   How hard would it be to create a myBrute clone?
  Hey all,I'm fairly new to the forum, so sorry if this is in the wrong spot.  Basically I've been eager to learn programming and also have an idea for a game I'd like to create.  I have created some very basic programs in the past and am actually a CS student, so learning to do this would benefit me greatly.Ideally, I'd like to create the game myself as long as it is somewhat feasible to do so.  If not, then I will outsource work to various people.  The game will essentially be about as difficult to make as myBrute, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on how hard a game like that would be, how many people, do you think, it would take to create a game like that, and what sort of time frame a game like that would take.Also, if you could, maybe point me in the right direction, as far as what sort of languages I will need to learn for a project like this.Thanks in advance.   
  Can anyone help at all?  Thanks.   ;  I can't say I'm really familiar with myBrute, but my advice is to start small, and get feature after feature working.  Just doing something like that, even if it isn't successful in the end will give you the experience of working on something, which can be invaluable.  It might take a few attempts to get things going, but again, the more experience the better, and eventually you'll have the skills you need to tackle something large.  Depending on the nature of the project, you'll eventually have to get help, whether it be programming or art.  Hopefully by that time you'll be much more knowledgeable.So... I guess my answer is this: It's probably going to be a ton of work, but if you start small and stick with it, there's pretty much nothing stopping you.   ;  Hi, answering your question  I would say, it would be a lot of work, in minimum your team should consist from 2 programmers who knows PHP, mySQL and etc., artist, animator ( for sprites ), flash developer. And with that team it would take you approximately 10 months. I could be wrong as well.But as one man already said, you should start from small projects like tetris or snake, and when you will know how to create simple games, try something bigger, with bigger team. :)   ;Quote:So... I guess my answer is this: It's probably going to be a ton of work, but if you start small and stick with it, there's pretty much nothing stopping you.That's a good plan.  I have a general plan of how the game will play right now, and could definitely break it down feature by feature.In case you're wondering, here is the game I'm referring to:http://www.mybrute.com/It actually seems like it would be relatively simple to make, as it plays like a really pretty text-based game.  You control everything via menus, they've just added cool looking graphics, so it doesn't look as basic as a text-based game.Quote:Hi, answering your question I would say, it would be a lot of work, in minimum your team should consist from 2 programmers who knows PHP, mySQL and etc., artist, animator ( for sprites ), flash developer. And with that team it would take you approximately 10 months. I could be wrong as well.But as one man already said, you should start from small projects like tetris or snake, and when you will know how to create simple games, try something bigger, with bigger team. :)Thanks for your response.  You are right about the artistic stuff.  My plan was to just outsource all of that work, and I hoped that I would be able to handle all of the programming stuff.I'm just not entirely sure how to go about implementing this game.  The way myBrute does it, is that the majority of the game is a simple site done in PHP.  It seems the battles are done in Flash, which seems like the best way to go about doing it for me.  I basically want to know if it would be better to do a full flash game and do all my menus in there, or to do it similar to myBrute where most of the game is a static website with just one or two things in flash.  Right now I'm leaning towards the latter, just because, as a user, I would prefer that type of set up.   ;  One more question.  After some research on my game idea, it turns out the idea has already been done before.  There is a very similar Facebook game that has the same basic idea as my idea.From experience, is it wise to go ahead and develop a game that already exists?  I know, in the console/PC world, there are 100s of games with similar ideas, so I don't think it would be too much of a problem if there were two facebook games with the same idea.And, while the ideas may be the same, I already have quite a large list of differences that would set my game apart from the other one.I just want to know if it's worth my time to go through with this, now that I know it's not an entirely original idea.   ;Quote:Original post by DPatel304After some research on my game idea, it turns out the idea has already been done before.That's an interesting observation considering the title of this thread...Quote:I already have quite a large list of differences that would set my game apart from the other one.In form of market analysis, business plan, product viability, investors, marketing strategy, monetization?Those are the things that differentiate products. Internet is a big place, and human attention span is limited. And the hardest part is to make people even take notice.As far as myBrute goes, it's not the game that's crucial. It's the viral strategy of recruitment incentives that fuels it. This is crucial for constant supply of new brutes, which keeps experience interesting. The second part is the dojo and social aspects as well as leveling. Final part is the random nature. Since one cannot plan accurately, it encourages having many brutes, as well as actively playing them. The actual details of fights, specific weapons, art, don't really matter. MyBrute would lose surprisingly little if played via console.There are interesting tidbits about MyBrute that add to the above, such as using DNS for ID, and lowest possible barrier to entry.But sadly, without means to reach an audience, technical features on web/Flash simply don't go far, since the platform is so limited. All appeal comes from non-technical aspects, and useful information about it isn't as readily available as programming material, since it represents business advantage and tends to be published only after it becomes less relevant.   ;Quote:Original post by AntheusThat's an interesting observation considering the title of this thread...I know it sounds silly, but my game is not exactly a myBrute clone.  I mean, it works in a similar fashion, but is in a different genre than fighting, which makes it unique enough to set it apart from myBrute.  I merely asked how hard it would be to create a myBrute clone to get a rough idea as to the type of workload I should be expecting.Regardless, the other genre that I was thinking of has a similar game that is quite popular on facebook.  I wanted to do a racing game that has the same basic mechanics as myBrute, but there is a game called "Pro Racer", which does the same thing.Quote:In form of market analysis, business plan, product viability, investors, marketing strategy, monetization?Those are the things that differentiate products. Internet is a big place, and human attention span is limited. And the hardest part is to make people even take notice.As far as myBrute goes, it's not the game that's crucial. It's the viral strategy of recruitment incentives that fuels it. This is crucial for constant supply of new brutes, which keeps experience interesting. The second part is the dojo and social aspects as well as leveling. Final part is the random nature. Since one cannot plan accurately, it encourages having many brutes, as well as actively playing them. The actual details of fights, specific weapons, art, don't really matter. MyBrute would lose surprisingly little if played via console.There are interesting tidbits about MyBrute that add to the above, such as using DNS for ID, and lowest possible barrier to entry.But sadly, without means to reach an audience, technical features on web/Flash simply don't go far, since the platform is so limited. All appeal comes from non-technical aspects, and useful information about it isn't as readily available as programming material, since it represents business advantage and tends to be published only after it becomes less relevant.I'm very amateur when it comes to the business side of things like this, so I don't feel like I have the research that I need to say how successful my game could be.  I do game a lot, and have read articles and watched talks on what makes games (particularly MMO's) so addictive.  My idea came about while reading these articles.  I do feel there is lots of potential on Facebook to take existing ideas and make them more accessible to people who don't normally game.  MMO's do a great job at getting their players hooked, and I wanted to create a game that had many elements of an MMO, but something that wouldn't scare away those who don't normally game.I realize there is far more to making a successful game than that, but that is what I have right now.  I'm basically looking at successful products, reading articles on how games achieve success, and using all that knowledge to determine how to go about creating my game.   