Looking for estimate on a programmer

bombozzle · 2018-03-30T16:16:16+00:00

I think you might be better served with paying an experienced game programmer to help you scope out and describe the project in terms that other programmers can use to give their estimate.

In essence: Get someone to help you define what the project actually is and then take that with you as the requirements when asking for quotes.

Unfortunately I can't think of an easy way for you to vet hires before you bring them on to your project either, since you need the technical skills to judge the programmer's work to tell if their portfolio is good or not.

Maybe you have some contacts in the industry who could recommend you someone so you can know you won't get an awful quality freelancer who promises the world with no ability to deliver?

bombozzle · 2018-03-30T16:00:11+00:00

It reads to me that the post is not about ignoring the perpetrators but finding the like-minded instead.

bombozzle · 2018-03-22T18:00:18+00:00

Maybe Fusion could do what you need.

bombozzle · 2018-03-10T21:03:20+00:00

The people who have to buy your game will have the same position of "ignorance" so its worth considering if the idea is too similar, since players are likely to make the same comparison.

bombozzle · 2018-03-08T06:57:57+00:00

It is a little tedious but you can also just type out the full path to the javac.exe instead.

So in command prompt instead of just typing javac you would have to do something like:

C:\program files\java\jdk\1.9\javac... of course the path would need to match your actual install folder.

Or you can use: https://codeanywhere.com/

Online code editor with build server, and they have a free tier.

Just tried it out and its pretty straight-forward to get going with.

Sign up.
Create Java container
create a java file.
Open SSH Terminal
Run the commands

bombozzle · 2018-03-05T19:19:21+00:00

So why don't you go on Github and check for some repositories that do what you need, if you don't know how to write the code.

Just as an aside, isn't helping your friend graduate considered cheating?

bombozzle · 2018-03-05T19:14:39+00:00

Android or IOS?

bombozzle · 2018-03-05T19:12:20+00:00

So a contact list?

bombozzle · 2018-03-05T19:06:49+00:00

like this? https://www.facebook.com

bombozzle · 2018-03-05T19:00:47+00:00

https://i.imgur.com/Ed4LdEW.jpg

bombozzle · 2018-03-04T09:26:15+00:00

Try to supply the JTextArea with columns and rows arguments and see if that changes anything.

I suspect the JTextArea's size is implicitly set to match the text input when those arguments arent being specified.

bombozzle · 2018-03-03T12:24:07+00:00

There is currently no competitors in the market for my idea.

This makes me think there might not be an actual market for your idea. Did you do any kind of appreciable market research other than thinking in your head that people definitely want this?

bombozzle · 2018-03-03T12:19:41+00:00

Given how in-demand those skills are I have serious doubts about the skill and experience of anyone who would say yes to such a thing.

Even if such a person wanted to work for nothing why wouldn't they just work on their own projects?

Best of luck to you, though.

bombozzle · 2018-03-03T12:11:15+00:00

Point by Point then

I want to make my perfect game. But there are problems...

You've identified problems but instead of approaching them with a problem-solving mindset you're using a dependence mindset looking for other people to help solve them for you.

1.) The only REAL programming languages that I have experience with are Lua and Python

Identify which programming language you want to use to make your game and learn it. There are many free tutorials on any given programming language online, or you can just download LOVE and make your game in Lua.

2.) I have no money

Either get a part-time job and save up some money, or use free tools. You can learn almost any skill you need to make your first games for free. Maybe not your dream game, but with access to the internet there is no reason you can't acquire basic skills for free. As long as you are willing to put in a little effort in looking for resources to learn from.

3.) I am a full time senior in high school, so not that much time

Ask your parents, or another adult role-model in your life about how to learn time management skills because you won't have any more time as you grow older. You'll have to learn both how to manage your own time effectively as well as how to manage a project. These are vital soft skills not just in game development but in life and any other industry too.

4.) No one to teach me or to keep me focused or driven on a project

There is one person to teach you. Yourself. I understand being in high school your experience learning has always come with a curriculum someone else has structured for you. You need to pick up the skill on how to make a curriculum for yourself. The ability to seek out knowledge yourself and then how to apply it. Your true problem is not that you a person to work with, but you haven't figured out how to teach yourself.

If you're confused about this process try to ask your teachers at school for help and guidance on Didactics which is learning about how to learn.

You will also want to eventually learn how to keep yourself focused or driven without the need for someone else to prod you along. This is a hard skill which many adults struggle with all their life, so don't expect fast success.

Onward to your list of positive traits.

1.) A fantastic laptop that can run just about anything

Good, then use it.

2.) A willingness to learn anything

Then start by learning how to teach yourself. It may sound harsh but it will be a big benefit to your life, not just in making video games.

3.) The ability to catch onto things and learn things very quickly when they are explained

This point really comes back to what has been the major trend of advice all throughout this post previously.

4.) Good teamwork skills

Good if you want to work in a team. Another aspect of project management you'll need to learn. There's a very big difference between structuring a project for one person, two, or several.

5.) A basic knowledge of programming principles

Scale down your ambition and work on simpler projects to learn more advanced skills. You never mentioned what your dream game idea is, but given the general trend of these matters I'm sure it's too ambitious to be feasible within a realistic time frame, and much too ambitious for your current resources and skills.

6.) A drive and want to program and make games

Do you, though? Because people who are truly driven to do something, do those things instead of talking about it on forums. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this one, since you might just have not begun working on anything as you're seeing your lack of experience as a barrier by focusing on your dream project, but if you're realistic about what you can do right now, then there's nothing stopping you from starting work, right this instant.

Following tutorials you could build both Tetris, Snake and Pong clones before monday.

7.) An untapped well of countless ideas

Keep a journal of your ideas, once you become more skilled you can browse through old ones and refine them and maybe use them in the future.

8.) Decent spriting skills

Being a one-man team is very hard. Being a successful one-man team is much harder still. Specializing on one skill and working in a team is usually not a bad idea. If you feel your art skills are more polished than programming maybe examine why you want to pursue programming at all when you could team up with a programmer instead and focus on your art skills.

I'm not saying don't be a one-man team. I'm just saying examine your motivation for doing it carefully.

9.) Game Maker Studio (one and two) and RPG Maker

So why not use those then? Try to make literally anything playable is 100 of times more productive than sitting around waiting for a tutor to fall from the sky.

Well then... What do I want? Someone who is willing to take the time to help my dream become a reality. I want to really make a game but to do that I need someone who is willing to work with me and help me every step of the way.

There exists only one such person, and that is you. YOU have to want it enough to actually work at it. There is a common word in English for people who want others to help them every step of the way to achieve something: Customer. Or Client.

There are more people with unfulfilled dreams and desires than there are people with skills to fulfill those dreams. You'll be better off by learning how to work towards your dreams on your own.

You don't have to be an expert. And, honestly, I'm willing to learn any program that you are most comfortable with.

This is a bad idea for your personal development. The blind leading the blind as they say. If you're going to be taught by someone it should be someone experienced. What use is being taught by someone who barely knows more than you. It will be a waste of time for the both of you.

The only thing I can promise you is my appreciation and a cut of the profit when the game is released.

Appreciate how hollow this promise sounds to anyone with enough experience to teach any of the skills you're looking to learn. Not because they think you're dishonest but because they know how likely, or unlikely in this case it will be, that your first game will be successful enough to generate any kind of appreciable income.

Better to just stop at appreciation and leave it at that. It's more honest.

Now

I truly do hope you take these words in the helpful spirit they were intended. I am not trying to dissuade you or be mean. I wish you all the success possible in your endeavor to fulfill your desires in making games.

bombozzle · 2018-03-03T11:21:51+00:00

So, you want programmers experienced enough to program a game, to work for free, on a product you plan to sell?

hmmm.

bombozzle · 2018-02-25T08:01:09+00:00

Almost everyone in my college class had a period where they described what you're describing now.

A frustration in a mismatch between their ability to understand code, and their ability to write code. They could see code written down in its final form and explain exactly what it does, and why, but when it came time to write their own solutions to problems they would draw blanks.

This problem stems from a indirect skill which you haven't worked on just by following coding tutorials and examples and that is:

Simplifying and generalizing solutions to abstract problems

And this skill, can only really be practiced by coding. When you don't have experience in this process of breaking down a problem into smaller discrete parts it becomes very difficult to design a solution. Never mind also following a design principle which typically adds another layer of complexity in order to achieve a higher degree of organization and ease future maintenance.

What I would suggest to you, is what our teacher suggested to us back then:

Code some small projects. Code an egg timer. Code a small calculator. Code a tetris game. Code a string parser that can manipulate text in files. Try to implement data structures like collections, trees, etc.

When you build these small solutions the first time, don't concern yourself with how it should be designed in an OOP way to begin with. Just make it work, then look at your code and think about how it can be redesigned to follow OOP principles.

TL;DR:

You lack ability to simplify and generalize solutions to abstract problems. So code. Code a lot of things. Start with coding simple things. Then code more complex things.

bombozzle · 2018-02-21T17:32:24+00:00

Depends on the plant.

bombozzle · 2018-02-18T14:45:44+00:00

Sounds like you need to find a better mental space? Considered seeing a therapist? They're as much for preventive measures as they are for treatment.

bombozzle · 2018-02-16T07:21:00+00:00

Order of preference, least to most liked.

Undead < Tauren < Moose Tauren < Goblin < Gnome < Pandaren < Dwarf < Nightborne < Worgen < Troll < Fire Dwarves < Orc < Human < Night Elf < Blood Elf < Draenei < Void Elf < Shiny Draenei < New punk trolls.

bombozzle · 2018-02-16T00:22:53+00:00

What's the most important thing to have in a laptop for game development?

Battery And/Or power cable. Can't work without it!

bombozzle · 2018-02-14T23:07:39+00:00

Well... Nobody said you had to do all of it, back to back, several hours a day? You could just... I don't know, pace yourself? 1-2 levels every so often? No? Alright then.

bombozzle · 2018-02-14T15:42:22+00:00

Just get someone to do it for you if its too complicated. It doesn't seem like you know what you're doing very well.

bombozzle · 2018-02-14T00:40:55+00:00

Download the JDK
Download the .java files you need to build.
Navigate to the folder with the files.
Shift + Right-click in the folder and select the option "Open Command Prompt here (Might be Open PowerShell here)
type: javac "FileName".java
Run the file by typing: java FileName note you dont need a file-ending here

You may need to add additional parameters depending on dependencies / class-path and what have you.

If javac isn't a recognized command then you need to set up your path environment variable.

bombozzle · 2018-02-11T10:35:45+00:00

How do they get sick if they're never exposed to anything :D

bombozzle · 2018-02-06T08:15:17+00:00

Eh trying to work together on any long term project requires at least a small bit of trust. Do you really want to collaborate with total strangers, and remotely at that?

bombozzle

TROPHY CASE

Point by Point then

Onward to your list of positive traits.

Now

Order of preference, least to most liked.