Developing for PSP - is it hard?
Author
Hey all,
I've had a few questions answered already and people have been very friendly and have given me tons of help. So, I'd like to thank everyone for that.
My question applies to developing for the PSP.
Generally speaking, is it hard (as in, does is use simple C+ language, is it significantly harder to develop for than a standard PC game, etc.)?
What is the most difficult thing about developing for it?
Do you know of any guides that specifically teach how to develop for the PSP? I tried searching "develop a psp game" in google and other search terms, but haven't really found anything. Anyone know about any in particular?
Thanks for the help again, all!
Author
I'm sorry, I meant for commercial. I should have been more specific.
I also mean strictly programming the game, not publshing it or anything like that. In other words, is it somewhat realistic, albiet difficult, to program a game and send the code to a publisher to be made into disks and what not?
I also mean strictly programming the game, not publshing it or anything like that. In other words, is it somewhat realistic, albiet difficult, to program a game and send the code to a publisher to be made into disks and what not?
Nope, you nned to convince Sony to let you buy the dev kit (which requires you to have a pretty damn good game idea, and a good track record), and the same story goes for publishing. Only if they're 110% sure it'll be a success. If you don't have a portfolio of *commercial* and *successful* games you've made, you can probably forget it.
If you get the devkit then you get a SDK to use with the PSP too The devkit plugs into a normal PC, and the SDK gets used with whatever compiler you want (Although some SDKs don't work with some compilers). You should be able to use C or C++.
As has been mentioned though, to get a devkit you have to prove to Sony that you're going to make a good game. That means you need to have a bunch of titles already compelte, a solid design doc, and a decent company.
There was a games company that went bust in Edinburgh, and apparently Sony revoked the devkits because they didn't think they were doing a good enough job. So the company had to basically abandon their project.
As has been mentioned though, to get a devkit you have to prove to Sony that you're going to make a good game. That means you need to have a bunch of titles already compelte, a solid design doc, and a decent company.
There was a games company that went bust in Edinburgh, and apparently Sony revoked the devkits because they didn't think they were doing a good enough job. So the company had to basically abandon their project.
Based on the age of your account, I'm assuming you don't have much games programming experience. Console development is different enough from PC development (especially on the biz side) that you should have at least one game under your belt before you start. It's unrealistic to expect to start with a console game.
You should learn PC games development first, and then consider moving to a niche console homebrew market -- commercial is virtually unattainable without stacks of experience and money to show that you're 100% serious.
You should learn PC games development first, and then consider moving to a niche console homebrew market -- commercial is virtually unattainable without stacks of experience and money to show that you're 100% serious.
Yeah, everyone else is right. The business side of the problem will make this a very hard proposition. From a purely technical standpoint, it's not particularly hard to develop for the PSP. However, if your only experience is on the PC, you're going to be very surprised at the lack of quality tools or documentation.
Quote:Original post by osmanb
However, if your only experience is on the PC, you're going to be very surprised at the lack of quality tools or documentation.
That's one of the joys you will frequently face. But it has been improving over the years. It used to be something like this:
What documentation? Real programmers don't need documentation! Give them the headers, binaries, and a disassembler/debugger. If the programmers get lazy and convince management to demand more documentation, we might send them the symbol tables and map files as well.
I know its not a PSP but my uni course has 20 gamecube dev-kits.
gamecube's API is really easy to learn and i find more fun than programming on the PC.based on what i know of the ps2 i think the api for the psp may be very limited however.
gamecube's API is really easy to learn and i find more fun than programming on the PC.based on what i know of the ps2 i think the api for the psp may be very limited however.
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