FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

ok, so im gonna tell you a little story... when i was like 11, one of my many dreams was to make a game that would get popular... also to meet Valve or atleast Gabe Newel... and non of those havent been forgotten... and im sure alot of you know Counter-Strike... First it was just a mod for Half Life made by a regular, next-door Joe... But because it got really popular, Valve hired the developer of it, and thats how the whole Counter-Strike franchise begun... So i was thinking... Maybe i should make a mod for hl, it was a failiure, cause im not much of a coder... But im a hell of an artist... And then i just thouth, why not make an RPG game, with the help of you, fellow developers... It would, for starters, be on the pc, but later on those old-ish java phones (J2ME) , androids, and maybe on IOS... So im recruting people from any age, who are able to code in any coding language that would fit for it... C++, JAVA, the language, that runs on androids etc... The game would look a bit like the Sims 3 mobile... 3D, you click where to go or where to interact, there would be single player mode, multi player, LAN multiplayer (or bluetooth MP) and maybe also some expansion packs :') thinking of it is making me smile already... and also i would like for Celeron55 to give the "go ahead" mesrage =)

I have always wanted to make a game! I'm only 13. I am learning how to code (finally :D) and I have always been interested in developing video games. But i'm a terrible artist. I can offer to help you, but I have to let you know that I am still learning so I would have to rewrite the code a couple times to make it work.

well, they say that python is easy, but im just learning too xD so what abot it? Are you up for the challenge? If yes, then send an email to me (click on my username, then click "send forum email").

ow and thanks alot for the guy ( or VanessaE, idk whn was it..) for moving my post... and Celeron55, still waiting for you to allow it =) no but srsly... I dont want to be sued... xD

You're already allowed to do that, the code is under LGPL, textures are under WTFPL and CC BY-SA...

really?
yay!
btw, the PC version will be open source, so everybody could make mods to it as well...
the mobile version will just be a portable version of it...
but there wont be any mods...
only if mods are in a copy of the game...

Ragnar wrote:really?
yay!
btw, the PC version will be open source

It _has_to_ be.

yeah, i guess youre right... kinda... you do know i could just a new game, inspired by minetest, right?

Then I don't see why you'd need permission there either. If you don't reuse code and you're just being inspired, then there's no way you could "get sued" and you don't need to ask for permission.

Anyway, I'd really like to see a Minetest-like RPG, so I wish you success with this =]

yeah, thanks... btw, is it legal to mod sims 3 mobile, like fork it and make a free private game?

Ragnar wrote:yeah, thanks... btw, is it legal to mod sims 3 mobile, like fork it and make a free private game?

I think its legal to make a sims3-like game, but not to use the actual source code of sims3 (which is not available anyway, right?)

it kinda is...
WapTrick.com (mobile version) has ALOT of games there...
and if i download it from there, that i can put it on my pc with a usb...
and then i can change the textures, text etc...
because its a .jar or .jad file...

I never understood that stuff with Java files: is the code readable in a file, or is it just real easy to decompile?

Ragnar wrote:it kinda is...
WapTrick.com (mobile version) has ALOT of games there...
and if i download it from there, that i can put it on my pc with a usb...
and then i can change the textures, text etc...
because its a .jar or .jad file...

What OmniStudent said is correct.
That code is not "available" for use in the way you want to use it.

If you make a game inspired by another game and you don't reuse any code from anybody, then you can license it however you want. Minetest was inspired by Infiniminer, it used no code from it, and it's free open source software. Minecraft was inspired by Infiniminer, it used no code from it, and it's nonfree proprietary software.

If you took code from a nonfree proprietary game, you're liable to get sued.
If you take code from a free opensource game, then you are okay, but you might need to make your game also free opensource software (it depends on the nature of the free license used, whether it is copyleft or not).

(BTW, every time I say free and nonfree, I'm talking about free as in freedom, not free as in beer: ie. gratis vs libre).

jojoa1997 wrote:http://minetest.net/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=56665#p56665

You could use this mod too make Elves vs Orcs or something.

know what, im ending minetest rpg, and im starting a new project. a fps game...in the irrlicht engine...

i think it would be easier for a "hello world" game...

Start small.





That is the biggest tip for a beginning games developer.
FPS is not small

I am working on a project similar to minetest. I am kind of an artist, but sometimes I am not very satisfied with my work. I have about three years experience with code (mainly Java), and I use LWJGL as my rendering library. Right now I am working on background stuff, like chunk management. I am stumped on it because I want it to be fast, and reliable, and I have not come up with anything good yet. I am near to finishing that part, I think. I made a bunch of 512x512 textures, but I have decided that it would be overkill for that kind of game. I decreased them to 63x64, and they look good.

If you are going to develop yet another Infiniminer oriented game, please DO NOT USE JAVA! That's one of the biggest flaws in Minecraft IMHO. Try to learn C++ (it's not TOO different from Java once you understand the basic concepts). I wouldn't recommend Python for the engine either. The good thing about Minetest is that the engine is compiled to native code (i.e: run directly by the processor), and that's a VERY BIG plus.
If you are in need of a coder, I offer myself. Though I'm not very experienced, I have plenty of knowledge about C and C++, Java, Lua, and Python. You can also see my profile (along with some soft) at http://kaeza.users.sf.net/

sorry to break the news to you, but there already exists a nonfree rpg game similar to minetest(It's called minecraft). If you want proprietary software, then you might have trouble getting customers because you have to offer something *better* than minecraft. I suggest you make it open-source.

Of course, an RPG game using mods would be very simple, and could be very full-featured (Once we get a HUD API)
I've actually planned out a lot of one in my head, but I don't have time to work on it.

he said he wasn't doing the rpg anymore and instead moving on to a fps. but if there is someone here interested in working on an rpg I have Unity and know unityscript to work with it. Unity can port games out to android, ios or even to consoles if you buy the lisences to port them. otherwise it just creates for the computer. I offer my services to anyone wishing to create an rpg.

I also have several 'great ideas' which are of course a dime a dozen. It requires the skill to implement these ideas in order to be worth something.