I have an epic game idea - Where do I begin?

Basically, let me sum this up. I have an epic video game idea that I'd like to publish, and I have no idea where to begin.

I have an idea for the mechanics, the controls, and the story. However, I need team members basically to help out with the fine details, like extension to the story, the level designs, the character designs, the maps, and so on.

I'm just in college, and I don't have experience in this sort of thing. Some have told me to work for a company to gain experience, but here's the thing. If I do that, it would take possibly a decade before I can begin, and by then, everything may change. Besides, I'm not the one who would be personally doing the coding and such. I don't want to first work for a company before beginning my own. I'd like to lead my own independent gaming "company" to begin production and marketing.

I don't know the first steps outside of having the money, but I DO know that having the money is the first step. My only issue is, how do I get the money? I'm almost tempted to create a Kickstarter campaign for a certain pledge amount, and promising that if the pledge is met, that the game will be free on XBLA or something. That would be a VERY bad decision in the long run after the game is published, but it's the only way I can think of getting that money.

Also, I don't care about debt. I have this belief that life begins ON debt that pays back later in life, so borrowing money won't be a bad thing. However, from whom do I borrow the money?

Where do I begin?

you don't.

everyone has what they believe is a good idea for a game. to turn that idea into reality you need to be able to either code or design (i remember you making a thread about how you were learning coding and were going to become a game developer a few months ago - i take it that didn't work out), have friends who can code / design or have money to pay friends to code and design for you (so you don't have to pay out a fortune for freelancers). sounds like you have none of the above and no money either.

so you take it on the chin and realise you are just one of the millions of people who have an idea for a game that will never materialise. unless any of the above changes

I highly doubt that it's impossible.

If you're serious, you might want to study computer science or something along those lines. A minor or background in art would also help you with the presentation of your game. Business would also be a good degree to study (or business administration, or something like that) so you can administrate your own business.

Do you game on PC? You might want to start doing that exclusively since mod tools, software development kits, and all the stuff you can do in your leisure time to help learn game design in pretty much exclusively on PC.

Even these folks setting up independent studios and turning out games have been, at the minimum, modding games and learning code for years. They generally spend 40 hours a week or more, in addition to their day job, working on their game. If they're lucky they can find some money to finance its development

spend the next 5-30 years studying, interning, working, learning, building a resume....then maybe you can do a game. If you're serious, you will know some aspects of game design, even if you are not going to be doing any coding. If I were your employee, I'd have a tough time following someone's vision when they didn't even know the basics of coding, art, and so forth.

And you should worry about debt. Always. Debt is how you get owned. Want to be free? Don't create debt.

With that said, I think you might be a little out of touch with reality. Ideas are great, but pointless without execution and you don't seem to have any of the latter.

find a couple of friends who can code and put your thoughts into the design, adding / polishing them with theirs, you do not have to do everything by yourself, create a cohesive team... :)

what's impossible?

It's not if you put time and effort into learning coding and design, if you don't then your odds are immensely limited.

It'll take years, but if it's something you really, really have faith in, it's entirely possible. I'd recommend starting with Unity because they have good tutorials, but it'll take a while before you get comfortable with it. You'll also want to learn some programming and art, at least enough to sketch out a general concept for someone else to iterate on. A few artists are willing to work for free, but that's not something you should count on. I was learning for years before I had enough skill to even start on my first game, so it takes time.

People mention to use programs and use coding and such, but here's the thing. I'm NOT going to be the one doing the coding whatsoever. I'd like to hire someone ELSE to do the coding, the animating, the concept art, and so on. In terms of general ideas and concepts, I already created those. I essentially just need the money to hire the people to do the creation and execution of the game.

General ideas and concepts are worthless. If you want to raise money so you can hire people to make a game for you, you'll need to become independently wealthy. I suggest law school.

so you just need to take out a huge loan to pay a team of devs and designers to create a game that you'll give away for free on xbla? sounds foolproof mate i say go for it

These are all free, but very powerful programs. They are roughly equivalent to, or better than, very expensive alternatives. You can potentially make a very high quality game with them..

Unreal Engine 4 Development kit:

https://www.unrealengine.com/what-is-unreal-engine-4

Blender 3D Modeling & Animation Software:

https://www.blender.org

Gimp Image Editor (Photoshop equivalent):

https://www.gimp.org

Audacity Audio Editing Software:

http://www.audacityteam.org

That's not even what I said. I said that perhaps the only way to get the funding for the game is from a large crowd that is willing to DONATE, and if a certain goal is met, then the game will be posted on XBLA for free. Otherwise, if I DO take a huge loan to pay for the developers and such, then I will be posting it for a certain price.

there is no chance of a kickstarter working based on just an idea. if john romero has to pull his campaign because its not working then kickstarter basically has no chance for a start up. that only works when a reputable games developer with a proven track record puts up a campaign.

super hot is the exception to the rule (though i think they had a concept complete demo ready to play).

is the idea feasible by 1 or 2 people? if the idea is something like GTA or halo then its going to cost too much.

also if the idea is "its like game X but....." then stop right there. if its like game X then people are just going to go with game X.

if you want other people to do the development then, as explained, you need money or a innate ability to get people to work for you for free (some people do have this....its astonishing to see).

you are in college so im guessing that you are not awash with money at the moment.

so your options are to either

1) get people to believe in your idea and work with you on it for a share of the profits (basically working for free). or just for funsies when you have free time. assuming you, and people you know, are interested in games development.

2) build it your self. assuming you have a PC, everything you need to actually make a game, even some pretty spiffy games, is available for the grand sum of $0. depending on what tools are used there may be a cut of the revenue to pay if you do sell the game. but to get something up and running...zilch.

3) become a banker millionaire playboy and outsource development to a team of game devs.

You need a basic understanding of things to know what's possible and what's not. Do you think you can just sit around and do nothing except telling people to "somehow" realize your ideas without giving any details? Seems to be pretty naive.

The problem with having an idea is that you won't be the only one with the idea. So you'll have to act quickly. Without any experience or skills to produce a tangible demo of your idea you are in a very tough position. Primarily because no company will want to hear your idea. Not because they're dicks but because of copyright, they don't want to know any of it. They will hang up on you or delete your messages before seeing or hearing any of it.

I don't have a good answer for you. I would start programming and trying to make a prototype build of your game idea with zero effort put into the audiovisual design. Simplify it as much as possible to save time and still give a good impression of your idea. If it's a 3D game you're already f'd because creating something in 3D is quite complex (or that has been my experience so far). I learned to be a decent C# programmer in about a year time. It's quite doable and almost necessary to know coding if you want to fully design a game. Besides, to work on something you have thought of and see it come into existence can be rewarding. Even if it takes a long time.

Most importantly don't share the idea with anyone unless you're absolutely sure you won't do anything with it! There are sites and forums for hiring programmers and such if you're making a game, but even if you find someone for free they will want to 100% know that it is something that will be finished. 95% of games are never made. You need a way to guarantee that.

Okay, I'll go straight to the point... I could come here and tell everybody that I have no idea where to start but the truth is I've been working on an idea for over 6 years, game franchises that I believe in. This is my life work now, and I'm looking for people who are passionate about video games, developers without a company to join me. I know it seems like a shit in the dark but whoever wants to try pot even just talk about it I'll be waiting for the reply here.

If not... Wish me luck haha

“Ideas are cheap. I have more ideas now than I could ever write up. To my mind, it’s the execution that is all-important.” — George R.R. Martin

"These days, I meet far too many young writers who try to start off with a novel right off, or a trilogy, or even a nine-book series. That’s like starting in at rock climbing by tackling Mt. Everest. Short stories help you learn your craft." — George R.R. Martin (again)

Don't start thinking in terms of "franchise" and "company": you'll hit a wall and give up. Start with a small indie game, and once you have that under your belt you have something to show and can think bigger.

It can be done. Lean C++, put together a gameplay concept, hire an artist to make it look pretty and launch a kickstarter. One year from now you should be good.

Six years is too long to be working on one idea.

If you can't build a simple game in C++ in under three years you are not cut out for coding and thus the game dev biz.

Every game designer ever can build a simple game if not, you will not be able to manage a team because you won't understand their job properly.

If you have a good idea you should be able to build it in Flash if its 2d (I know it's obsolete but it still has it's uses). If you are using Unity engine you are just adding to the rot of the game industry, that platform is buggy, inefficient garbage.

If you can't make even a simple version of your game in a mod in six years you have already failed.

whoever wants to try pot

PS. Pot is not advisable for productivity.