Game Making Materials

What do you need to make computer games?

Assuming you already have access to a computer, there are other materials you’ll need to acquire. Fortunately, if money is an issue, once you have a computer, you can find a free version of everything else …

Specifically, there are few tools of the trade that you need to have in order to create a game. The tools we need should be obvious once we think about the fundamental elements that are in games? Basically its graphics, audio (the game assets and the game logic. And for each of these game assets, you’ll inevitably need the ability to create and edit.

2D Graphics Editors

Unless you have a team of artists at your disposal, you’re going to need to make (or at least edit) some art. If it is a 2D game you’ll need lots of 2D art, and if its a 3D game … well, you’ll still need lots of 2D art (textures).

There is little doubt in my mind that Adobe Photoshop is the best 2D graphics editor. If you’re a real student at a real University, you may be able to get a discount on the software or even a student license. If not, Adobe Photoshop Elements is very powerful and affordable … and you’ll be able to use it for much more than just making games.

Otherwise, there are some decent free alternatives available, including GIMP which is both free and cross platform for fans of Linux.

Beware that these programs have a bit of a learning curve. However, don’t let that intimidate you. There is a great deal that can be done with a few Google images with just a little editing. Part of the fun of game programming is to see how easily a flat and static image comes to life when you make it move on the screen.

Just make sure you don’t use copyrighted images!

Also, don’t forget that another source for your images is using digital cameras or even scanning your own drawings! I’ve seen some really impressive textures recently that were made by scanning water-color paintings the artist had first created.

3D Graphic Modelers

Since this is lesson is just “getting started", I’ll save discussion of 3D graphics for later. The basics of 3D modeling is enough for an entire lesson!

Audio

I’m definitely not an expert on Audio, but I still keep a copy of the free software Audacity handy. It is fairly simple to use and has come in handy on many occasions.

For finding the right sound for your game I suggest checking out The Free Sound Project. It might also inspire you to grab a microphone and record your own sound effects.

Creating and Editing the Game Logic

Finally, you’ll need some way to tell the computer how to put it all together and make it into a game … this is both as easy and as hard as it sounds. And I’ll cover that in a separate post.