I'm afraid most of the old "Start Here" page is pretty much obsolete. Some bits are still valid, but it's probably not a good place to start any more.

There has been a lot of discussion about how to replace it, but with all the other stuff going on behind the scenes, it's not been a high priority of late.

What, in particular, do you want to know?

Quote:Original post by Quixote
I see, that's a shame. Well I, like many others, was looking for a good starting point to go from ultra-beginner to high-class game developer, ideally without just coming onto the forums and asking "where do I start?". From the old "start here" page and from poking around elsewhere I decided that a good first move would be to build a good foundation in programming. Specificly, I am reading The Waite Group's "New C Primer Plus, Second Edition" and had been planning after that on moving onto the three books listed first on the "start here" page: "C++ Primer, Third Edition," "Programming Windows, Fifth Edition," and "Code Complete, Second Edition."

Would these still be a decent place to get started, or is my hard work only going to fill me with obsolete misinformation? (I already have these books, by the way, so I'm rather hoping to hear they're still good, heh...)

Thanks for the help

Careful: although they're closely related, C and C++ aren't the same. C is an older, much simpler language. C++ added a whole rake of complexity to C and, while technically compatible, one should be wary of learning both languages at the same time as it's very easy to conflate the two.

Personally, I'd recommend a domain-specific language as a starting point, if only because it'll get you making simple games much more quickly than is the case with a general-purpose language like C or C++. The key is to learn programming first. Languages like BlitzMAX or DarkBasic are very good starting points precisely because you'll learn to write code and make your first, broad brush-strokes.

C++, on the other hand, is like learning to paint with a pin. It takes an awfully long time and a lot of patience to paint one single, tiny dot of colour at a time.

I recently posted a sort of FAQ on this kind of "Which programming language should I use?"-type question here, should that be of interest. It covers what programming is and explains the different types of programming languages.

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All that said, I don't know you well enough to be able to tell exactly how well you'll do if you start with C or C++. Since you've already bought the books, and assuming you insist on starting with one of them, I'd start with the "C Primer" book and work your way through that.

Read "Code Complete" along with the "C Primer" book as it's primarily about how to code in general, rather than being specific about languages. Its precepts can be applied to any programming language and it will teach you some good habits. Better to get those habits nailed down early than have to unlearn bad habits later on.

Don't get too bogged down by details. Write simple quiz games. Maybe add a text adventure to your list. Once you're comfortable with C, move on to the C++ book and "Programming Windows". That's when you'll be able to throw some graphics around. However, bear in mind that it'll be a while yet before you're hurling graphics around the screen with ease and you WILL need more books.

I recommend looking at a book on either DirectX or OpenGL if you're hell-bent on teaching yourself how to build your own graphics engine. If you're more interested in the higher-level stuff like AI and gameplay, look at using a pre-built graphics engine instead. You might also consider a higher-level domain-specific tool like Unity or Torque. Both do require programming skills, but nothing like as much as if you were writing your own code from scratch.


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The important thing to note is that this is a long, hard journey which begins with a very steep climb. Once you've reached the top, you'll find it's still mostly uphill, but it does get easier as you get more experienced.

Good luck!