Torque for Teens, Second Edition

413 Pages·2010·11.984 MB·English

by  Michael Duggan

Torque for Teens,
Second Edition
Michael Duggan
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This bookis dedicated to all those dreamers who want to make homemade
games a common reality and will one day.
Acknowledgments
For the construction of this book there have been many supporters, especially
from the Torque community. This involved contributions from Christophe
Canon,3drt.com,Benjamin“Djaggernaut”Chavigner,Nermin,JosiahPisciotta,
Stephande Conde, Dylan Romero, Brett Seyler, Randel Reiss, Mark Frohmayer,
Tony Ramos, Ian Hardingham, and Paul Taylor. Several people helped really
hammer this tome into shape, including Emi Smith, Jenny Davidson, and
Jacquie Finney. And my labors would have beena lot tougher it hadn’t beenfor
the help of my family, particularly my wife,Krystal, and my kids.
iv
About the Author
Michael Duggan is an author and illustrator by trade, as well as a college
instructor in digital media and game design. He created core curriculum for
gamedevelopmentprogramsatbothBryanCollegeandNorthArkansasCollege.
Hehasbeenaguestspeakeronthetopicofaffordablegameenginetechnologyat
several conferences. Other books he’s written include The Official Guide to
3D GameStudio, Torque for Teens, Web Comics for Teens, 2D Game Building for
Teens, and Wii Game Creation for Teens. Michael spends most of his free time
drawing children’s books and making cartoon animations and games. For more
information about the author, go to mdduggan.com.
v
Contents
Introduction .................................................xvii
Chapter1 SoYouWanttoBeaGameDesigner? .................... 1
WhataGameDesignerIsandIsNot .............................. 1
WhatAboutIndieGameDesign?................................. 6
GameDevStepbyStep ......................................... 8
Pre-Production .............................................. 8
ConceptCreation ..........................................8
ConceptFinalization........................................9
Preparation ..............................................10
Production.................................................10
Post-Production.............................................10
TestingandQA...........................................10
Marketing ...............................................12
Expansion................................................12
WheretoGetThoseKillerGameIdeas ........................... 13
WhatMakesaKillerGame? .................................... 14
GameplayMechanics ........................................15
Gameplayvs.Graphics.....................................16
Interactivity................................................17
GivePlayersControl.......................................18
TeachPlayerstoPlay ................................... 18
GivePlayersChoicestoMake ............................ 19
vi
Contents vii
MakeEnvironmentsReactive ...............................21
ImmersethePlayer........................................21
GetPlayersMotivated .................................. 23
MakeYourGameEmotional............................. 24
AddConflicttoYourGame.............................. 27
MakeYourGameChallenging ..............................30
TypesofGameChallenges............................... 30
TheGameLoop........................................ 32
Competition .......................................... 33
Chance ............................................... 34
TheFourFsofGreatGameDesign.............................34
Fun .....................................................34
Fairness..................................................36
Feedback ................................................36
Feasibility................................................37
AcceptedGameGenres ....................................38
ActionGames ............................................38
AdventureGames.........................................40
Role-PlayingGames .......................................41
StrategyGames...........................................42
OtherGameGenres .......................................42
What’sNext?................................................. 43
Chapter2 Torque3D:UndertheHood............................ 45
WhyaGameEngine?.......................................... 46
Torque3DFeatures ........................................... 48
GamesMadewithTorque3D ................................... 51
Licensing .................................................... 54
OtherTorqueProductstoConsider .............................. 55
Torque2D .................................................55
iTorque2D.................................................58
ConsoleGameDevelopment..................................58
TforWii.................................................58
Torque360...............................................58
TorqueX ................................................59
ComponentsofTorque3D ..................................... 60
WorldEditorToolset ........................................60
TorqueScript ...............................................62
viii Contents
CodingAdd-OnTools......................................62
Torsion............................................... 62
PlasticTweaker........................................ 62
UniversalAIStarterKit.................................. 63
Codeweaver........................................... 63
GameMechanicsKit.................................... 63
Next-GenRenderingCapabilities..............................63
WebPublishingCapabilities ..................................65
What’sNext?................................................. 65
Chapter3 CreatingaBasicGameOutline.......................... 67
GameDesignDocument ....................................... 68
QuestionstoAskYourself....................................68
WhatIsThisGame?........................................69
WhyCreateThisGame?....................................69
WhereDoesThisGameTakePlace?..........................69
What/WhoDoIControlinThisGame? .......................69
WhatIsthePointofThisGame?.............................69
What’sSoDifferentAboutThisGame?.......................69
GameOverview.............................................70
WriteaConceptStatement.................................70
ThinkUpYourObjectives ..................................71
DefineYourTargetAudience...............................72
EstablishtheScopeoftheProject............................73
WritetheFeatureSet........................................76
WorkBreakdown ...........................................78
TaskDetermination .......................................78
EstimatingaTimeline......................................78
EstimatingCosts ..........................................79
AssetProduction............................................79
TheGameWorld..........................................79
TheGameCharacters......................................80
TheGameItems...........................................80
InterfaceDesign ............................................80
SoundDesign ..............................................81
TechnicalSpecs .............................................81
GameOutlineExample ........................................ 82
RavenscroftOutline .........................................82
MystOutline ...............................................84
What’sNext?................................................. 84
Contents ix
Chapter4 OpeningYourGarage................................. 89
Jump-StartingYourEngine..................................... 89
InstallTorque3D............................................89
InstallAdditionalSoftware...................................90
DirectXSDK..............................................90
2DImageEditor ..........................................91
3DModelingProgram .....................................91
ScriptEditor..............................................92
TakeTorqueforaTestDrive..................................94
Toolbox .................................................94
Demos................................................ 95
Examples ............................................. 96
CreateaNewProject .......................................106
AddComments..........................................107
AddQuickLinks .........................................108
EditProjectThumbnail....................................109
GetStartedintheWorldEditor ..............................111
WorldEditorInterface....................................111
ToolsBar ............................................ 112
PreferenceSettings.................................... 113
MeetGideon............................................114
ManipulateObjectswithGizmos...........................116
Translate ............................................ 118
Rotate............................................... 118
Scale ................................................ 119
ManipulateObjectswiththeInspectorPanel.............. 119
What’sNext?................................................ 120
Chapter5 ThisIsYourLand:TheWorldEditor .................... 121
LevelUp!WhatItTakesinLevelDesign ......................... 121
LevelDesignerDosandDon’ts ...............................124
ExteriorandInteriorSpaces..................................126
ExteriorSpace:TheGreatOutdoors.........................126
InteriorSpace:GoingIndoors..............................126
CreatingaWorldwithWorldEditor ............................ 128
AddingTerrain ............................................128
CreatingBlankTerrain....................................128
CreatingFlat,GenericTerrain........................... 129
CreatingMountainousTerrain.......................... 131