What should my first project be?

[ColecoGamer]

I hope this post doesn’t come across as confusing. I have been learning JagStudio, and so far I am really enjoying myself (thank you to the person/people responsible for these incredible development tools).

 

The reason for this post is to help me decide on my first project. I’m at an  impasse here - still being new to JagStudio, should I create a small game from scratch or find a simple arcade game to port? Which of the two would be more difficult to accomplish? 
 

I am just looking for some advice. I finish everything I start. However, I also don’t want to start something that may be too complicated for my current Jagstudio skill level (i.e. which is ‘novice’ at this point).

 

Any advice the community can provide will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks again!

[+TrekMD]

I'm not a programmer, so I can't answer based on that perspective.  My question to you would be, which one will help you more to develop skills, porting an existing arcade game or creating a new game?

[ColecoGamer]

Just now, TrekMD said:

I'm not a programmer, so I can't answer based on that perspective.  My question to you would be, which one will help you more to develop skills, porting an existing arcade game or creating a new game?

You pose an excellent question. From a technical standpoint (based on what I have learned so far), I believe porting an arcade game would help develop my programming skills, especially if I could gain access to the game’s source code. This is what I was hoping to confirm when I created this post.

[+TrekMD]

Hopefully someone who knows programming can give you more direction. 

[ColecoGamer]

4 minutes ago, TrekMD said:

Hopefully someone who knows programming can give you more direction. 

Thank you!  I’m hoping someone will! ?

[Clint Thompson]

Just my opinion but it's probably easier to create something small and from scratch (and speaking from experience, is mostly ideal). I don't think "a simple arcade port" reality really exists (other than the assets preexisting) as it all still requires a lot of work and you'll find challenges regardless of the path you choose.

 

Ultimately, it's best to do what you want to do for yourself and whatever motivates you the most.

[ColecoGamer]

19 minutes ago, Clint Thompson said:

Just my opinion but it's probably easier to create something small and from scratch (and speaking from experience, is mostly ideal). I don't think "a simple arcade port" reality really exists (other than the assets preexisting) as it all still requires a lot of work and you'll find challenges regardless of the path you choose.

 

Ultimately, it's best to do what you want to do for yourself and whatever motivates you the most.

Thank you, Clint! This is exactly the comment I was looking for to help me down the right path.

[LordKraken]

I agree with @Clint Thompson, create a game that you will have fun playing and coding. Arcade games are generally a good choice because their rules and mechanics are quite simple most of the time.

 

Now, when you write "I believe porting an arcade game would help develop my programming skills, especially if I could gain access to the game’s source code", I would disagree on that.

 

Just don't do that! 

Don't look at someone else game code! 

You're going to lose more time trying to figure what the other coder did than coming up with your own solution.

Edited August 3, 2021 by LordKraken

[ColecoGamer]

23 hours ago, LordKraken said:

I agree with @Clint Thompson, create a game that you will have fun playing and coding. Arcade games are generally a good choice because their rules and mechanics are quite simple most of the time.

 

Now, when you write "I believe porting an arcade game would help develop my programming skills, especially if I could gain access to the game’s source code", I would disagree on that.

 

Just don't do that! 

Don't look at someone else game code! 

You're going to lose more time trying to figure what the other coder did than coming up with your own solution.

Thank you for the response, LordKraken.

These are the type of comments I needed - good advice on the do’s and don’ts of programming. 

[+CyranoJ]

53 minutes ago, ColecoGamer said:

Thank you for the response, LordKraken.

These are the type of comments I needed - good advice on the do’s and don’ts of programming. 

The only real don't is..

 

Don't sell it when it's full of bugs, lol. 

[ColecoGamer]

17 minutes ago, CyranoJ said:

The only real don't is..

 

Don't sell it when it's full of bugs, lol. 

Words to live by!

[+CyranoJ]

As for where to start...

 

Pick something small and achievable... don't come out of the gates with the idea of Project #1 being the bestest shooter (or whatever) ever (trust me, thats a crap idea!)

 

Achievable.

Simple.

Fun.

 

Hit those three targets and roll from there

[SlidellMan]

For small and reasonable, start with a basic shooter or platformer demo.

[JumbleJag]

I ported Speccies 2 to pc engine for my first project PCE release,choosing a simple project that can be completed is important,even if you have much higher skills than required for a simple game.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h6Wx1-tJ1Y

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by JumbleJag

[+CyranoJ]

On 8/5/2021 at 6:22 AM, SlidellMan said:

For small and reasonable, start with a basic shooter or platformer demo.

Absolutely, 100%, do NOT do this.

 

There is no such thing as a "basic" shooter or platformer demo.  Do something insanely easy and achievable like "make some stuff move around and see if you can tell if it hits something else".

[walter_J64bit]

On 8/4/2021 at 6:23 AM, CyranoJ said:

As for where to start...

 

Pick something small and achievable... don't come out of the gates with the idea of Project #1 being the bestest shooter (or whatever) ever (trust me, thats a crap idea!)

 

Achievable.

Simple.

Fun.

 

Hit those three targets and roll from there

I think a knock off of the 2600 game called Lock 'N' Chase look see!

[leech]

If I were to code for the Jag... I'd start with a Jumpman port.  Just saying

[JumbleJag]

1 hour ago, leech said:

If I were to code for the Jag... I'd start with a Jumpman port.  Just saying

My suggestion would be easier then Jumpman.

Edited August 11, 2021 by JumbleJag

[swapd0]

A single screen game.

[roots.genoa]

And top down to avoid dealing with the physics of a platformer (or a sidescroller without jumping/falling)

[Sporadic]

Simple puzzle games can be a good starter. It helps get you up to speed on the gameplay logic and coding logic. They tend to be (not always) slow paced and can have relatively simple graphics etc. So can ease you into things without worrying about performance, complex logic or fancy graphics etc

[ColecoGamer]

I appreciate all the great suggestions!

[omf]

pong clone

 

[+Gemintronic]

For the 2600 I created a conversion of Drunken Pooper.  Basically, your player shoots downward trying to hit an erratically moving toilet below.  The toilet moves faster as you successfully hit it.

 

Despite the simplicity it covers most aspects you need for almost any bigger project including collisions, scoring, basic enemy AI, sound effects and background display.

 

This would be a good example if you want to jump into a complete game straightaway.  I personally made several experiments that tested each mentioned aspect before trying a single cohesive game.

[leech]

27 minutes ago, Gemintronic said:

For the 2600 I created a conversion of Drunken Pooper.  Basically, your player shoots downward trying to hit an erratically moving toilet below.  The toilet moves faster as you successfully hit it.

 

Despite the simplicity it covers most aspects you need for almost any bigger project including collisions, scoring, basic enemy AI, sound effects and background display.

 

This would be a good example if you want to jump into a complete game straightaway.  I personally made several experiments that tested each mentioned aspect before trying a single cohesive game.

This is an amazing game idea, and totally sounds like what I would do.