Original Post
I am looking for a sort of tricky thing. It's a kind of "between" thing that I am not sure exists, but I hope it does. Allow me to explain my situation, and I will see if anyone can help me :) First off I have a realistic view of software development, and I consider myself a huge beginner still. I am aware of what goes into a game, and my development goals for the near future are more akin to "Tetris" and "Breakout" than that really amazing MMORPGFPSRTSRPG that all the other newbies seem so keen on making. I also am not a stranger to C++, although I am kind of sick of messing with it for now, but I am in the process of learning it. Here is where I stand. I had been using BlitzBasic to make executable 2D DirectX games, and as silly as it sounds Blitz was good practice for game design, timing, etc. However, I am a little weary of BlitzBasic's limitations and low speed. The two enviornments I am leaning towards so far are Haaf's and Clean Game Library. However, at the risk of sounding dumb, something about using Haafs still eludes me, but only slightly. However, I need a bit more freedom to actually make game code concepts, while not being bogged down by a gush of exceptions and specific circumstances. Clean Game Library seems very interesting, however all the Clean language tutorials are over my head. From what I have gleaned however, I do like Clean a bit, and would be more than happy to be pointed to a more newbie oriented Clean tutorial. What I am looking for is something that is essentially between BlitzBasic and Haaf's. I don't want to deal with all complexities and special circumstances of Haaf's, or go back to the kiddie pool of BlitzBasic. Something that was a lot like Clean but in a language with better tutorials, or a good Clean tutorial would be nice. I am trying desperately not to make this another "I am a newbie so do all the work for me" thread. That is not how it's intended. I am also not looking for "Game Maker Mind Reading Do What I Mean Genie 1.02". I actually WANT to write all the code for the timing and game logic and so forth. Here is what I need: -2D (Haaf's 2D rendered via 3D or similar is acceptable also) -Control over game loop and rules(No pre-made tile engines, no glorified RPGmaker) -Compiles to reasonably fast EXE(Not Pygame or Blitzbasic) -It's own IDE(This may seem like a newbish request. I realize that's asking a lot, but for me right now I think that would be best.) -C++, C++ esque or other non-Basic code style Here is what I really don't want: -3D -Multiplatform(Windows only is fine, makes it easier) I appreciate your taking the time to read through this post, and hope that someone knows of something that might be suited for me. I also realize that "just use SDL" may seem really trivial to most of you. If it makes me seem less argumentative, you are realistically probably right, but I am just not quite there yet. Something in between would really help me get in practice without retreating back to Blitz, which is something I want to avoid.
