I am ready to start working on the game and now it is the time to decide what software, game engine, programming language, database engine, cloud services, graphics software, etc… to use!
I guess whatever I decide now will change when I am actually in the middle of building the game components and parts. But, here is what I have come up with so far to start with:
C++ and The Game Engine
I have chosen cocos2d-x for the game engine. It is a free open source game engine that is written in C++! It is light, fast and with the language that I like to use. Also it support multiple platforms (iOS and Android) and works in Windows, Mac and Linux!
I have already made a game called Breakanator with cocos2d, the original cousin of cocos2d-x. So, I am familiar with the structure of this game engine. Breakanator is not on the App Store anymore by the way. So, don’t kill yourself trying to find it.
Obviously, there are lots and lots of other ones out there that you can use too. Specially if you are more comfortable to work in a GUI and use a high level scripting language instead of something as cumbersome as C++, then you might want to go with something else, like Unity3D. You could also use CocosCreator!
Python
I will use Python 2.7x for quick tests and for automating stuff. For some parts of the project that will need a lot of experimental coding, like the network, database and AWS stuff, I may also write them in Python first, until it works and then I will switch to C++ for the final code. This way I can save a lot of time, as coding in Python is super fast comparing to C++.
Programing IDE
I will write most of my Python code inside Sublime Text 3.
XCode is the obvious free choice in macOS and iOS world.
Visual Studio Community will be for testing the code inside windows 10.
I think I will need Android Studio to compile and run my game for Android devices. I am not gonna test for Android every time that I have a new class or an update. But I will eventually need to make the game work for Android devices too, so better to be prepared from the beginning.
QtCreator will be my main IDE for Linux, but you can be used in Windows and MacOS.
Graphics Software
I will probably use Adobe Photoshop for image editing and finalizing the sprites, backgrounds, menus, etc…
Adobe Illustrator the first candidate for vector editing, Logos and so on.
Autodesk Maya will be the main 3D package and most of my 3D work will be done in there. I may or may not use SideFX Houdini to create some effects, things like fire, smoke, particles, magic, etc… Although, all that is possible inside Maya too. Lets see how it goes later.
If I need any video clip editing, Final Cut Pro is my favorite editor.
Texture Packer is quite essential to create sprite sheets that help save memory and make the game faster to load and run.
Glyph Designer is to create and export the bitmap fonts that will be used inside the game.
CFXR is a small free tool to create retro sound effects using procedural methods. Quite a handy tool.
I will also need a sound editing software that I will choose later whenever I need it. Also, I used to use Adobe ImageStyler 1.0 extensively in my previous projects, but as it is not supported anymore, I will try to avoid it this time if I can.
Conclusion
I have a basic structure of the tools and work flow to start working on the game. This is not a rock solid map and I am sure I will change the way I work as I go ahead and hit new problems.
I will try to keep this page update as I go ahead.
Next For MacOS
Next For Windows
Next For Linux (Mint)