I'm an "idea person": I want to eventually make a game and I only know a smidgeon of (x)html and css. I've asked around several times for suggestions on how/where to start and people here have been kind about the whole thing. But so far, it hasn't gotten me anywhere. I'm sure I can learn. I'm not sure what the issue is. The whole thing annoys me.
I kind of want a basic game of the "rogue-like" variety that I can figure out how to modify/play with as my "sand box". Or I want someone to just basically inject coding into my brain. I don't think that's so unreasonable: The right person/delivery method can make a world of difference. I found ways to teach math to my son with dyscalculia (so he can't crunch numbers but I was fairly good at math once upon a time). So long experience tells me this may be a long shot but not actually "impossible" (and it's possible to increase the odds of getting a long shot -- something I'm kind of skilled at). I just need to figure out where to start/how to reach critical mass. :-/
Having homeschooled my gifted/LD sons, I'm guessing I'm not so different from most "idea people": My brain is wired in a way where code doesn't just jump in there and make happy dances but it doesn't mean I'm stupid and can't learn. I'm tossing myself out as an example to ponder. If you can figure out how to help me help myself, it is probably replicable, at least to some degree.
You can certainly start looking for communities that would benefit from your game. You can buy a domain, put up a landing page and collect emails of potential customers that are interested. Starting a blog and writing about games in the Rogue genre can help you build an audience. Build interest and a community first, get feedback on your game idea, find out what the community wants and then work on delivering. You might find some talented people along the way willing to join you!
Thanks. I've kind of been working on the "build interest and a community" part. Long story short: I have a serious medical condition. I got myself well when that is supposed to be impossible. Everyone treats me like a loon and teller of tall tales. I would like to make a simulation (aka "game") because I think a more information-dense delivery method might help people wrap their brain around what I am talking about. But I'm pretty fed up with the whole thing and will try to stop there before it turns into a rant -- which is to say I have been trying to do what you suggest but I don't think it's accomplishing anything at all, certainly not anything useful to me.
Most web apps would require some sort of a back-end and storage. So you at least need to know some SQL and a server-side language (node.js is an option, but seems much harder than PHP).
And then you can't just "learn" javascript, you need to learn programming paradigms (data structures, control structures, how to modularize the code, etc).
Definitely agree starting with RoR or Python would be helpful. Just wondering if non-technical folks even know how to setup a wordpress blog, let alone start programming. Thanks for replying!
I kind of want a basic game of the "rogue-like" variety that I can figure out how to modify/play with as my "sand box". Or I want someone to just basically inject coding into my brain. I don't think that's so unreasonable: The right person/delivery method can make a world of difference. I found ways to teach math to my son with dyscalculia (so he can't crunch numbers but I was fairly good at math once upon a time). So long experience tells me this may be a long shot but not actually "impossible" (and it's possible to increase the odds of getting a long shot -- something I'm kind of skilled at). I just need to figure out where to start/how to reach critical mass. :-/
Having homeschooled my gifted/LD sons, I'm guessing I'm not so different from most "idea people": My brain is wired in a way where code doesn't just jump in there and make happy dances but it doesn't mean I'm stupid and can't learn. I'm tossing myself out as an example to ponder. If you can figure out how to help me help myself, it is probably replicable, at least to some degree.