01.00 - START HERE

Welcome to the Hands-On Interactive Game Development Tutorial! If you haven’t already, please start by taking a look at the portal page for this forum, which gives some clues as to the nature of our business here. I hope that this forum finds you well, for we are about to embark on a learning experience unparalleled on the Internet or anywhere else – a truly interactive game development tutorial. My job is to provide you with the education, practice and challenges that are the right of passage for this industry. Yours however is much more difficult -- you’re going to have to fend-off the inherent laziness that we’re all cursed with and convince yourself that you have the determination to learn game development, and the conviction to see the whole thing through. There is no membership fee; no registration deadline. It’s all right here in this forum waiting for you – a living entity that embraces all who possess a sincere interest in this most rewarding of pursuits. We’ll have plenty of time to get you ‘psyched’ in the next articles. For now, I’d better pass onto you some important information regarding the layout of this forum including general guidelines, participation, resources and other essentials for making your journey a productive one. A Tutorial in a Forum You’ve probably noticed that what I call the Hands-On Interactive Game Development Tutorial is actually nothing more than a forum on a message board. While I agree that it’s not the ideal venue, it’s all that I have to work with at the present. As such, I’m attempting the monumental task of organizing all of the material in as intuitive a manner as possible. Firstly, this forum is organized alphabetically instead of chronologically (as are the other forums). This allows me to numerically categorize all of the articles in the forum so that articles are logically grouped. The importance of such a system will become apparent as you begin to navigate the forum’s contents. The fact that you are reading this means that I’ve at least managed to snag your attention before you got lost! Secondly, all articles in this forum are posted by yours truly…I’m the only one allowed to create new posts. Of course, you are encouraged to reply to any post with your questions and comments -- wherever applicable, I’ve provided an area for conversation. Otherwise, there would surely be pandemonium! One final note about using the forum itself – because of the way that the posts are sorted, the newest posts do not end up at the top of the list. GameDev.net’s forums have a feature whereby new additions since your last visit are indicated by some means to the left of each article’s title. But you probably already knew that… Your Map and Compass This article was designed to be the very first thing you read upon entering the forum for the first time. In a similar manner, other introductory posts are grouped with this one (Section 01 ). Take a look through these remaining posts. The best way that I can describe the layout of the forum is to say that there are two types of sections:

1. Sequential – these sections should be read just as they’re laid out, from first to last. Examples are this section (01) and the next (Section 02 – The Learning Ladder).
2. Stationary – These sections are repositories for ongoing information gathering, news and other resources, and can be read at any time. A prime example of this is the section on the C language.

I tend to mention all updates in the News post in this section, so there’s a good place to frequent. Also, there’s a post related to the layout of this forum called Forum Comments/Suggestions where I’d appreciate your input. There’s a Ladder to Climb Once you’ve made it through the articles in this first section, you’ll definitely want to start your game development journey with Section 02 – The Learning Ladder. It serves as a primer for many of the elements prerequisite in participating in the rest of the forum, so I strongly encourage you to go completely through it. Consider it an initiation – you need to pass through it in one piece, else you’ll surely stumble and lose yourself in later parts of the tutorial. Words of Encouragement You’re just about to be let loose in the forum, but not before I mention a couple of things and propose a couple of requests… First, know that you’re not alone here. The forum has been designed to foster a sense of community where you, I and others like us can hone are skills and complement each other’s efforts. Many members are right-out devoted to assisting you with any of your questions, including myself of course, so don’t be shy. Remember – there’s no such thing as a stupid question. I’m always available by email and/or ICQ, so all you need do is click the appropriate icon by the title of any post of mine – and that includes just saying ‘hello’… Second, I’d like to emphasize that there’s no starting date for participating. For you, the forum starts right now. Proceed at your own pace – there are other members behind you as well as ahead of you. That’s part of the beauty of this forum – all posts are always current. Now for my requests. First and foremost, I’d appreciate it if you ‘signed in’ by replying to the topic entitled The Enrolment Roster. This allows everyone to know that you’re here, gives me positive feedback, and supplies me with a method of contacting all of the ‘members’ by going through the enrolment list. Secondly, and most importantly, the word ’Interactive’ in the title of this forum isn’t a mistake – it thrives on the contributions of its members (yeah, that’s you!). I’m not here to type an endless array of tutorial articles – I’m here to benefit from the opinions/contributions/feedback of others, because it’s only through a combined effort that we all excel. …And They’re Off! Okay. I think that I’ve sufficiently prepared you, our newest member. What else can I say? Welcome aboard! I look forward to seeing you in the forum! Now get busy. Tim Boston (aka Teej) Questions? Comments? Feel free to reply to this topic!