I know for sure that this has been brought up before in this forum, but since it keeps telling me the search function is down i'm going to make a new thread instead of looking through each page what I need is the simplist tutorial there is to simply get me accustomed with using "Python" (or another program if you find it more suitable for a very, very beginner) like pong. a "how to make pong". my only request is that while it walks me through it, it has details on what i'm doing (like why i'm doing the command, etc) i'm sorry, if this is asking a lot, but i've never been a big programming guru and the closest thing i ever did to write up a game i did nearly... 7 years ago, so the memory is all but totally lost. i figure if you gotta start somewhere, the bottoms as good as another palce. thanks in advance.

If you want to do games in Python you will need to choose a game/graphics library to use. I would reccomend PyGame. On their tutorial page they have some great tutorials for getting started. The tuturial you want is right here, it goes over how to make Pong in a lot of detailed steps and explanation. Have fun!

Oh come on, you can learn C++! It's powerful and you won't find anything lacking in the future. Plus it's totally object oriented, which will make learning other languages later a cinch. My recommendation, head over to Cone3D's tutorials, write a couple of C++ programs on getting input and such (give yourself a week to get accustommed), then do the SDL tutorials.

You'll be an accomplished programmer in no time!

Quote:Original post by deavik
Oh come on, you can learn C++!

Yes, but that wasn't the question. I could learn rocket physics too, but it won't help me make Pong in Python. [wink]

Quote:
Plus it's totally object oriented

No it's not. It has the basic OO-support, yes, but it's not actually an OO language. It's a language that supports almost every programming paradigm. Including OO.
There are many cleaner and "better" OO languages around.

Quote:
which will make learning other languages later a cinch.

Nope. Well, it will, but starting with other languages will also make learning C++ later a cinch.

There is nothing to recommend starting with C++, other than the hype because "ooh, it's the inudstry standard", which many beginners seem to fall for (and which seasoned programmers hardly ever give a damn about)
It's harder to get started with, it has a bunch of odd quirks that distracts you from the actual programming concepts. Yes, you might learn how to work with pointers, but you don't neccesarily learn to program.
I know it's possible to start with C++. But that doesn't mean it's the best choice.

Quote:
You'll be an accomplished programmer in no time!

From learning C++?
No way. You'll be an accomplished programmer if you learn general programming, no matter the language. That can be done in C++, but it can also be done in Python. Or Java. Or C#. Or Scheme or Prolog, even. An accomplished programmer is someone who knows his stuff, no matter the language.

But how many other languages do you have experience with then? Presumably you must have extensive experience with other languages to be able to say that C++ is a better starting point?

Anyway, to answer the question:
You're right, starting from the bottom is the best (or only) way.
Where you're wrong, is in assuming Pong is the bottom ;)

Here's a good starting point for Python (actually, I'd say it's a good starting point in general, even if you use another language)

Other than that, [google] is your friend. Type in 'python tutorial', and there you go. :)

Just don't be afraid to start with "boring" text-based stuff. That's neccesary before you can really start on graphics. Even in an easy language like Python.

Thanks a lot for the links guys

while it's my ultimate goal, C++ just sounds too intimidating for me to tackle immediately. Besides, if I understand the most complex programs but don't know how to make a solid game it won't help a bit, so I'm going to take it relatively slow and try to get a good grasp of what making a game includes.

Tactless, the approach you are taking is very good, and I would also venture to suggest that do some simple programming before delving into the Pong clone! All the best!

Quote:Original post by Spoonbender

Yes, but that wasn't the question. I could learn rocket physics too, but it won't help me make Pong in Python. [wink]

Actually I was hinting at what tactless ultimately said - that he thought C++ would be intimidating. I was just suggesting what worked for me ... anyway, most tutorials he will come across later on - say - programming techniques etc will most probably be based on C / C++. He never said that he wanted tutorials in Python, he said he wanted to learn something new.

Remember, I was only trying to help ... tactless asked a question, and I gave him a suggestion. Too bad you got mad ... [sad]

Just a quick follow-up...

I took down and book-marked the links for all the tutorials and hope to give them all their fair chunk of time, especially the basic introduction into programming ( http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/thinkCSpy/ ) which I've already started. While I'm not jumping into them right now, I'll be sure to as soon as I'm confident in my understanding of programming.

a final thanks; if everything goes well on the tutorials I won't need anymore help for awhile!

Deavik: I didn't get mad. Sorry if I came across a bit harshly. But eh, guess we've dealt with that in PM's already. [wink]

tactless: Good luck with it. Sounds like you're taking a very good approach (too many people think they can jump straight into making Pong/Doom 4/the next World of Warcraft.

I wish it was that simple. [wink]

But you seem to be doing the right thing. Learn to program (in the sense of being able to structure your thoughts and actually write them down as code), before you start messing with graphics (Which just work by calling a few functions from a premade library anyway. It's fundamentally not the big challenge people often believe, but it does require you to be good at the mentioned programming, because it doesn't really take care of your program for you. All the hard work still takes place in your code)