Help for a noob
Author
Hi.
I need help on where to start making games. I read a article on this site about where to start, and although it was useful in knowing not to start very ambitious, it didn't help me in the way I needed. I am a super noob in making games. I havn't even started really. All I know is, I am a gamer, youngish, and I want to start making games. But I really have no idea to start, I don't know anything to do with making games. So where to start, what things I'll need to make games, software, what tutorials to start out. Forgive me if I havn't explored the site enough to find the answers, but if there is answwers in topics on this site a link would help. Thanks in advance
To make a game you need to be able to program. See this thread for some information about programming in general.
First choose a language. Viable options include C++, C#, Visual Basic .NET, and Python. Since you have no experience whatsoever, I recommend Python. It serves as a great introduction to programming concepts, and will hide you from the exceptionally difficult problems (usually memory management).
You can learn more about Python at their website.
You can also download a plug-in library for Python called PyGame which provides functionality required by games, such as graphics, audio, input, et cetera. It can be found here.
At your skill level, it's probably best you don't even attempt graphical games for quite a while. Programming is an art, and a difficult one to master. You need a firm grasp of programming concepts if you are to make a piece of software as complex as a game.
I recommend you start making console programs to test out various programming constructs. Then apply these to simple console games, such as Guess the Number, or after a month or so, Tic-Tac-Toe.
HTH,
nilkn
First choose a language. Viable options include C++, C#, Visual Basic .NET, and Python. Since you have no experience whatsoever, I recommend Python. It serves as a great introduction to programming concepts, and will hide you from the exceptionally difficult problems (usually memory management).
You can learn more about Python at their website.
You can also download a plug-in library for Python called PyGame which provides functionality required by games, such as graphics, audio, input, et cetera. It can be found here.
At your skill level, it's probably best you don't even attempt graphical games for quite a while. Programming is an art, and a difficult one to master. You need a firm grasp of programming concepts if you are to make a piece of software as complex as a game.
I recommend you start making console programs to test out various programming constructs. Then apply these to simple console games, such as Guess the Number, or after a month or so, Tic-Tac-Toe.
HTH,
nilkn
Author
Thank you, I will start now.
Seeing a python is easiest, does that mean, on a different programming software it will be better, if I was good at them both.
Also what does binary have to do with programming, forgive me if that is another stupidly foolish question.
Seeing a python is easiest, does that mean, on a different programming software it will be better, if I was good at them both.
Also what does binary have to do with programming, forgive me if that is another stupidly foolish question.
Quote:Original post by OdHero
Thank you, I will start now.
Seeing a python is easiest, does that mean, on a different programming software it will be better, if I was good at them both.
Also what does binary have to do with programming, forgive me if that is another stupidly foolish question.
Python, when compared to languages such as C++, is pretty lacking in power. So a skilled C++ programmer could do much more than a skilled Python programmer (assuming they each use their respective languages exclusively; there do exist ways that both languages can be used together).
Binary is the code which the processor understands. The compiler takes textual code such as C++ and converts it into binary, which is then mashed into an executable file.
Python, however, is not a compiled language. It is interpreted, meaning that instead of the code being compiled down into binary, there is a program always running in the background call the interpreter which has the ability to read your textual code.
Because the interpreter has to parse your code, Python is quite a bit slower than C++. However, for you this is irrelevant. In a year or so you'll need to start worrying about speed. Until then, concentrate on just learning the basic concepts.
Just start with regular python first then move onto pygame. Binary is important to know because it basically runs computers and software. 0 is off, 1 is on. You should at least have a basic understanding of it.
A lot of game programming companies use different things from java with mobile phone games, PC games use more C++ and check out if you want to learn more:
http://www.womangeeks.com/hello/learning/highlevel/cpp/intro.html
Yet you should really learn another one first at least javascript since it requires no compiler. Or even something like Visual basic since it's a lot more visual then a lot of other to begin with.<br>
http://www.womangeeks.com/hello/learning/highlevel/cpp/intro.html
Yet you should really learn another one first at least javascript since it requires no compiler. Or even something like Visual basic since it's a lot more visual then a lot of other to begin with.<br>
While binary underlies everything we do, the whole history of computer science is a struggle to get as far away as possible from programming directly in binary. Modern programming languages do quite a reasonable job of hiding away the ones and zeros. I would not worry about this for now, if you are just starting out; it will be a long time before you need to do anything tricksy with bithacks or octal. Learn to do simple loops and conditionals first, that will serve you a lot better in the beginning.
Author
Whoa this is incredibly hard, the tutorial I was following wasn't helping AT ALL, can anyone give me a link to a recent and good python tutorial.
http://www.honors.montana.edu/~jjc/easytut/easytut/node3.html
Try that one, it's the one I am using, if you haven't tried it already.
Try that one, it's the one I am using, if you haven't tried it already.
I started programming seriously with C++, when I was 14. I flirted temporarily with Visual Basic before that, but
<rant>STAY AWAY! It is pretty much worthless, unless you are a 1337 h4x0r who is making some kind of phishing software or trojan horse and can't make his own GUI worth shit.</rant>
Anydangway, ignore SKATIN_HARD. Don't even look at binary or machine code, until you are like me, weird, knowledgable to a slight extent (very slight in my case), and want to make your own interpreted language.
I like C++ and recommend it to beginners because learning it, although difficult, comes with the knowledge that you are learning a useful, industry-standard language that can and has been used to make Halo, Starcraft, and pretty much any professional game on the market. I'm quite happy. I think it would have killed my enthusiasm if I learned some language that wasn't so standard, and then learned that "OOPS! Can't apply this syntax to professional work!" Learn C++ first, then move on to python or other languages afterwards. You want to experiance several languages after you have gained some skill with your first, so that you can learn to apply concepts across any language.
These skills will come with time, my Padawan. For now, code.
[EDIT] All you need to start programming in C++ is dev-cpp (google dev-cpp and bloodshed). It is an IDE and will make it much easier for you to compile your code.
<rant>STAY AWAY! It is pretty much worthless, unless you are a 1337 h4x0r who is making some kind of phishing software or trojan horse and can't make his own GUI worth shit.</rant>
Anydangway, ignore SKATIN_HARD. Don't even look at binary or machine code, until you are like me, weird, knowledgable to a slight extent (very slight in my case), and want to make your own interpreted language.
I like C++ and recommend it to beginners because learning it, although difficult, comes with the knowledge that you are learning a useful, industry-standard language that can and has been used to make Halo, Starcraft, and pretty much any professional game on the market. I'm quite happy. I think it would have killed my enthusiasm if I learned some language that wasn't so standard, and then learned that "OOPS! Can't apply this syntax to professional work!" Learn C++ first, then move on to python or other languages afterwards. You want to experiance several languages after you have gained some skill with your first, so that you can learn to apply concepts across any language.
These skills will come with time, my Padawan. For now, code.
[EDIT] All you need to start programming in C++ is dev-cpp (google dev-cpp and bloodshed). It is an IDE and will make it much easier for you to compile your code.
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