I new to th comunity and this is my first topic, so please don't get mad at me if I say somthing wrong... Ok, here it goes... I want to begin programing games, and I mean really program games, like worldofwarcraft type and such. But there are some things I would lik to know... First - How should I start? ( I chose c++ and I am currently studing it alone) Second - What should a gooooood game developer know? third - art, coding or both??? ( I did some drawing courses and I know Visual Basic )

Hey man, welcome to GameDev.

First go here.

There are lots of tutorials on this site and links to tutorials to help you. C++ is a tricky language but is excellent for game development. Really whatever language you choose to learn is arbitrary though (you'll learn that quickly here).

Your first step should be writing a few simple programs or games in C++ to get your feet wet...any programming book will teach you "Hello World" first...it's key.

Your next step would be to write a simple game that you can do in text or maybe in ascii.

A graphics API is next, and that's where it gets tricky...but don't lose heart! =)

I recommend Windows Game Programming for Dummies, because it's just great at getting you into the mindset you'll need to forge your way thru.

Don't be afraid to ask questions here; that's what we're for.

Good luck!

Thanks alot,

I glad I can count on the comunity, i gives me more hope and strenth !!

And I am ready to be on this for more than only on life - if its possible :D

First of all, welcome to the site! I hope you have a lot of fun learning how to create games and interacting with people who follow a similar passion to you.

If you know Visual Basic, I'm assuming that you'll be fairly familiar in how programs are structured - which is good ;) First of all, put your WorldOfWarcraft idea on the backburner for now. It's a hugely complicated project that is likely to confuse you whilst you're learning. The first place to take a look at is Beginners: Start Here on this site. It'll show you where to go and what to look out for.

Since you've chosen C++, I'm assuming you have a C++ compiler/IDE to help you out? Play around with simple text examples and learn the basics of the language before you attempt to get any further into making games. It might be boring, but the time you spend learning how to code number guessing games and tic-tac-toe will pay off when you come to tackle something larger. GameTutorials has a great little section on C++ and takes you through the basics until you're able to code your own text adventure game. Really worthwhile taking a look at if you ask me.

From there, you'll probably be wanting to decide on a graphics library; something like Allegro or SDL are popular for good reason, they're fairly simple yet can be really powerful tools in the right hands [grin].

That's enough to get you started I think - other than to say I recommend you browse the book section here on GameDev and buy a couple of good books. Several notable authors have written books on beginning game programming (including the founders and members of this site).

I hope that's enough to get you started - have fun, it can be tough ride but it's very enjoyable in the end :)