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Hello

Started by QuintKillsSharks Feb 18, 2005 at 1:15 AM 4 replies 250+ views

Original Post

Feb 18, 2005 at 1:15 AM

Hi, I'm new to the board (although I have lurked for awhile). I've never done any game programming but I want to make a game like Quake. Where do I start? Just jokin'. I'm a student at a community college and I'll be finishing my associate's this spring. I'm currently looking at schools to transfer to to work on a bachelor's (c.s. or software engineering). I have had 2 semesters of C programming and have been learning C++ in my free time (which, I don't have much of). Unfortunatly the school I attend doesn't have any C++ classes; when I had signed up for the class it was titled programming in C++, but the instructor taught C. Oh well. I'm currently reading Game Programming: All In One. Which is alright but with books that cover a bunch of topics they typically lack depth so I also picked up OOP with C++ from the library. I'm open to any suggestions on books that are good for beginners. I have been thinking of starting on a Tetris clone although I am wondering if this is the best place for me to start. So my first question is what should I have a good knowledge of to start a project like this? I'd just like to know a few specific topics that I should focus on. Well this is getting kind of long so, in advance, nice to "meet" you all and thanks for the help. - Mike ps: That gd hack.net is frustrating.

The Alchemist

105

The Alchemist

Feb 18, 2005 at 1:17 AM

try tricks of window game programing gurus, many people dont like lamothe but is still a good starters book

Drew_Benton

FOUNDER

411

Drew_Benton

Feb 18, 2005 at 1:23 AM

Well hola! Just as a courtesy thing I would suggest breaking your intro up a bit to make it easier on the eyse to read [wink]. Just a suggestion. That and you should probabally post questions like these in the "For Beginners Forum" - you'll get more replies relating to what you are looking for.

Quote:

I'm open to any suggestions on books that are good for beginners. I have been thinking of starting on a Tetris clone although I am wondering if this is the best place for me to start. So my first question is what should I have a good knowledge of to start a project like this? I'd just like to know a few specific topics that I should focus on. Well this is getting kind of long so, in advance, nice to "meet" you all and thanks for the help.

1. First learn C++ [wink]. This book is what you need. I bought it a while back to let any friends of mine use it to learn. It is simply amazing.

2. Tetris is not the best place to start in my opinion. Start with break out or pong instead! You need those skills to apply to tetris, such as collisions, movement of objects, and drawing.

3. I'd say you should first concetrate on using a simple graphics library to do all of this. I'd reccomend SDL, but some of my counterparts would reccomend Allegro. Browse through the Alternate Game Library forum to see all of the wonderful arguments. If you need some reference posts, I can dig them up from book marks.

4. Besides all of this you need a lot of patience and will power [smile]. You probabally know this, but when you do game programming, you need a lot more!

Well that's about it. If I have missed anything feel free to comment. I'm always avaliable on PM if you need some tips on SDL [grin].

- Drew

jbadams

Mod

3,228

jbadams

Feb 18, 2005 at 1:25 AM

Welcome to the forums. [smile]

If you havn't yet, be sure to check out For Beginners and For Beginners Forum FAQ. They contain some excellent information and resources, and even though they're somewhat aimed at people of less prior experience/skill than yourself, they may still contain some useful information.

As for a good game, although Tetris is commonly recommended as a beginner game, it can be quite tricky, and I personally would recommend trying something a little simpler first. Some good choices that are a little less complex include Pong, Snake, Tic-Tac-Toe (can even be done in console mode!), and Pacman.

In any case, good luck getting started, and nice to have you on the forums. [smile]

//EDIT: Beaten by Drew again!

boolean

265

boolean

Feb 18, 2005 at 1:27 AM

Nuts, I just wrote a big post and the forum ate it. *shakes fist*

Anyway, welcome QuintKillsSharks!!

Don't forget there are a ton of good book reviews over yonder.

Also, if you want to make a tetris game, I suggest you check out this tutorial. [wink]

But really, top marks on planning to start small. We get a lot of people coming here expecting to make half life 3 after a few posts.

Rayno

Feb 18, 2005 at 1:46 AM

Welcome to gamedev. Its always nice to see new people.

Eventually (its not immediately necessary), I would recommend picking up a good reference, like The C++ Programming Language by Bjarne Stroustrup or C++: The Complete Reference by Herbert Schildt.

Quote:

ps: That gd hack.net is frustrating.

No joke. I've only been working on it a few days, but I'm about convinced that its a hoax. The first two steps were so simple!

(but if you solve it, you become an instant gamdev legend.)

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