Total newbie loves punctuation, requires assistance
Author
I'm only 14, my school does not offer Game Programming or Computer Science classes, I just recently bought a whole bunch of books that cost me like $100 each, and I have a program called DarkBasic that I plan to use for making my games.
But even through books galore and tons of tutorials, I'm Newbishly stuck. I'm bad at taking advice from 'words' that are written. I like people help. And I would SO appreciate it if someone would help me,... like walk me throught it? I already know the basics, (sorta) like what a string is, how to use integers, and some commands... ect.
If one of you were willing to help, could you give me personal advice, rather than the normal book/tutorial stuff that just teaches you what to write and when. Perhaps if I told you what I was trying to make, you could walk me through that screen specifically....? I would appreciate it SO MUCH!
Thank you guys! :D
[Edited by - Run_The_Shadows on April 19, 2006 9:56:32 PM]
Whoa! I wish I had $100 to spend on books.
What you need is direction, figure out what your goal is and start at a point you feel comftorble with.
Ont area that completly dumbed my mind was programming terminology. I started off by reading tutorials off cprogramming.com. I also read up on Microsoft technologies like .NET, ASP, ADO, etc. from wikipedia.com.
If I were you, I would read articles like these to familiarize myself with the programming universe before buying books/software.
However....Since you have books, you might as well read them. That should take you up to speed quickly on what you need to know.
What you need is direction, figure out what your goal is and start at a point you feel comftorble with.
Ont area that completly dumbed my mind was programming terminology. I started off by reading tutorials off cprogramming.com. I also read up on Microsoft technologies like .NET, ASP, ADO, etc. from wikipedia.com.
If I were you, I would read articles like these to familiarize myself with the programming universe before buying books/software.
However....Since you have books, you might as well read them. That should take you up to speed quickly on what you need to know.
Author
But that's just it... I HAVE read htem... ALL of them. All the boks I bought have been read. They all talk about the same stuff (mostly basic threads and commands), so I know how, say, to make a little dude walk over and over across the screen. It's a start, but I can't go any farther. Nothing tells me anything further. I need an actual, living person to help me. I have a goal, I know what I want to do, I just can't find anything to help me do it.
Well then we need more info like:
What books did you specifically buy? Most books I know of are in the 30 - 50 dollar range.
What programming language are you using?
What are you aiming for?
What programming language would you like to learn?
And from what I have read, it appears you are using DARKBASIC. That software comes with its own interface and language. Are you using any other dev tools?
What books did you specifically buy? Most books I know of are in the 30 - 50 dollar range.
What programming language are you using?
What are you aiming for?
What programming language would you like to learn?
And from what I have read, it appears you are using DARKBASIC. That software comes with its own interface and language. Are you using any other dev tools?
Quote:Original post by Ima_New_CoderI think your plea for help is a little too broad. Are you asking someone to tutor you, or do you have a particular question?
But that's just it... I HAVE read htem... ALL of them. All the boks I bought have been read. They all talk about the same stuff (mostly basic threads and commands), so I know how, say, to make a little dude walk over and over across the screen. It's a start, but I can't go any farther. Nothing tells me anything further. I need an actual, living person to help me. I have a goal, I know what I want to do, I just can't find anything to help me do it.
My guess is that you don't know what you need to learn next. So, really, you need to learn the difference between the scope of your current knowledge and the scope of knowledge required to make a game. That's a big hurdle to get over, and it's as hard for people to explain the answer as it is to explain the problem.
Some additional information might help other forum members offer better suggestions; for instance, what OS are you developing on? What API are you using for graphics? What language are you programming in and on what compiler? What genre of game are you building?
I'd say that you should browse the For Beginners section of articles, if you consider yourself a "Total Newb", and look for a sort of progress plan to direct further study.
Start from the bottom and work your way up.
Assuming that your player is walking/floating across the screen in 2D, try adding in some collision detection (floors, walls).
Then move on so that the player can collect items that disappear when collected. (destructible objects)
Add in some game logic so that the level restarts when all the items have been collected.
Adding a score etc etc.
Since you know what you have to do (assuming it is one big goal), chop it down to smaller goals and look how to solve/achieve that goal.
[Edited by - yaustar on April 19, 2006 9:27:21 PM]
Assuming that your player is walking/floating across the screen in 2D, try adding in some collision detection (floors, walls).
Then move on so that the player can collect items that disappear when collected. (destructible objects)
Add in some game logic so that the level restarts when all the items have been collected.
Adding a score etc etc.
Since you know what you have to do (assuming it is one big goal), chop it down to smaller goals and look how to solve/achieve that goal.
[Edited by - yaustar on April 19, 2006 9:27:21 PM]
Hi, I don't think it's really viable to avoid learning from books, perhaps you have got some good ones and that's a good start. The start here section is a bit out of date, you're better off with the noteworthy threads and the beginnners forum faq.
That said, my guess is that you are so overwhelmed by reading those books you don't know where to begin. That sounds pretty normal to me, programming can be freaking complex but trust me it will grow on you with time. It's easier than learning another natural language for sure.
Depending on what programming language you have chosen my 2 cents is what most people recommend: lay off the graphics and start with some console (text-based) programming.
It may be hard (or even next to impossible) to digest all the theory if you don't have any practice. You don't learn to speak a natural language either by just remembering words and studying the grammar! So the first step would be to find a programming environment, an IDE, and learn how to make hello world. Play with it for some time. Then decide on some very simple projects, like guess the number and tic-tac-toe, and figure out what you need to learn to achieve these goals. Then you can ask questions which can more easily be answered, and put the knowledge you have gained from the books to work. You can try reading books and asking question on a basis of what you need to learn for these simple projects, that helps to keep you focused. It's also important then to step back once in a while, look at the bigger picture and read up on some theory. When you learn from a book, make sure you understand most of it by putting it to use. As tempting as it is, don't skip steps, every time you're stuck somewhere it's an opportunity to progress.
EDIT: I'm sorry dude, somehow I didn't parsed that you already made some graphics program so my comments about starting with hello world don't apply. Still I would recommend some small project to help keep you focused.
That said, my guess is that you are so overwhelmed by reading those books you don't know where to begin. That sounds pretty normal to me, programming can be freaking complex but trust me it will grow on you with time. It's easier than learning another natural language for sure.
Depending on what programming language you have chosen my 2 cents is what most people recommend: lay off the graphics and start with some console (text-based) programming.
It may be hard (or even next to impossible) to digest all the theory if you don't have any practice. You don't learn to speak a natural language either by just remembering words and studying the grammar! So the first step would be to find a programming environment, an IDE, and learn how to make hello world. Play with it for some time. Then decide on some very simple projects, like guess the number and tic-tac-toe, and figure out what you need to learn to achieve these goals. Then you can ask questions which can more easily be answered, and put the knowledge you have gained from the books to work. You can try reading books and asking question on a basis of what you need to learn for these simple projects, that helps to keep you focused. It's also important then to step back once in a while, look at the bigger picture and read up on some theory. When you learn from a book, make sure you understand most of it by putting it to use. As tempting as it is, don't skip steps, every time you're stuck somewhere it's an opportunity to progress.
EDIT: I'm sorry dude, somehow I didn't parsed that you already made some graphics program so my comments about starting with hello world don't apply. Still I would recommend some small project to help keep you focused.
You need to provide us with more information, tell us what you are trying to do. What is your little man on the screen trying to accomplish? If you haven't completed a first game yet I recommend Pong. In pong you would do the following:
Draw the paddles on the screen
Draw the ball on the screen
Assign a speed to the balls x and y velocity
Assign a speed to the paddles' y velocity
Move the paddles and ball
check to see if the paddles and ball hit the edge of the screen (collision with background)
check to see if the ball hit the paddles (collision between objects).
We can help you but you need to ask specific questions. You also might try the gamedev irc chat. Also, if you click on my sig and go to the bounce project on the right, it shows the source for a very simple pong game.
p.s. as a 14 year old that uses commas and periods, you are years ahead of your peers.
Draw the paddles on the screen
Draw the ball on the screen
Assign a speed to the balls x and y velocity
Assign a speed to the paddles' y velocity
Move the paddles and ball
check to see if the paddles and ball hit the edge of the screen (collision with background)
check to see if the ball hit the paddles (collision between objects).
We can help you but you need to ask specific questions. You also might try the gamedev irc chat. Also, if you click on my sig and go to the bounce project on the right, it shows the source for a very simple pong game.
p.s. as a 14 year old that uses commas and periods, you are years ahead of your peers.
If you're looking for answers to specific questions you have (as if often the case after reading books), there's usually someone around in #gamedev who'd be willing to help you out. Don't get too attached to any one particular person, because people come and go and it's often helpful to get input from lots of different sources, but if you want "people" help it's often a good place to be.
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