How expensive would it be to make a GTA 3 styled video game...Please read!!!

[blackma]

Hi guys,

Not to take away from the theme of the forum (or piss off any of the mods), I would just like to ask any experienced software developers out there as to how hard it would be to make a GTA styled video game. (GTA 3 standards)

Its just that I am considering approaching the local tourism board about having a downloadable version (on their website) of my local city done in GTA 3 style, but with no shooting and/or hookers! ...Well, maybe hookers

The reason for this is I was playing GTA 3 the other day (stoned) and thought that it would be f***** awesome to visit Liberty city and drive around it!

If my local area was 'downloadable' and you could walk around it and experience it before you booked a holiday there. Then it would be cool to walk around it real life (pick a character and dress up etc like yoville or farmville by zynga). Not to mentioned the unlimited advertising you could put up all around the virtual city! Muahahah!!

Would a modification of GTA 3 on my PC be the best approach as I have the Real version of GTA 3. (This is the modified version of GTA 3 which includeds real cars, lambos, 911 turbos etc.)

And thought if 'they' can add stuff like this, why can't I.

Advise me please as I have f*** all software development experience (I am only good at making money :cool2

BTW (my city Limerick city, Ireland is nowhere near as big as LC)

Basically my motivation for doing this is that some cities in Ireland have got that 3D google earth thing going on (which is so last season) and this would be quite a large step forward. I could charge businesses to advertise themselves on it... see the angle?

 

[Sliv3r]

damn..great idea...
but y r u not targeting GTA 4 ..
if u did make this video game i will surely buy it or if u made a free version then i will surely download the game..even if it took 2 days.. lol..
best of luck..and..yeah i think u can make shit loads of money from this idea..

 

[khan0]

Would be hard to keep up with updates but it would be sweet and would be a new approach to something like Google earth. Another idea of milking it with more money: in GTA 4, your player has a cell phone that he can use to contact people. You can make deals with local stores (restuarants and such) to put their number on speed dial or something

 

[blackma]

Ya I was even thinking of doing other cities too, particularly Dublin which gets plane loads of English and American tourist every day. So if I started spamming twitter with links to this download I could start seeing plane loads of traffic. Think of all the banners you could have up all over the fucking place!! Like my adult dating site affiliate link down by the docks or other links to stuff over all the national monuments. Would be great fun at least!!!

 

[istuff]

it would take alot of money, mainly because, you would have to start the code from scratch other wise you will have a lawsuit on ur hands.

Coding - at least 300-500 hours
graphics - 500 hours (since ur making replica of a real city, so you would make the graphics scratch too)
plus other expenses.

your looking at a cost of at least $15 000. Gaming companies have big budget, but an even ROI thats why they can pull this off.

good luck

 

[blackma]

Would be hard to keep up with updates but it would be sweet and would be a new approach to something like Google earth. Another idea of milking it with more money: in GTA 4, your player has a cell phone that he can use to contact people. You can make deals with local stores (restuarants and such) to put their number on speed dial or something

I was thinking of the more simple GTA 3, which is nearly ten years old now, which is a long time in 100 years in software years.

Simple walk around the city landscape, with the emphasis being on the textures and colours and backgrounds and sounds really pretty sunsets and sounds of rivers and traffic etc.. I feel like this would be more 'doable' than having to programme character manuevers and shit like that.

 

[tshin810]

You needs hundred thousands if not millions to create from scratch. And you need a team of programmer/designer to maintain the application. Good luck =)

 

[blackma]

something like this may work for me if I worked at it. Check out the pretty backgrounds and shit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g44Ww2bg2_E&feature=related

As far as I can tell it is downloadable software for a couple of hundred bucks

 

[proexploit]

You could do something really nice for a lot cheaper using the Unreal engine. Since it's going to be computer anyways. Graphics are probably fairly similar to GTA. Otherwise you're looking at 25k absolute minimum and you won't enough customers to justify the price.

Hint: you had your idea when you were stoned.

 

[nirose]

Well sandboxgamemaker hxxp://sandboxgamemaker.com/download-sandbox.html
is a free 3D game maker so that won't cost you.
You just have to make a team learn their coding and tutorials and make and start the work.

 

[blackma]

I have seen Rude do this in their virtual 3-D world sims clone. Seems like a really good idea to me!

 

[dante]

yeah I mean why not.... if you can afford it and make some profit out of it then do it... rent a coder or modder to do it for you if you don't know how...
seems like a pretty idea for me... I wish I could put my city in it like that

 

[excaflowne]

i have experiences in 3d modeling and animating, maybe i can help in design..

if you want the 3D model from the scratch try Blender 3D it's an open source 3D software but poweful enough to get your feet wet..

 

[pro2sell]

it would take alot of money, mainly because, you would have to start the code from scratch other wise you will have a lawsuit on ur hands.

Coding - at least 300-500 hours
graphics - 500 hours (since ur making replica of a real city, so you would make the graphics scratch too)
plus other expenses.

your looking at a cost of at least $15 000. Gaming companies have big budget, but an even ROI thats why they can pull this off.

good luck

...LOL

do you find any coders, SFX or GFX artists working for 15 bucks?

better calc five times more since a LOT more has to be done. otherwise you will have nothing but CRAP....

OP, are you really sure you want to release a GTA clone or just a playable demo of something? I mean, if you seriously want to dive into the games scene, you should hold a min. budget of 50K. And this every single month since you need a TEAM! Also it is ALWAYS better to have it sponsored 50/50 at least....

better take a look at this and re-think:

http://earth-api-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/demos/drive-simulator/index.html

and this

http://www.conitec.net/english/gstudio/gallery.php

Please let me know if you need some details

 

[dynander]

I think is an excellent Idea

But, I'm a programmer although without gamming or 3D experience. Let me tell you this, you're going to need a lot of money to do this.

Is the kind of idea that is good to create an startup and look for investors.

Good luck, and I hope you could make this real

PS: There was a virtual world that get some media love some time ago, do anybody remember the name? one can buy an space an create a world in that vworld...

 

[hennessy]

As people have stated, you would need a good amount to do this. At least $50k, if not more. The revenue you could make with this would not come close to justifying the cost to create it. Street View in GMaps would be more than enough for someone who wants to see a city. It's just one of those ideas one gets when they're stoned that seem like the best thing in the world.

 

[pro2sell]

@hennessy,

don't walk on the grass, smoke it!

but: never ever expect revenue ...

count the facts and sell the opportunities

 

[MrSmith]

Errr..Just making a facebook game can take anywhere between 1-3 months. After that comes finetuning it. This is with a team of 10 graphics dudes and 10 coders. You tell me if that's going to cost just 15-25k USD lol. That'd be cheap labour then.