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Blitz 3d / DarkBasic / PureBasic

Started by chao51 Jan 29, 2007 at 11:35 AM 2 replies 1.6k views

Original Post

Jan 29, 2007 at 11:35 AM

Hi, Another question, I have been hacking away in Blitzbasic for quite a while, and am wondering if games made in a language like Blitz have any chance going really commercial. I know there are some more Basics around, like Pure and Dark, but its basically the same thing. Program quickly a game, by hiding all the directx / c++ / and whatnot technical details. Personally I think its great to be able to focus on the game itself, and not the technical fluff, that differs from platform to platform, and year to year, The main point is, I am not certain if I am putting myself in a corner, by not using my C++ skills, and focussing on Blitzbasic (which almost anyone can program, in contrast to C++) So I guess, in short, the guestion is, Is it a mistake to put too much time into any of the Game-Basics out there? Has anyone ever sold a (Blitz) Basic game for really big bucks? Or is the basic stuff, still a beginners only language?

rogierpennink

Jan 29, 2007 at 4:18 PM

I believe Worms was written in BlitzBasic, that's definately a commercial game ;) I wouldn't know about many other well-known commercial titles that were created with any of those basic languages.

As for your other question - if you like making games in basic, then by all means keep doing it. Knowing one language won't prevent you from knowing/learning another language and even if basic isn't used to create cutting edge commercial titles I still see it as a great way to quickly visualize your ideas - much quicker than doing so with C++ in any case.

Should you still learn/keep doing C++? I'd say yes, but not because 'all great games are made with it'. Rather because it will make you a more versatile developer and because a day might come where you actually need it (to write a library for blitz3d, or a game itself, or because of a job you want).

SantaClaws

Jan 29, 2007 at 5:10 PM

Here's the thing: the hardest part is actually finishing the game. You should pick the language with which you're the most comfortable and in which you can most easily translate a concept into something playable. Worry about the optimization after it's finished.

If you finish your game (whew) and you find that BlitzBasic isn't performing well enough, or if you're having trouble finishing it because of BlitzBasic's limitations -- well, that's where those C++ skills come in. It's a minimal thing to translate what you've already written into C++.

Virtual X

Jan 30, 2007 at 4:58 AM

I would definately suggest that you stick with BlitzBasic, it's a really good language and performs really well against some of the other games creation packages. Have you looked at using C++ and an engine such as TrueVision3D, I have only recently started using TrueVision (truevision3d.com), so far it has impressed me, much more than darkbasic pro and blitzbasic, ok so I never used every feature in either packages, but something just 'feels' right with TV3D - give it ago.

[edit]
I played this game awhile back, an excellent example of a BlitzBasic3D MMORPG goto http://www.freeworldonline.com

[Edited by - Virtual X on January 30, 2007 5:58:09 AM]

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