I''m 19 years old and I''ve been trying to learn to program for a few years now, I''m not getting very far. The only thing that I can come up with to help me learn (short of going to school, but that''s not possible right now) is to see if anyone would be intrested in mentoring me. I figure that the best way I learn is by hands on example and having someone coach me on what I do wrong... So I just figure I need someone to help teach me, I understand the basics of writting code C and C++, but not much beyond that. I need someone to help me put the pieces together... What I propose is this, if anyone is willing to mentor me... I figure first you''ll need to establish a basline of what I can and can''t do at this point. Then, set up some excersies for me to do, give me some advice and answer my questions along the way, let me know what you think of the finished product on my end. Then as time progresses you can use me to write parts of things you actually need written for free as payment for your services... I really do have a desire to learn, I just need someone willing to teach me... I''m not asking for a lot of time maybe just a couple of times a week, a couple of e-mails or somthing (that''s about all the free time I have right now between two jobs) a week (I install hardwood flooring and work in an auto parts store if anyone is wondering). If you''re intresed you can reply here or drop me a line at space_freak@hotmail.com, please I''d really be thankful for some help. -GamEDweeB

I''m 21 and in the same boat you are in. I went to school for programming for 7 months so far. It taught me the basics, but from a business perspective. Trying to program games after learning how to write business programs is really hard because I''ve had to rethink the way I program. If your having problems using C++ to develop games, I suggest you go to www.gameinstitute.com and enroll on one of those classes like I did. I took the Introduction to C/C++ course and I was amazed at the stuff that I didn''t learn in school! After taking that class, you will have written your first game (which is pong). I plan on taking all the courses they have which are pretty cheap. Hope this helped a little.

Why would you not try the tutorials at nehe.gamedev.net or www.gametutorials.com .. try learning the OpenGL tutorials which are well written =]

All I can say is get real good with whatever language you decide to go with first. Nothing is worse than trying to code in OpenGL or SDL and not understanding what they are doing because you can't read what their doing. I recommend learning things like file input and output and work with reading text and binary and writing text and binary. Then code up some simple text game and use your skills with file inputs and outputs to load and save info for the game. I wish I would have done this first before I went crazy and jumped into 2d and now a little 3d. Can you understand these statements?



if you can read that then good start working on a text based rpg game or any game done with text its simple and lets you get experience with all the languages syntax. Hope that helps



"You have Freedom, sir"
"Were do I have freedom"
"Only in your head, we control the rest of your body and life for now"
"My FREEDOM isn't for sale"

[edited by - Mars_999 on October 19, 2002 11:36:42 PM]

[edited by - Mars_999 on October 19, 2002 11:37:31 PM]

[edited by - Mars_999 on October 19, 2002 11:38:20 PM]

[edited by - Mars_999 on October 19, 2002 11:39:11 PM]

Hey thanks for the replies, and the advice people!

If I were you, I''d start with BASIC programming such as Visual Basic, because -- as the word says -- it is a lot easier to learn the ins and outs of code with that one. And, remember that programming takes more than just some months (or sometimes some years) it''s not something that you can learn quickly; trust me, reading the "Teach yourself (n-program) in 21 days" isn''t actually that effective, I mean, you can complete the schedule, but you HAVE to apply your knowledge in simple programs, anything! A calculator, a picture viewer... just don''t push your limits too hard. There are also nice tutorial web pages.

I really recommend the Online Books of VB5.0 or 6.0 if you are a beginner.

Good Luck to you all.

I have time, I have taught people before( not in programming )online and I enjoy doing it. If you want a mentor email me

surftherocks2002@yahoo.com

Let me second kynice''s recommendation of www.gameinstitute.com. I signed up for their intro to c++ and math for games courses a while back, and I''ve been impressed with what they offer. Classes are divided into weekly lessons, and structured into lectures, text in html and pdf format, audio clips from the instructor, messageboards and scheduled chat sessions, so you can get feedback and help from the instructor and other students in the course.

Each course seems to be priced at about what a good book covering the same subject would cost, which I consider to be a bargain for the interaction that you get with the instructor and fellow students.

Current classes offer:
-Intro to C++
-Game Math
-3D Prog''ing with OGL/D3D
-Exploring DirectInput8 API
-Pathfinding Algorithms
-Network Game Prog''ing w/ DirectX8
-Adv. 3D BSP, PVS, CSG Techniques
-Realtime 3D Terrain Rendering

They''re planning more AI courses, and courses on writing model and level creation tools for your own graphics engine, and they''re talking with several universities to get their courses to count for college credit.

It''s well worth checking into.

pentestoy