Going commercial, requesting suggestions

mersox

mersox

Active member
Hi friends. Lately I have been thinking quite seriously into "transitioning" from making fangames to creating fully commercial games.

I think OpenBOR is a wonderful tool, and it has served me well - now I know that I have it in me to create games. I am stuck in the past and I have been quite detached from the videogame scene in the last few generations, but a few thing I know I would need if I make the jump to commercial games, especially if I approach IP license holders, is that I would need to consider two things: complete control of the engine (being able to assist with any technical issues that paying customers might have), and ability to port the game to current consoles. Sadly, I can't do these things with OpenBOR.

My only experience in game development has been with OpenBOR , and a bit of Multimedia Fusion back in the day. Do you have any recommendations for a suitable engine, given my limited experience? I know I would need to learn how to use it/learn a programming language, I just don't even know where to look/begin. Speaking of, when we create scripts in OpenBOR, which language is that?

Or maybe this is an absurd notion and even if I use another engine I would have to limit myself to being a main designer and business man and hire someone else to do the actual programming? (that would suck)

Thanks guys.
 
Depends which platforms you want to export.

There is a free engine which is getting very much attention - Godot. It's free, powerful, can handle 2D and 3D.
If you don't bother porting to PS4 (they aren't exporting to PS4 yet), I would go with Godot

Godot - https://godotengine.org/features
Mobile platforms: iOS, Android
Desktop platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, UWP, *BSD, Haiku
Export to the web using HTML and Web Assembly
One-click deploy & export to most platforms. Easy to create custom builds too.

If you want to port to most recent platforms, then you would choose Game Maker
(Windows desktop, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, Android, iOS, fireTV, Android TV, Microsoft UWP, HTML5, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.)
Game Maker - https://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/features

Be warned that:
- Game Maker is not free (and its export modules can be pretty expensive, although you can always get a discount here and there)
- To export to PS4 and Xbox is not cheap.

For example, the Game Maker version which lets you export to all platforms (UWP, Switch, PS4 and XBOX one) costs US$1500 for a 12 months license.
 
First of all! BEST of Luck! I was thinking about doing the same thing, at some point. I would probably try making games for mobile devices since (as far as I know) they're probably cheaper to produce and also more affordable for users. Making games for PS4 is most likely too expensive. I believe Android is a good start.  But then again, I just don't know much about this stuff. If you go to say, Google Play, you'll see a lot of small developers that know coding but are not quite as creative. You're very creative!

-Just Saying-
 
Please understand I'm not trying to be a wet blanket or anything, and certainly don't want to discourage you. But I do think maybe a voice of reason is needed. Your final question pretty much tells the tale - if you don't know what language OpenBOR script is based on (it's a subset of C), then you are nowhere close to ready for commercial game development.

The simple fact is unless you have a reasonable level of coding and or engineering knowledge - at least enough to identify languages and interpret them, you're not going to gain traction as a commercial game maker. You might manage to make some sales on Steam here and there, but you'll never get beyond hobby level. The chances of making headway with IP holders or development groups is virtually nil.

It also plays into an issue you mentioned - technical assistance. If you lack that ability with OpenBOR, then you won't be any better off with another engine. GoDot is a nice tool, but again, you'll essentially be doing the same thing you are now.

Now notice, I didn't say you had to be some master coder. There's a reason engines exist. Even the professionals don't reinvent the wheel over and over, and game teams are made up of people with myriad specialties. But you better believe that all of them have a level of core competency. The artists have some engineering skill, the coders understand basic art design, all of them are proficient with project management, etc.

I would highly recommend you fill in that gap first. Maybe take some CS courses at your local community college or online, try your hand at making some additions to the OpenBOR engine or some other coding project, or just buy a book on C++ and mess around. This guy will also go a long way to get you started.

No matter what you choose, I wish you all the best and hope you'll stick around with the community. :)

DC

 
OpenBOR CAN be used for commercial development, see the latest version of Urban Lockdown as an example.
 
Thank you very much guys. This is very useful. I can start formulating a plan of action now :)
I'm not going anywhere. I'd like to finish my existing OpenBOR projects, plus who knows how long it will take me to determine my next step.

O Ilusionista I hadn't heard of Godot, and I knew of Game Maker but didn't know it could do ports. I will look into both options

GaBoTiCo I really appreciate your support and encouragement! I guess you're right and mobile should be my first focus

Damon Caskey thank you for the explanation (so we used C and not C++, right?).  I'll check out that channel.

Miru I am aware of Urban Lockdown and Bad Ass Babes. Both releases support my opinion that OpenBOR, while great for enthusiasts, can be problematic for commercial releases IMO

 
nsw25 said:
Yes Urban Lockdown and Bad ass babes are examples of consumers complaining about engine faults/issues/quirks and blaming me and the game (example: controller issues... and people really just hate having to configure game controllers... I don't see the big deal about that.) ...But we have a new version of engine to be released someday soon so fingers crossed its more stable and irons out some of the issues.

I think DC covered everything in his post.

You are good at Openbor but will be starting from scratch in another engine, Yes Openbor has limitations, but so do you (and me)... if scripting isnt your thing (like me) then another engine is near impossible to learn and take on a new project by yourself (maybe showcase what you have done so far as part of a resume and join an existing team and project on another engine and get familiar with it ?)

you could hire a game developer assistant to help with the technical things- thats what I do with Bloodbane as he has been very helpful for me as ive been able to explain what I want and we work together to get it done. I actually offered to have a lot of people be a part of my team and part of my journey but many turned me down lol.

My point is Know your strengths and weaknesses !

I would love to see more commercial games on Openbor. I really wanted to help bring attention to Openbor. DC and team have done an amazing job creating/developing a engine the beginners can pick up and create their dream games. My only issue from personal experience is rightly or wrongly I felt like the invisible man and that this community didnt help enough support or promote my crowd funding campaigns or my releases (maybe ashamed of me or my nudie game?)- maybe not understanding that my success would bring openbor exposure and success. Also the more help i get and the more we can showcase with the engine the more appealing it is for others- with all the identification of engine issues there has also been glowing comments from customers suprised with some of the things weve been able to do with the engine which has made them revisit the engine etc.

I say stick with Openbor. You will get the help and support here and if theres anything I can personally do to help you let me know.


BTW is your plan to sell a standalone game ? for PC? or a mobile game with ads for revnue or add on content etc ? work out whats your audience/ demographic going to be and then work from there and game type, platform and engine will all flow from that.

my strategy was to make a game I would enjoy which was: digitized graphics and martial arts- which is why i made urban lockdown, but I knew that game would have limited attraction to some people- so i thought ok well what does everyone like and that's where i came to the idea to focus it on women, and then digitized graphics with women means can have nudity and every one loves nudity ( but then created my own censorship code to keep things like a R rated movie so it would still reach good audience and not be too explicit to sell) and then i thought ok well how to make it relevant to story as I didn't want to make a porno game. and thats where i came up with B grade film style of game like grindhouse/exploitation films etc.

and whats your goal, make a game for profit ? or for your experience ? Mine was experience and to create an IP that I can then use for other projects like movies etc, and then when time comes for can use that IP and expand on with other platforms and engines etc if need be.

P.S if you do stick with Openbor be careful and don't release a pak publicly for testing etc... I asked for help locking/securing paks and was refused any help and instruction so when I shared an early demo for feedback and assistance someone stole assets from my bad ass babes game and every now and then keeps releasing a horrible butchered and pornographic hack- it is riddled with bugs and issues and is very damaging to my IP...

I can show you how to compile Paks to a single exe to help slow down piracy to your assets etc. (but only for commercial games as I feel the openness of openbor games is how we all learn and grow)
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for chiming in. Your opinion on this matter if very valuable given your experience in selling your OpenBOR mods. Honestly I'm a bit surprised to see that you are suggesting to stick with OpenBOR.
Compiling paks into exe is problematic because users may need to access the log file and/or delete save files when troubleshooting (please correct me if I'm wrong).
 
mersox the log file is not part of module packs. It is generated at run time and saved outside of the data folder.

Also, you're kind of looking at this from the wrong angle. The engine you use is a decision that should be made first based on what you want to make, and what you are comfortable with.

If you want to make a beat em' up or 2D platformer, you use OpenBOR. It is simply the best engine there is for those sorts of things (which you're going to discover very quickly once you try something else). If you want to make a Devil May Cry or pretty much any sort of 3D open field, you'll want Unity. It's the best there is at those sorts of things. If you want a one on one 2D fighter, get Mugen. Might be a problem for comercial licensing, but it's the best there is at those sorts of things (see a pattern yet?). Mobile? Time to learn some Java.

Point is, as I mentioned before, you need to be well rounded, because there's no one size fits easy button. Every task has a tool that is appropriate. You can't drive nails with a screwdriver, you can't twist screws with a hammer, and you can't build houses without laying the foundation first.

DC
 
I hate to be a necromancer, but here it is - because i don't get to share this very often

what DC said -
BUt either way i hope that you make it against all any & all odds.

if you ever do i ask this of you:

Gaming development needs to change.
Our current model is bad, there is no need to have consoles anymore, they pollute, they are hard to re-cycle & it just encourages greed.
its similar to the way Social security institutions work well at first in some countries, & then they just become  places where people have "guaranteed" job

the gaming industry is becoming that, big stablished institutions that churn out new "necessary" equipment every 5 6 years, make their loot & consequences be dammed.
they abuse their employees, make unfair contracts, and practice copyright & patent trolling

planned obsolescence, games that dissappear unless you pirate them, the list is long...

If you ever make it , make sure that games are compatible even with simpler graphics.
People fortunate enough to have high end systems can download better textures & models & if you wish they can pay for them oR not
allow users to play them in all their devices, using any input they wish.
make it mod friendly, local coop, wireless/wired linking device to device, and playable offline

there is 7.7 Billion people in the world
MAke a good  game, sell it or market/make it available  in a way that those 7.7 billion get to play it for a mere 50 cents, in the long run you & your co-workers will make three billion eight hundred fifty million.
 
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