How long does a FPS videogame take to make?

Question

I am hoping on making my own FPS game as a side project/hobby

However, I know close to nothing about coding, but I have a ton of experience in... Animations, texture, rendering, audio, map making and story writing

The game will be SP only with Scripted enemies with moderate AI, no cutscenes
I plan to use Unreal 4 s blueprint system for this on account of my lack of coding would want to know if it is possible for one guy to make a 10+ story game fps, oh and your character doesn't use guns but the enemies do.

Answer 1

Since you are skilled in creating assets and levels, that part should not be too much of a problem for you.

Still, it is going to be a one man job, so you should probably expect to spend between a few weeks to a few months here, depending on the scope of your project (how many assets and how big and complex your levels are) and how fast you can actually work.



The scripting part, though, might be a little more tricky. If you do not know anything about coding, it is unlikely that you would be able to code AI on your own because that is far more advanced stuff.

You could utilize and modify the game's original enemy behavior scripts for starters but it would be a challenge as well if you cannot figure out what all the individual lines of codes and variables are and what they are supposed to do.



Since it is usually the programming, play testing and debugging that would take up the bulk of the production time for any projects, taking into consideration your lack of a background in programming, your estimated completion time for this segment is 'unknown'.



It could take between 5~6 amateurs working full time to complete a mod with 2 levels within 2 months.

So you should expect to be spending much more time than that working on your own.



They use c++ in Unreal 4. Other common languages for games development are Javascript and C#.

If you are really keen to create games or mods on your own, you should really consider picking up coding first.

Otherwise you should look for a programmer that you could collaborate with.

Answer 2

It really varies depending on the conditions you work in and the pacing of your work. The average game takes around 2-4 years of development to be completed and released to the public, but that's just for company titles, not indie games. Indie games are too spread out to find an average rate of time of how long they take to create, since some take a few hours, some take a few days, and some take a decade. The bigger the game, the longer it takes.



Considering the details you've provided us, I think it's safe to say your game would probably take around 1 or 2 years if you're going to take it very seriously, but still keeping it simple. If you want to make it as advanced as a company game though, then that'll probably take you an extra 5+ years if you're not working with a team and/or if you're not too advanced in game development.

Answer 3

For just you to be making this, it will take quite a while, aspecially if you're wanting the game to be of good quality. It's probably advised that you gather a small team (minimum of 3) with different skills (e.g. Music, Coding and 3D Modelling).

Answer 4

it takes years with teams of people