Things that piss me off about people that want to make FPS games

Ok, first of all, I don't hate first person shooters

It's a commonplace site now. A group of teenage boys wanting to make their *very own* first person shooter. It's so commonplace that I don't even click on the links anymore. I already know what they are going to say.

This sort of thing happened when I was at that age too. A group of boys would sit around a console or pc, and play a first person shooter. One would comment on something that they hated about the game. The other boys would agree with it, and start talking about another thing they hated. This would go on for a while, until one of the boys would say "Hey, we would be able to make the most awesome video game". In their eyes, they see this great opportunity of being able to build a game that would rival all the AAA titles that they love so much. They have no idea the work that it would take to actually make it.

This doesn't piss me off so far

They would start the planning of the game, with all the guns they would have, and all the different functions and powers the player would have. It would be multiplayer, with the best graphics of it's time. They write out the story, maybe even plan out some levels.

Then the fun begins...

They go online and look up "Game engines for first person shooters". They might try and choose "Frostbite" or "CryEngine". They start the engine, and mess around with the demo project for a while. They then look for other options. They then run into Unity. They download it, and start messing around. They watch a few tutorials, and get the hand of moving and placing gameobjects.

This is where it starts to annoy me....

One guy says "how do we make a gun in a guy's hand". They go online and find a model. Then they go online to find out how to make him shoot.

This is where other people get involved

You start to see this S***

http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/400474/i-want-to-make-a-first-person-shooter-in-unity3d-w.html

AND THIS

http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/557407/anyone-know-how-to-make-a-first-person-shooter.html

AND THIS KID'S SPELLING

http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/166297/can-anyone-give-me-east-fps-tutorial-in-unity-3d-p.html

THE LIST GOES ON

http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/15320/is-unity-the-best-game-engine-for-making-an-online.html
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/235350/is-unity-easy.html
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/54596/in-fps-you-look-at-a-cube-and-point-your-cross-hai.html
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/60934/fps-tutorial-problem.html
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/465491/code-not-working-right-for-fps-game.html
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/63535/unity-3d-enemy-that-shoots-at-you-and-gets-killed.html
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/35480/crosshair-how.html
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/123043/help-with-shooting-in-my-fps-.html


THIS MAKES ME WANT TO BANG MY HEAD AGAINST A WALL

JESUS GUYS


Anyway, This is the thing that pisses me off. These kids come into a professional community and expect us to do all the work for them. You cannot expect that of us.

Also, another one. "can you write me a raycast script pweeeeez?"

If game design was easy, everyone would make a game.

Also, first person shooters are NOT the only genre of game, no matter what gamestop says.

There is a huge pool of S***ty first person shooters out there

It's like a bottom pit of slime

Don't add to it...

Anyway, I will try and make this post at least a little bit helpful, so in conclusion...

If you are a teenager reading this that wants to make a first person shooter, I want you to do one of two things-
If you are serious, I want you to go and learn to program. Forget your FPS, you aren't even close to it. Try this tutorial here

http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/newbie-guide-to-unity-javascript-long.34015/

to get started.

Come up with a REALLY simple game idea. NO SHOOTING. Checkers or something like that. Finish it, and you will learn a lot. If you aren't serious (most of you say you are, but most of you really aren't), get out of the hair of the ones that are. Be content with playing CoD with your friends. Game design isn't for everyone, and that;s OK.

I really want to see the quality of this community come up, and I guess this is sort of saying that.
If you are a kid that is REALLY interested in GDesign, I hope you go places with it.



Keep it original, Unity

-Thomas

 

Let them learn the hard way.

 

I would recommend teenagers start with uFPS. It's really great not only to use as a starting point for any FPS, but also to learn from as well. That's what I'm doing right now, and I plan on making an awesome FPS with it. Plus it's on sale right now.

 

Tell them ASM is more geared towards FPS.

 

I would like to point out you at some point in your life were one of these kids...in fact we all were. You are mad because kids have a dream but not the passion to learn. It is hard to learn how to learn. Don't ever bash peoples dreams. Either help them or focus on your own projects.

 

Totally agree, I came in wanting to make a FPS. I eventually got the hang of it and got pretty far but decided to quit to work on smaller games. The biggest mistake I made was starting off with a hard game to be my first game for unity. But still they will eventually have to learn to do it them selves as everything won't be handed to them.

 

The only thing frustrating is wading through all the questions/posts that show someone didn't use the Search box. But then again, I don't get too frustrated because I use the Search box. And/or Google.

 

Better yet, don't get into game design at all... less competition for people like me to worry about.

 

It's human nature. People will get excited about something and be enthusiastic for a while, then that enthusiasm dies as reality (hard work), takes over.

No bunch of teenage boys ever got excited about writing a Pong clone.

But I hear you, you need to start small. Unfortunately most don't heed that advice, they fail, and they never touch game development again.

 

I'd just tell them to boot up UE4 and just build on top of the ShooterGame example. That would probably weed out a lot of them right there. Because they are not going to want to blow $19. Oh wait... Guess they'd just come back here hehe (logic fail on my part)

I got my start making an FPS mod on Unreal back in the day. However, unlike those gents, I already knew how to code

 

While I understand your reasonings to write that, it is a waste of time to try to educate certain people.
It's like talking to a rock.

Best example is this thread. Several times it was told, this is only for really awesome Unity powered games, you've found.
And yet people post their crappy Flappy Bird clones in it. Because, they either don't read anything at all, or they simply give a S***.

Better focus on your own game development journey and let those people fail hard, because they will and then losing interest and eventually leave on their own.

 

Really?

 

At least they're attempting it. Many people don't even get that far, they just assume it would be too hard or they can't do it and forget about the idea.

As mentioned, just crack on with your own game(s) and let them do whatever.

 

Why does anyone get frustrated by these things? It's just a FORUM people, a place where we occasionally talk rubbish to each other whilst were waiting for beast to reach the furthest parts of the Galaxy and come back to us.

There's enough out there to make nearly any sort of game if they look hard enough, frustrating at the start to everyone because most people think, how hard can it be? Then they realise

Some will stick with it, most will quit and the cycle will keep indefinatley repeating with whatever genre is most popular.

Still I really do scratch my head why people have any emotional involvement with pieces of text in an open domain? Whatever goes on here will have none, zero, zilch impact on your success or life in general.

 

Yeah I find all these generic modern fps made by some young people quite 'lame' and them asking basic questions make me want to facepalm, especially allmthose youtube videos of unity fps's..... They put unity to shame.

I'm also a teen making a fps, although I want quality in myn, got some lore, ideas etc for it (and its sci fi my fav genre). So I hope when I post in the future for it (like in 8 weeks) people wont ignore it.

 

Pssh! Creating a FPS in Unity is for the weak. They need to write one for a TI-82. Then and only then can they call themselves alpha males of the Game Dev community!

 

(edit: when you say teenagers/teens what age range are you reffering to? 10-14 or a bit older than that? else I pretty much completely agree with you)


From the threads that you have linked, I completely agree with your opinion. I started working on a small fps project in december '13, and you wouldn't believe how many of my friends said things like 'put this in your game, and that and so and so... etc' But when I asked them if they would like to help, and I hadn't even started about scripting. They stopped talking. Luckily I found 2 people that were willing to help me, sadly not with scripting but it's better than nothing.

"One guy says "how do we make a gun in a guy's hand". They go online and find a model. Then they go online to find out how to make him shoot."

I'd like to inform you, that I don't work like this. I do as much as I can myself, and as much as the threads you linked sound like they were written by 10-year olds. They share a common thing, they require help. And as a community isn't that what you should give them? I try to stay away from unity answers myself though. Now I'm sure that most of those young aspiring developers all try to make a generic shooter, but I can assure you not all of us are like that. (If you didn't catch on by now, I am 15) I'm not trying to hate on your opinion, just don't think we're all the same (if there is anything a human dislikes, it's being the same as everybody else)

Unlike the example of your stereotypical teen who wants to make an fps, some of us do their research. I didn't start any of my planning until I decided which game engine I was gonna use (and learned a bit of scripting). And to be honest, I've barely done work inside the unity engine itself, I'm working a lot on planning and modelling work and learning scripting properly before I start on the actual fps, to make sure that the game I dream of is the game I create.

p.s.: sorry for the semi-rant I hope I didn't offend the OP.

-Jan from CDS

 

Hey, let's write a Pong clone. It'll have the best graphics of all time, and be massively multiplayer. C'mon, who's with me?

 

You can count me in!

 

How you make the ball move? And how do you put the paddle in the player's hands?

 

Thanks for sending me down the rabbit hole while looking to see if doom has been ported. Thankfully, I don't have one of the usb cables for them.

 

I want to know how make the same thing happen on everyones screen at the same time. Give me details and video please. Learning code takes too long I cant be bothered with that - so must be simple.

 

Are you serious? You think those are bad?

They're pretty much the programming equivalents of the average ideas guy. Some delusional kid with no skill asking others to do the actual work.
Tell them to learn something practical (e.g. programming) or ignore them.
Ignoring them works good until you subscribe to the Unity engine on IndieDB. It's ridiculous.

Spoiler: You want some numbers?

I don't want to miss out on anything due to laziness, so I check every update I get. Every single one.

Some time ago I logged in after not doing so for a few weeks. Here's what I found:

• Total number of updates: +500
• Subset of Unity updates: 408
• Games that ended up on my watchlist after being waaaaay more generous that I should have been: 10
• Games that ended up on my watchlist because I genuinely liked them: 3
• BONUS: S*** simulator games (e.g. Walking on grass simulator): 9

The real problem are those slightly less delusional and slightly more "skilled" kids out there.
The ones who get to the point where they actually release their game. No matter whether it's completely broken, borderline unplayable or just utter S***.
"Jupp. This looks good enough to be put on Early Access for 20 bucks."

Some information leaked on how Valve wants to fix Greenlight. Apparently they want to make "User Stores".
I hope this turns out well since Steam (as good as it is) is far too important to the indie market.

 

I read half of what the OP wrote then started my reply which is thus:

To allow others, kids making FPS games, to make you angry; granting people you have never met in your life the power to make you angry is why you will forever be a part of the sheeple.

Are you that weak in mind that you would allow others to control your mood?

Maybe you should realize that upstairs in that brain of yours there is only one resident, you. You are the captain of that ship. You decide where to sail. You decide if the weather is rough or a sunny beautiful day. Where are you going to sail your ship next or are you going to again allow someone else that doesn't live in your brain the power to kick you to the side as captain and take full control of your ship?

Remember.......

 

"its better to ask and look like a fool, than to remain a fool" - someone

(but yeah... cant they use google?)

 

Love that quote......

[edit]

There was another that powered my mind that was part of a group of quotes that turned me in to that Black Sheep.

When I qualified as a Black Sheep I legged it over that fence and I ran like a Lunatic Ninja. I stopped and flipped the farmer my middle finger then the wa(&*^r sign but at the same time felt sad. I was sad to see the rest of the sheep following that farmer oblivious to the destination.

 

^Pretty much this.

Tell them to learn something practical before jumping into game development, or ignore them.
Why getting pissed at something like this while there are actual problems to get mad at?

 

Doesn't make me angry, but surely is depressive sometime. Is not about just developing games, but almost everything. I'm seeing this trend more often than it should where youngs want everything and immediatly with no effort or the will to learn stuff.

When I was younger it was common for me and others to just stick to a passion and research and study it trying to get good at it, and I'm not even that old, so nom uch time is passed. I'm ok with kids asking for guidance, they have to start from somewhere, but they should not pretend already done stuff but should take the time and learn by themself.

I personally would feel unconfortable if I ask for help and someone post an already done code. Would never use it, I even refuse to use assets from the asset store and instead tyr to make the stuff myself, maybe I'm exceeding the other way but can't help it.

So my suggestion when one of those kids show up and ask for stuff, just toss them a link from where to start learning, if they have the will they are good to go on their own and probably will understand in the future to not ask for already made stuff, if they don't have the patience then is their problem.

 

yeah i dont like using other peoples stuff either... sometimes i do... for code, because its like, welp thats the code how could i do it any different??

and ill use some free textures,(mainly cause, i started with making maps for like call of duty, and they had all the textures there, and now its like aaaaww wtf, i want a texture archive lol) although i prefer to create my own


biggest reason not to use other peoples stuff: practice practice practice.

 

Woah, I post and suddenly (after a month of inactivity) six people post. None of them as a reply to my post, but oh well. (reviving threads is a good place to start)

-Jan from CDS.

 

"It is better to ask and look like a fool, than to remain a fool. Just please ask Google, not me." - randomperson42

 

No reason to complain. Better for them being indoors making games nobody cares about than being average teenagers during the summer loitering around malls, doing drugs, vandalizing buildings, etc.

 

You don't have kids, do you? Nothing meant behind that question.
Most kids need their hand held through anything that requires effort or work, few require only the desire to learn, and the rest fall somewhere in that spectrum. It's our jobs as adults to act as such and provide proper guidance. Granted, not your child not your problem, or so we like to claim but that mentality enables the bad habits we see a lot in kids today. Take a chance and take an eager child under your wing and you might be surprised what you can learn and what they can accomplish. The best way to learn is to teach: Ever notice that you often discover a solution while explaining the problem to a friend.

 

Hey I'm 16 and you don't hear me whining and wanting to make the next big MMORPG.

Since everyone is quoting someone, I'll quote myself:

 

I prefer the kids to be curious than ignorant or desinterested. I was one of those annoying kids and asking all those questions made me realize how hard this job is and now I can appreciate a great game or marvel at beautiful designs. Childish curiosity is one of those wonderful things we lose as we grow older.

 

I can relate to this dude. Here's my story:
This new high school year, I signed up for computer science. This was a brand new class that they just added and was completely funded by microsoft. Anyways, upon entering the class, the 3 teachers informed us that we are learning computer science by making games. Im thinking, "aight i can dig dis bro". Second day of school, all 3 teachers are absent (like wtf lol) and we had a substitute that told us that we can start learning CS through the book or just browse the internet. First thing I do is open up Flash and I start programming. I make this cool space shooter in just 15 minutes. Throughout this time, all I heard in the background was "Im going to make the next COD," "Watch me make a game and make lots of money off it," "lol this is going to be so easy haha". As these people who believed that they were onto something great, they all began to get frustrated that they couldnt even make something move. Then one dude looks at my computer and sees I have a fully functional game. He yells "Holy sh** this dude's a genius!". Next thing I knew, people were crowding me and asking how I did it. They all asked if I have ever done this before and I told them all "No this is my first time. All I did was read the documentation and started working on this. Nothing big." Basically, I lowered the whole class's morale and motivation to do anything lol.

All in all, have fun with these types of people

 

this thread is ground breaking stuff...

pro tip. Make cheap FPS script packs. profit

 

Its not a case of people who want to make fps games but a case of people who want to make games with unrealistic objectives. Age has nothing to do with it either (although children are the typical people who do this kind of stuff). I too have seen people in real life who want to make a game with 200 features and it is their first time making any game. They get frustrated after seeing that it takes actual work and they quit.

 

I feel your points man, there've been times when I get fairly pissy looking at the guys who drag Unity's good name through the muck with the most generic possible rubbish on KickStarter set to aim for 100k.

I just try to humor them when I can, its good to see people interested in game design but still, its a bit like a cancer in these forums, UT can you please figure out a way to get in some proper popularity sorting. Like subs to thread, views and replies?

@JamesLeeNZ, couldn't agree more bro, I have a theory that (for those of us publishing on the asset store) 90% of revenue comes out of some random kids pocket money who's convinced he's gonna flip DayZ on its head.

 

Lucky!
In my school we just learn how to use Microsoft Word and Excel.

 

I have been asked that question so many times that i've lost count

I guess most people wanting to get into game development really underestimate the amount of work and knowledge needed to make a game.

 

This has given me an idea to make a FPS design game. Where people can customise a FPS. It is a brilliant idea. Thanks for giving it to me.

 

I agree that it is definitely not just an age thing. Having seen bosses who seem to want to hand-wave away the amount of work required to program a system or build server hardware, I know that neither age nor experience will always remove the misunderstanding of how much work can be required by a particular endeavor.

It's like that quote attributed to Arthur C. Clarke, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

 

Let them be where they're at. This is not a professional community, it's an open community with all welcome.

 

Even though I hear what you're saying (ok, ok, 'see' what you're saying), I partially disagree. Yes you're absolutely right when you say, 'it's an open community with all welcome', but there has to be a willingness to conduct oneself in a professional manner if we want to be a meaningful community, or even make any personal improvements.

I would be more than willing to bet, that the majority of us who are here want to make at least some money, whether as a primary goal or as a residue of making something awesome. What's more, we all want to be well-known and respected. If one cannot conduct themselves in a profesional way, they get laughed out of the community and/or we make satirical memes of them until they (eventually) realize they're not getting anywhere.

I'm doing a bad job of explaining this. Let me try another way: it's like, whenever you play a board game with some friends. There is an expectation that all participants will show a lusory attitude and play by the rules so that everyone can have fun. However, every now and again there's "That Guy" who really dosen't care about the rules, but still wants to win. When he (correctly) gets outplayed by everyone else he has a nuclear pissy fit and storms off to mope for a few weeks. Everyone else's reaction: "WTF mate?" ...Then the party continues without the resident pooper.

I don't think it's too much to ask people to at least make a good pretense of being professional. It's a bar that has been set, because it brings out the best in people, not the worst. Maybe I'm (somehow) an optimist. Maybe I'm just batshit crazy, for wanting people to put their best foot forward. Maybe it's that I want to see other people improve, because we all learn from each other and it leads to good things for everyone. But, I don't think "let them stay where they're at" is a tenable position for our community, our society, or our industry.

Granted, there's some who will reject all attempts at help and stay where they're at...but there's nothing you can really do for those folks in the first place, now is there? :|

 

To be the devil's advocate, it's pretty understandable to want to save time and money that would be spent re-inventing the wheel. First person systems in particular are only complicated because they are built up of small functions that add up to the overall feel. You could work on that kind of system for months getting it just right, or spend a fraction of the cost on assets that already deliver the kinaesthetic feel that you want.

Re-invent the wheel or stand on the shoulders of giants.