I'm new to coding on Unity and sorta new to C# coding (I've been learning since September).

My dream project is to create an open world game that also have visual novel elements. And to be honest, I don't know where to start.

Can anyone consult me?

Thanks!

~Lauren

 

Start simple. Create an easy game to get the feel for how things work in Unity. Something like Pong. Then go back and start adding to it (Sound Effects, Animation, Multi-Player). Then pick a more challenging game, like Breakout, etc... until you're comfortable with the tools and how everything works.

Then before you start your real game, write down (text editor) what your game is about, what features it should have, what the rules are, etc... Once you have that down, work on a small portion of it and get that working and build it bit by bit.

With your design document you can start to ask questions that make sense....

Is the game on-line?
Is the game stand alone?
What should the interface look like?
Is it single player or multi-player?

Once you start answering those questions, they will bring up new questions that you'll need to answer...

 

Start in the unity learn section & do the tutorials. Don't rush through them, take your time to learn the concepts & as you finish each tutorial see if you can make the project again without to much help. Your dream project is large so don't rush into it now or you will get frustrated & may not finish it.

Have fun, & good luck

 

Yeah I definitely concur about your dream project being way too large. An open world game is pretty much the biggest kind of game you could make (an open world MMO is literally the biggest kind of game there is) so that's way too big for initial learning. Set your dream game aside for a bit and cut your teeth with a bunch of small games first, then return to your dream game once you know what you're doing.

Checkout the Learn section of this website for tutorials, or checkout Unity in Action if you want a book designed to teach Unity to people who already know how to program.

 

In addition, you should plan to make quite a few smaller games before you make your dream game. You may not immediately see how making a Flappy Birds game, a Space Invaders clone, and a simple platformer help you towards your open-world visual novel game, but trust us, those build the skills you will need for your dream game.

Game development is very much a skills-based enterprise, like pottery or painting or anything else. If my dream were to paint the Sistene Chapel, I would need to do a LOT of smaller/simpler paintings to work up to it! Same applies here.

Good luck, enjoy the journey, and don't hesitate to ask for help when you're stuck!

 

You can make a small game that is similar to your open world concept just for practice, sort of a prototype. You don't have to make a mobile game or Flappy birds.

Use the Learn section to learn to make terrain, place models, deal with shaders and textures, and eventually add a player character. Then learn about animation and navigation, and all that fun stuff.

There are a number of assets that could speed your development, including some for visual novels and dialogue..I recommend TonyLi's asset for dialogue. Also, there are several that would help in building rpgs as well, if you want to go that route. For visual novels, my daughter uses Vinoma, which is very nice. PlyGames, which makes Vinoma, also has an rpg asset.

So...build a small game, but build one that teaches you how to build the game you want to build. Be patient, it takes time to learn and time to build.

Open world adds an entirely new dimension to your world, especially if you want a very large world. Then you have to figure out how to stream the data and you have to fill up a huge amount of space. So start small. A 2k x2k terrain and after you spend months getting that perfect, you will understand why people suggest smaller games at first.

Use the tutorials and the Learn section from Unity. You can ask questions, but if you take the time to learn yourself, you will be able to ask more targeted questions and get better answers.

Good luck, Lauren, and welcome to the Unity forums.

Oh, and learn code! You can try Udemy. They have some great classes and if you sign up and wait a day, you will get a fantastic coupon. The classes will be $10-$15. You can also get C# book or try some of the tutorials on Unity or suggested in the Teach section of the forum.