Finding out what to do!

Hello Arctic,

I think most important thing is a worthy game idea. Without it, I don't think there would be any games ;)

Heh yep, that would be very important!

1. Choose the right language for the job. Fast prototyping, or just getting started? Python would be good. Need heavy performance? C++ or C#. Cross-platform? Java. It's good to do some critical research: don't just believe what someone says, there's a lot of bias against unknown languages. People talk too much about which language to choose anyway and few really know what they're talking about. There might be better languages for above tasks, for example, and many other factors to consider.

2. You don't need to use LUA. It's just another language. It's a scripting language, which makes it good for things that will likely change often, such as game-code (because you'll be tweaking that a lot in the end, depending on the sort of game, of course). It can, therefor, be a good choice, but it can also be overkill for your game. See 1.

3. You don't need to use DirectX. There's OpenGL, for example, but more important, the whole low-level rendering stuff has already been done for you by many people. Pick a solid framework or engine and focus on creating a game, not an engine.


It sounds like you're just getting started, and that game-development still feels somewhat like a mystery to you. I'd say, don't make things complicated for yourself. Just start building a simple game. Use SDL or Haafs Game Engine or something else, and focus on just writing a basic game. Tetris, for example, is little more than some blocks falling down in a grid, with some logic running behind it to check where it can move, and some reaction to user input, like rotating blocks. Nothing complicated, but go ahead and try to do it. I'm sure you'll learn a few things along the way.

What I mean to say is, you can ask for advice, read articles, and so on, but you'll need to get started somewhere, to experience what it is for real. Don't worry if you fail a few times: learn from your mistakes and try again. Good luck! :)

Instead of listing what you think you need to know, list what you actually know.

Assuming you are starting from zero knowledge (unless you've programmed before) I would recommend you drop your list and start learning python. Make a few text based games to get used to the way python works. When you are familiar with the language you can move on to making simple graphical games, pong etc.

From there you will be far better equipped to make the game you wish to make.

Alright Captain P I wanna thank you for that post but some questions alerk!


I am trying to run the source code when I get this, it compiles but it does not run it just doesnt do anything after I try to run it?

Compiler: Default compiler
Building Makefile: "C:\hge17\Hge_project\Makefile.win"
Executing make...
make.exe -f "C:\hge17\Hge_project\Makefile.win" all
g++.exe main.o -o "hge.exe" -L"C:/hge17/lib/gcc" -mwindows ../lib/gcc/libhgehelp.a ../lib/gcc/libhge.a

Execution terminated
Compilation successful

CODE:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\#include

HGE *hge = 0;

bool FrameFunc()
{
if (hge->Input_GetKeyState(HGEK_ESCAPE)) return true;
return false;
}

int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPSTR, int)
{
hge = hgeCreate(HGE_VERSION);
hge->System_SetState(HGE_FRAMEFUNC, FrameFunc);
hge->System_SetState(HGE_WINDOWED, true);
hge->System_SetState(HGE_USESOUND, false);
hge->System_SetState(HGE_TITLE,
"HGE Tutorial 01 - Minimal HGE application");
if(hge->System_Initiate())
{
hge->System_Start();
}
else
{
MessageBox(NULL, hge->System_GetErrorMessage(), "Error",
MB_OK | MB_ICONERROR | MB_APPLMODAL);
}
hge->System_Shutdown();
hge->Release();

return 0;
}

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\End of Code

What happens when you run the resulting executable manually? It should display a black window, with a quickly fading HGE logo, which terminates when you press the escape button. That's all that that code should do.

Anyway, I'd suggest using an IDE for development purposes: a solid IDE like Visual C++ (the 2005 Express Edition is free) provides you with a compiler, a debugger and an array of tools that you'll find very helpfull, such as code completion and such. To set up HGE with an IDE, check this page.

Re: getting started with programming and game development. The most functional piece of advice would be to read everything that you can get your hands on, even those things that might seem irrelevant at first. The skills that you gain in other tasks goes directly back into game development- after all, how can you make games to play without knowing how to do it yourself?

Do not be afraid to read. Go get some speed reading software (AceReader Pro Deluxe) if you need to boost your reading speed. Do not rush over technical documentation, though. Not until you are some sort of god ;)

Becoming a "real" programmer
How to become a programmer (discussion)
How to become a hacker
An open source book on the GNU/Linux kernel- operating system development is an excellent way to train your brain to focus.
Introduction to debugging
Computer programming- recursively read through this until your eyes rot and/or bleed. (or maybe this one)
Computer programming for everyone
Koders.com- from the horse's mouth.
C++ FAQ
Introduction to perl programming

Some of these resources might not be appropriate to game development in particular, but they are all related as you will learn as you put more thinking into the subjects and try to explain the topics to yourself. Read, read, read, code, code, code. And then code some more, eat a pizza, sleep, code, code, read, etc. Good luck :)

- Bryan

There is not tutorial or 2005 only 06 and thats windows 95 hahah

Alright no errors just when I try to open it up it doesnt open it up it wont do anything it just, stay teh same it doesnt open up a hge preview

Also I am using Dev c++ I tryed VC++ but I dont really like it...

[Edited by - Arctic on July 8, 2007 2:49:59 PM]