where to start?
Author
hi i'm brand new to this forum.. so hello everyone here :)
i realise this must be asked alot.. but i'm really having trouble finding a way of starting game development.. im only 16 (well in a few days time) but i'm willing to learn and take as many lessons are needed.. but i've gotta say first i have no money at all to spend on software or nything like that.. so any free soloutions to my problems would be appreicated :)
i did about two months worth of lessons with c# but found out nothing really to do with game development.. and don't really like the idea of xna (besides my comp doesn't seem to want to download it anyway :() and as i've heard that java is quite a commonly used game programming language, and apparently offers lots of online tutorials i was wondering what i actually need to download to get to work.. can someone please list litrally everything i need to get and just briefly explain what does what, just so i literally have a direction to go in, or if anyone feels java is a bad choice and they have a better one please mention :).. i realise this must be asked alot and is really annoying but any help would be greatly appriecated.
oh, and by the way, i'm kinda looking for something thats a bit simpler on the graphical side of things for now, just like simple 2-d, capabale of making sega-style graphics? As i don't really want to have to learn how to make some really cool looking 3-d game when i can't even get the lanugage right :P
thanks x
Hi and welcome to the forums!
A lot of the answers to the common "where do I start" questions have been summarised in the beginner Forum FAQ, so hopefully some of those will be helpful.
For specific advice, although I haven't used it much myself I've heard that Python and Pygame are great starting languages for game development.
Best of luck!
A lot of the answers to the common "where do I start" questions have been summarised in the beginner Forum FAQ, so hopefully some of those will be helpful.
For specific advice, although I haven't used it much myself I've heard that Python and Pygame are great starting languages for game development.
Best of luck!
I recently answered a similar question, you might find the response helpful:
Hope that's of some help. [smile]
Quote:from How to develop a gameYou could also take a look at Kid's Programming Language.Quote:Original post by haythem
Am new developer and i would like to develop any game so could any one guid me how to start and which language to be use.Quote:Original post by Kazgoroth
Ok, there are a few options for developing a game, and depending what you want to achieve you don't neccesarily have to program. I'll get to choosing a programming language if that's what you want to do, but I want to lay out a couple of alternatives:
You can create a game with little or no programming languages using authorware tools. These tools often provide point&click and/or drag&drop interfaces or allow you to work with very simple scripting languages, and you can achieve some pretty good results if you choose the correct tool for the project you're working on. The disadvantage is that you lose a bit of control over the final product and that some ideas may be difficult or impossible to achieve with certain tools; these tools are created with certain goals and limitations in mind and are usually very good at specific tasks but difficult or impossible to use in areas other than that for which they are intended. Some examples include Game Maker, Torque Game Builder, Adventure Game Studio and Inform. There are plenty of different options around suited to a huge range of different products, so if this option interests you do some searching to see what's available.
You can create a game by modding existing games. This is a sort of halfway point between using authorware and DIY and can potentially involve some (or even extensive) programming. Many commercial games now ship with (or make available online) tools allowing users to modify the game, sometimes with very impressive results. How this works varies from game to game, and as I don't know your specific goals or what games you own I'll leave it up to you to do some research into this option if you think it might be for you.
...and that brings us to programming. This is the most difficult and time-consuming option but also the one which offers you the most control over the final product, and can also be very rewarding when you manage to get some results. If you want to follow this path you'll need to pick a programming language and go about learning it. My recommendations for programming languages would be Python (Python resources), C#, or Flash/ActionScript (cool and relatively easy, but quite expensive).
Hope that's of some help. [smile]
In addition to the above mentioned, I would like to recommend you to try Blitz3D.
It's a great language made in C++ as a type of advanced game engine for general purpose use in both 2D and 3D. It has lots of functions and will help you to learn all the fundamentals for developing and designing a game.
There is really no limit of what you can make with it when it comes to 2D, and the same goes for the 3D part as far as a beginner is concerned.
As for the syntax it's very easy and is like a hybrid of C and Basic. I had no problem porting my old C/C++ games into this neat language. So give it a try, it will definitley help you to learn about game development and ease your way to more advanced developing later with ex DirectX.
Good luck
It's a great language made in C++ as a type of advanced game engine for general purpose use in both 2D and 3D. It has lots of functions and will help you to learn all the fundamentals for developing and designing a game.
There is really no limit of what you can make with it when it comes to 2D, and the same goes for the 3D part as far as a beginner is concerned.
As for the syntax it's very easy and is like a hybrid of C and Basic. I had no problem porting my old C/C++ games into this neat language. So give it a try, it will definitley help you to learn about game development and ease your way to more advanced developing later with ex DirectX.
Good luck
Author
thanks for all the help so far everyone, and i hate to be a pest (it seems as if i've ignored what you are saying but i had a look at every link posted i promise) and java seems to be the best begginers choice for me, although i'm still confused. i seem to be ok (as with c#) actually learning about programming and making functioning applications.. but i never really know what resources i need to get started, like a complier? or somewhere to make graphics for it after i've mastered the language? i don't really have much of a clue what i actually need to download to be able to start programming with java... if anyone could provide links and names of things i need to get started (not so much the tutorials just the actuall programs) will be so incredibly helpful, and please, treat me as if i were a baby... i can't realy remember the names of many different things like compilers and stuff :P
thanks again xx
thanks again xx
A few options with Java:
- using an IDE: its good when you are new to the language, as it is autocompleting some code, doing the layout etc...
if you go for that option i recommend NetBeans http://www.netbeans.com, its free and well supported.
- not using an IDE: better, more control but often so frustrating. I would think it is a better option after some practice in an IDE. All you need is a text editor and the command line utility.
The IDEs include their own compilers, if you do it in notepad, you just have to go in the command line and use javac, the standard java compiler.
If you go for Java, go on the Sun website, it is really helpful and there are lots of tutorials.
Best of luck,
- using an IDE: its good when you are new to the language, as it is autocompleting some code, doing the layout etc...
if you go for that option i recommend NetBeans http://www.netbeans.com, its free and well supported.
- not using an IDE: better, more control but often so frustrating. I would think it is a better option after some practice in an IDE. All you need is a text editor and the command line utility.
The IDEs include their own compilers, if you do it in notepad, you just have to go in the command line and use javac, the standard java compiler.
If you go for Java, go on the Sun website, it is really helpful and there are lots of tutorials.
Best of luck,
yep, nothing wrong with Java at all, although a few will ridicule Java for this and that, but alot of universities teach Java to help learn OOP methodologies such as the Open University and University of Kent at canterbury, both universities are excellent.
Java allows you to create applications, games (very fast with LWJGL), it's a nice experience with Java although some things can be quite tricky, still, it's well worth learning!
get yourself on the sun microsystems website and download J2SE and J2ME and start learning ;o)
Java allows you to create applications, games (very fast with LWJGL), it's a nice experience with Java although some things can be quite tricky, still, it's well worth learning!
get yourself on the sun microsystems website and download J2SE and J2ME and start learning ;o)
Author
right... sorry to be such an idiot but i do appreciate all the help offered.. especially as the responses have been so fast, am i right in thinking that i need to download netbeans,J2SE AND J2ME? i'm not sure if need all of them or what i need to do lol sorry once again.
thanks xx
thanks xx
Yes download all three and run the installation packages. If you run on a mac, java is already preinstalled, so you just need netbeans...
Author
thanks sooooo much for all the help, managed to get what i need and i've just started doing some tutorials that explain the basics of java, thanks very much everyone has been incredibly helpful :)
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