Relearning Game Programming

game programming is hard.
it takes a lot of time and decision to make a nice game.
the are times that you don''t know what to do because you''re stuck with a problem and seem that the game will never be finished.

but don''t panic.

you have to organize yourself. do a lot of design, not only for the game, but for your life too.
it''s really good learn stuff, i love to read books and learn new stuff. but you have to start one and finished, and then move on..

hope that helps.

knowing that u favor actual programming, the following may come as a silly idea. since u''ve neva made an actual game before and u lack the time to commit, y not try a driector or flash game?

well, it may sound cheesy and simple, but the idea is to get inspiration. if u neva made a game, having a small library of simple games will still do. plus, they''ll help in giving that additional boost to willpower on creating more.

also, the macormedia tools are easy to use. u can make one from a matter of hours to a few days. dun expect fancy 3d grx and such.. but its ur initial games so u wouldnt bother making the next doom3-killa now

once u get a hang of it, i''m sure u would feel more inclined to be dedicated to an actual game project. g''luck.

You have to prioritize. I try to do a lot of things at once too, but it doesnt work well. Dedicate a day, or two or a week to some programming project. Set deadline, and work hard towards the goal. I also found it much easier to concentrate when not at home. I go to a library with my laptop and I can sit there for hours working on some solution. To start, you have to determine your knowledge level by trying something simple and try raising the bar. Make sure that you are proficient in the language that you''re going to program this stuff in.

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Original post by elendil67
Hi.

I am what I think of as a failure in game programming so far. I have been programming for a while, and I have yet to make a game. I just seem to lazy and I spend too much time on GDNet forums.

What do you think I should do? Is there anything that will help combat the laziness? Any projects you think I should start with? Should I start with a text adventure game? A 2D SDL sidescroller? A basic OpenGL game? What do you think?

Also, I have a lot of projects going on at once. I am (well, trying) to learn socket programming, game programming, and assembly all at once. Is there any way you can help me sort out my projects?

Thanks for your help and patience!

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Start simple. VEEEEERRRRRYYYY simple. Helped me a lot.

I have a method that i use but maybe not all people can do that.

You start by thinking of a good idea, that can be simple or complex, but a very good idea in your mind, no matter it is big or very simple to make.
The better is to have a idea you would like do but that is not like an mmorpg or a totally graphical game, something that start from a simple idea.
Then you start designing and maybe programming.
You will encounter lot of problems but you will learn lot of solutions that will help.

The most you like the first idea of your game, the far ou will go and you will have a little but interresting acknowledge.

Wanna strategy and speed with false hacking? Play my game: NetRush ! www.netrush.fr.st

Hi,

I worked through the "Zen Of Direct 3D Game Programming" book by Peter Walsh. Up until that point, I had only done console programming (at college) and taught myself some basic Win32 programming (mostly from http://www.gametutorials.com). I definately recommend that book (I started right at the beginning - doing the Win32 stuff) and, afterwards, move on to to "Programming Role Playing Games" by Jim Adams (which contains a whole lot more than the title suggests). You''ll probably alter alot of the Zen game engine code to incorporate stuff from the RPG book though. (I still think Zen is an excellent intro to DirectX!)

You see, after I read the Zen book I got an urge to create my own modular 3d game engine which I have started. It can be found at http://www.nerotek.com. I think it was the reading of the books which gave me ideas and made me want to program something specific.

I also did a bit sockets programming but once you get client and server applications communicating over your LAN the urge to do more dies down. Now i''ll just look at that again when I want to incorporate it in to my game engine (although i''ll look at DirectPlay). Designing packets is fun though, isn''t it :-)

Regards

Ray

I know this will probobly sound really cheezy, but I know for me, If I sit down and spend half an hour making realistic goals for my current project... or even a list... I become 10x more efficient. If you create a large list of MANY SMALL things to complete (as is part of a game), you get a great feeling when you get to cross one out and see that you are that much closer to finishing. It gives you something to shoot for....

just my two cents

"The only thing worse than not having that new _______ , is when some rich kid has it, but can''t and/or doesn''t appreciate it."-me
Tazzel3d ~ Dwiel

1. take very small steps
2. get a good walk through book. and as you read and do the examples it is easier to make small modifications and next theing you know you got your own game

thats what im going to do with dx9.. wait for a c#/dx9 book to come out and read the whole thing and then ill start a new project

I''m in the same boat as you man. I finished reading La MOthe''s book and tried to make a simple Mario clone but that was last SUMMER ago and never finished it. I spend so much time playing WC3 ( at night after coming from work..). I really want to fix my physics problem but every time i get home, i''m like '' nah..i''ll do it some OTHER time..''.
Maybe i''ll re-read the book again..

2d or not 2d,that is the question!!
-EJ

Thanks you guys. I think what I will do will be to make a simple flash game (Asteroids WWI style). I will make a nice agenda and set off some time for it. Then I will disconnect my DSL modem (O_o) and get working. Any more suggestions? Thank you for your input.

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Well here is my 2-cents.
What you want to do to start doing some actual game programming is first find a simple game and try to clone it...
The first game I used was pong...
Very simple and easy, not too long to do, but it includes many techniques such as collision detection, keeping score, input, graphics.. etc.

After you finish that (I was able to program a very simple pong clone in a few hours with just two rectanlges and a circle) try adding new unique features such as sound fx, music, more fancy graphics, and maybe a new twist on the game like more than one ball or something...

This way you have a design already started for you and then you can personalize it with some custom features..

After that try a simple puzzle game... those can be the most creative, yet easiest to program, this will get creative juices flowing and spur some insight..

hope I helped start you off..

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Original post by MOVSW
I also found it much easier to concentrate when not at home. I go to a library with my laptop and I can sit there for hours working on some solution.

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He speaks much truth. Getting away from the distractions at home is the best way I know to focus on the program. I go to MTSU and last semester I had about 4 hours in between 2 classes, so I went to the library and worked on my game. The game is now almost complete, after several months of working on it. But had it not been for all the hours I spent in the library focusing, I would have been at home watching TV or something, and it would never have gotten anywhere near where it is now.

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aut viam inveniam aut faciam

MoonStar Projects

The last programming project I tried, I got a really good start, then once I had my "fix", I quit working on it. I''ll probably start another once withdrawal kicks in.