Often, I get asked about starting to work on a indie game project by non game-devs. Recently on Facebook, a friend asked openly how he should get started making his idea for a game. Many of the comments by folks involved storylines, design docs, progression trees, etc. This is BS.
So here are my 10 easy steps to start your path on independant game development from scratch:
1. Get the most powerful rig you can afford. Use NewEgg to build it to save dough.
2. Buy a solid state backup drive. Hook it up and set it up to auto-flash the HDD.
3. Get a cloud backup solution like Carbonite.
4. Set up a Google office account for document management.
5. Get the following programs: Unreal Engine (free), Perforce (free), Paint Shop Pro ($70), Trello (Free). Learn how they work and what they are for.
6. Download the appropriate Unreal Template for your game.
7. Watch tutorials on youtube on Unreal Blueprint Scripting and asset importing.
8. Browse the Unreal Asset store for an appropriate starter asset kit. Buy it.
9. Start building your game, starting with the most basic player interactions.
10. Recruit a group of gamer friends that you can send your game to and provide you feedback. Prototype, integrate, test, iterate, repeat.
Easy. Save your elaborate storylines, progression trees, and design documents for later. You might not even ever need them. Build something. Don’t waste your time not building something.
You can contact me at the following:
@serellan
@epsilonthegame