I don't know if this is the right spot for this question but... I have little to no experience in Video Game Development, I would like to know the best Application for Mac OS X that can get me started. Has far as money goes, try to keep it affordable. Thanks!
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macOS Game Development Help?!
- Thread starter ajvizzgamer101
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Xcode. It is free. Download it from the Apple developer site.
Questions like this should probably go in the Mac Programming forum directly above this one.
You want to make a game therefore you need to learn how to program. Given some patience though it is perfectly possible and very rewarding. You just need to put the effort in.
The best app for making a game, by far, is Unity. Xcode isn't really the best place to start, since you have to do everything from scratch, and hardly anybody programs their own engines anymore; it's just far too time-consuming and pointless these days. Note: you still need to program. You're not going to get anywhere if you don't know how to do that.
--Eric
--Eric
You may want to think about this before getting into programming. I don't think it's possible to be a programmer without having a passion for it, so if you just think it would be cool to make a game you may not be the right type. That being said, I don't want to discourage you. What you need to think about first, before everything else, is what language you want to learn. Pretty much everyone that posts in here knows a bit about a particular language, and can tell you the ups and downs of it. Once you have a language, we can talk about tutorials and tools to use.
I thought I saw some applications where it codes for you. You just simple drag and click objects and assign different attributes with pull down menus and stuff.
They are available, I just don't think they are very good if you want to make a complex game. On the other hand if all you want to make is something simple then they can be a great solution.
From the sounds of it Unity would be your best bet. It offers the best of both worlds.
I heard the language choices to go with it though aren't good though... I don't remember much really but someone recommended it when I was starting mac programming and I remember not liking my options. Hmmm... 
Game Maker Mac
Game maker MAC is releasing soon ( http://www.yoyogames.com ) It has simple Drag 'N' Drop icons and you can easily create amazing games or you can go more in depth and learn Gml but... It is shareware (buy the full version for $20.00 ) But even with the free version with a bit of practice you can make awesome professional games in no time!!! It may be a month or two until Game Maker MACs release but i would recommend waiting!
Look me up on the forums ( http://gmc.yoyogames.com my name is 64days)
If you need any help!
Game maker MAC is releasing soon ( http://www.yoyogames.com ) It has simple Drag 'N' Drop icons and you can easily create amazing games or you can go more in depth and learn Gml but... It is shareware (buy the full version for $20.00 ) But even with the free version with a bit of practice you can make awesome professional games in no time!!! It may be a month or two until Game Maker MACs release but i would recommend waiting!
Look me up on the forums ( http://gmc.yoyogames.com my name is 64days)
If you need any help!
You and I must have incredibly different opinions on what a professional game is, and definitely differing opinions on "awesome professional games"
I heard the language choices to go with it though aren't good though... I don't remember much really but someone recommended it when I was starting mac programming and I remember not liking my options. Hmmm...
There's nothing wrong with any of the choices. It has Javascript, C# (similar to Java), and Boo (similar to Python). The Javascript is a bit misnamed though as it's not really that much like Web Javascript. Also keep in mind that the languages are used for game scripting, and hence something like C++ would be a poor choice in that context.
--Eric
I heard the language choices to go with it though aren't good though... I don't remember much really but someone recommended it when I was starting mac programming and I remember not liking my options. Hmmm...
C#, Javascript and C/C++ (I think you need the pro version to use C/C++ in it though). Nothing wrong with those.
There is all kinds of ways to make games. Anything worth using however requires programming. What you need to do is pick the style of game it is, and the platforms you want it to run on.
My pick for library / platform set is SDL + OpenGL. The SDL set handles the windowing interface, while OpenGL handles the hardware interfacing for rendering the game. It can be done to use other lanuages such as Java to code for these libraries but generally you are looking at using C++. To learn C++ is a lot of work as there are a ton of abstract concepts you need to learn and implement (inheritance, polymorphism, data structures (stacks, trees, hash tables, etc), etc).
I would look at getting your feet wet with some basic text based programming (text based adventure games are a good way to get some ground skills in, same with card games even (stacks are your friend there)).
Once you get a grasp of the language, then you can start looking at expanding it with stuff like OpenGL.
Good Luck!
My pick for library / platform set is SDL + OpenGL. The SDL set handles the windowing interface, while OpenGL handles the hardware interfacing for rendering the game. It can be done to use other lanuages such as Java to code for these libraries but generally you are looking at using C++. To learn C++ is a lot of work as there are a ton of abstract concepts you need to learn and implement (inheritance, polymorphism, data structures (stacks, trees, hash tables, etc), etc).
I would look at getting your feet wet with some basic text based programming (text based adventure games are a good way to get some ground skills in, same with card games even (stacks are your friend there)).
Once you get a grasp of the language, then you can start looking at expanding it with stuff like OpenGL.
Good Luck!
I agree, but I think to get the initial buzz of creating something, a drag-and-drop tool could be useful. I remember playing around with 3D game maker and Graphic Adventure Creator on the ZX Spectrum years ago.
It's worth remembering, the more design decisions you leave in the hands of the tool / engine creator, the less flexibility you'll have. You may find a tool / application / engine doesn't make it easy to do what you might want to do in your game, so programming is important as it gives you this flexibility.
You could also try the modding approach - developing content around a commercial game / engine. Again, you're tied to what the engine can do, but there are some excellent mods to some popular games.
I don't think I've ever played a decent game that was made using a game maker thing. I'd start off learning some basic Java, you can start making simple games pretty soon then. When I say simple, I mean very simple
Ed
Or Python + Pygame modules. My old programming teacher started using that in his classes for the intro stuff.
Don't knock game maker things. Most all games are made with a game maker thing of one sort or another. Level designers for your favorite commercial game used a game maker thing (probably consisting of a 3rd-party engine plus various in-house tools).
An off-the-self tool like one mentioned above will sacrifice flexibility and constrain you graphics, audio, AI, etc. You probably won't be breaking ground technically. But a good tool (I've never looked at the that one, so I don't know if it's a good one) will give you room to be creative. And that's all you need to make a good game (well, you also need good ideas and persistence).
But inevitably you're going to want to do programming of some kind to make the game you want. Look for a tool that provides a straightforward scripting environment. This will let you add some nice capabilities to your game without taking on high-performance C++ coding right off the bat.
An off-the-self tool like one mentioned above will sacrifice flexibility and constrain you graphics, audio, AI, etc. You probably won't be breaking ground technically. But a good tool (I've never looked at the that one, so I don't know if it's a good one) will give you room to be creative. And that's all you need to make a good game (well, you also need good ideas and persistence).
But inevitably you're going to want to do programming of some kind to make the game you want. Look for a tool that provides a straightforward scripting environment. This will let you add some nice capabilities to your game without taking on high-performance C++ coding right off the bat.
True. But the major difference is that they have the knowledge to fix / extend / optimise things as they see fit.
With someone with no programming experience they are at the total mercy of the company that makes the game tool, and I've heard some shocking stories about game maker software over at http://www.gamedev.com/ but having said all that I just took another look at the Unity website and apparently they have just released version 2.1, and I must admit I am extremely impressed. Some of the features they list there are really extremely powerful indeed. If I was going to make a game (seriously) I think after looking at the new release I would most likely use Unity.
Still my original point still stands, you do need to know how to program to make games. Download Xcode and get some practice in. It will make everything so much clearer and easier down the road.
I still say gamemaker
I still say game maker try any of the top 10 games they are so good on http://www.yoyogames.com !!!
I still say game maker try any of the top 10 games they are so good on http://www.yoyogames.com !!!