   im gonna maek a gaem
  Is there a general place I can send people who say they want to make a game? A thread or resource where somebody can politely explain why they can't do it by next Tuesday? I've seen a cartoon somewhere mocking these people And suspect it would upset somebody with large ambitions. (Its a funny cartoon though...)I'm pretty new here so I don't know the history of the place. I'm sure somebody here must have started a thread and got some polite and informative answers.   
  The cartoon in question is probably the "I'll make an MMO where you can marry the hulk," one. And no, there isn't any such place. If all you're going to say to those people who want to make games but don't understand how is "you can't," then you should not be posting in their thread at all, as that is unacceptable conduct (particularly in the For Beginners and Help Wanted forums, where those sorts of posts tend to appear).What is suitable is explaining to them what first steps are neccessary for them to start seeing some results or to get moving along the proper path. It's perfectly acceptable to tell them their goals are unrealistic, as long as you are also explaining why and what options they have available that are realistic. ;  well, I was looking for "A thread or resource where somebody can politely explain why they can't do it <v>by next Tuesday?" and I have told people that they CAN do it but it takes a very long time. I just wondered if somebody made an FAQ. It might be an idea if one existed. "Routes into the video game industry" or something similar. I once went to all the trouble of making an ascii graphics rpg with somebody who said "lets make a game". It was a rogue like done in pascal.   ;  Your still asking for something too broad; something so broad that it would be useless for the purpose you envision if it did exist. This is evidenced by your examples -- what does it mean to "make a game by next Tuesday," and why can't the person do it (because clearly, a person can do so -- there are plenty of short-term development contests held rather frequently)? What if they don't want to get into the industry and just want to make a game? This site is the resource you're wanting. Helping a specific person involves studying the specifics of their situation so that they can be directed to specific subresources within this site (or others). There's no one-size fits all, and there's no reason to try and make one.   ;  we really don't have the time of day for people with thin skin around here. It's the comic for them, and if they're offended, the cannons.   ;  That makes sense. I'll do some quick explaining and then direct them here.I ask this question because I'm going back into education, studying software engineering, the there will be people of varying levels of experience, including those who I mentioned above. I wanna do them a favor.;  I think I sort of understand what you're saying. I like this article that explains game programming to noobs, with some tips to getting started. It doesn't just say "you can't", but it's a pretty good guide to getting started and working small.   ;Quote:Original post by shotgunnutterI ask this question because I'm going back into education, studying software engineering, the there will be people of varying levels of experience, including those who I mentioned above. I wanna do them a favor.Do yourself a favor and ignore them. Let them be, and let them dream on. I'm in my last year of Software Engineering, and these people usually have a big mouth and get nothing done. Telling them it's unrealistic will only make you unpopular. Also, it will sound immensely arrogant 'No way d00d, I know it better than you, trust me, you can't do'.Toolmaker   ;  Actually I think it's a good idea. What could be handy is a simple 'reality checklist' that quickly points out some factors as to why making an MMO is pure insanity. Not only will it give them a clear idea what is needed, 9/10 people will probably refuse to believe it is true and start flaming, giving us the joy of making fun of them anyway.So how about a list like the one below? Perhaps we can keep adding to it in order to get it up to 10 points, a "10 point MMO reality check"? I think it could be fun!-----------The 10 point MMO reality check - 1) A small, low population MMO to compete commercially will cost somewhere in the range of 2-3 million dollars just to setup. Large scale MMO's can cost upwards of ten million dollars. Games to compete with WoW and EQ2 will be in the tens of millions. This is not taking into account running costs.2) You will need enough bandwith to support a small number of players. On average, a server with the capability of running 10,000 concurrent players will cost around $16,000 per month, with an average of 500 players per server. (link)3) Unless you go true open source such as Linux + MySQL (not a good idea for an MMO), a database will run around $30,000 in upfront costs minimum. Higher end games use commercial database support, such as Informix or Oracle. Oracle will cost around the millions of dollars.  Informix is around $56,000 per CPU. (link)4) You will need, at minimum, 3D modellers, 2D artists (textures, concept art), 3D riggers and animators, a UI team, client/server engineer teams, level designers, database architecture and network engineer teams, lead designers, a QA team, marketing and sales. This is a very short summary of maybe half the roles.5) This is what one branch of your servers will look like . ------That's all I have so far. Anyone want to contribute?   ;  My pascal rogue like with ascii graphics and no networking or sound took 2 weeks to make in a team with 1 other person. Most noobs would be happy to have made this; I was and so was the person I was working with. These people just need to take small steps. A flash animation of what such a game looks like plus some info on how long it took would do as an introduction to the article. Then it could have Booleans post do show the contrast.   