question about starting

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6 comments, last by dmatter 16 years, 3 months ago
if i were to start trying to develop a game what should i start out with?? like i know there is c++ and java...should i try to learn these first?
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First, let me warn you that making a game isn't easy and can take a LONG time. Team Forterss 2 was only recently released, and they've been at it since 1999.

Second, C++ is SUPPOSEDLY a hard first language to learn. I learned it first myself, but I think it depends on how good you are with computers to begin with. I'd recommend Java instead perhaps, or Python.

If you want to try out C++, I learned from cprogramming.com. Great starting tutorials :)
You'll have an easier time making a game in Java rather than C++. There are probably more online tutorials running through the entire game-making process for Java than there are for C++ too.

If you want an easier leg up into programming and graphics, then I started off on QBASIC, I believe several versions are downloadable, though only the QB1.1 interpreter is legally free.
There are perhaps more modern and powerful (even game oriented) versions of BASIC around today though (Visual Basic is one).
You can also try Python...it'd help give you a good grasp with some OOP.
If it comes to game oriented tutorials, there are more c++ tutorials than java tutorials. But for general tutorials there might be more java (I don't really know, I just bought a book on java to start)
Game dev in java is easier to start out with (because you've got Java2D and Java3D), but eventually, you'll find that the standard libs are not sufficient and you'll start with lwjgl, which requires knowledge of opengl, and openal. I have experience in java, and I want to start using lwjgl now, so I have to start learning opengl from scratch, and there are not that much tutorials on lwjgl. (And the best one I found is outdated and unfinished)

You should take a look at some basic tutorials on both languages and decide which language you like the most. I did that too, and I liked java more for some reasons. (platform independency being an important one)
Just decide for yourself, both languages are suitable for game dev. (and others too ofcourse!, but I lack knowledge of other languages to discuss these)
Quote: Second, C++ is SUPPOSEDLY a hard first language to learn.
It’s easy to pick up the basic paradigms and fundamentals. It’s hard to master and really get the details right. Besides, I don’t really recommend starting with C and C++ for another reason. Well, C is just not that great as a language. C++ tries to preserve C compatibility, and in doing so, inherits a lot of the historical baggage that C has. Not very good introduction to programming languages.

Quote: If you want an easier leg up into programming and graphics, then I started off on QBASIC,
I can’t really back Qbasic now, although maybe a decade ago it might have been slightly more palatable. I could waste time talking about the value of Qbasic, but it flunks in one simple way. It’s a 16 bit app, and Vista and 64-bit Windows do not have native support for it. Flush...

Want to make games? Work your way up in steps. The steps are going to have be smaller and more numerous than you think, especially if you have no programming experience beforehand. You won’t even be touching games for a while.

Prefer high level, modern, popular languages over low level, very old, or non-mainstream languages. Your first language should be something you can easily find help on.
Well, I'll respond with something different here.

If you're only interested in "developing" a game, then you don't necessarily have to "code" it.

A good way to get you pointed in the right direction is to use a game development software like Multimedia Fusion/Jamagic (http://www.clickteam.com) or 3D RAD (http://www.3drad.com) and then once you get the hang of things, you'll be in a position to know what, why, and when do you need to "code"

Good luck.

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Quote:Original post by oler1s
I can’t really back Qbasic now, although maybe a decade ago it might have been slightly more palatable. I could waste time talking about the value of Qbasic, but it flunks in one simple way. It’s a 16 bit app, and Vista and 64-bit Windows do not have native support for it. Flush...

Very true.
There are other much more modern flavours around now, but now you mention it QBasic does seem quite naff [grin]

@Lotus: Nice response, rating++

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