So, I've always been interested in games. From playing Wolfenstein 3D to COD4 etc. So today I found this awesome webpage, and the last 2 weeks I've been considering getting a new computer, cus this one is getting a bit outdated. So I'm thinking laptop, quite possibly a MacBook Pro, since it has bootcamp so I could run both Mac OS X and windows. But a downside to that is that its kinda (VERY) pricy. So what is best for developing games? I'm also open to a PC (allthough I'm getting kinda tired of all the problems that come with it) Also which programming language should I learn? I'm learning towards C++ cus I've heard thats the way to go. At the moment I'm 15 years old. If that makes some kind of difference :) Also if you have any tips I'd like to read them.

You sound like you try to convince yourself that buying a new computer is a must. I don't want to be a jerk, but if you're able to post on this forum with your current computer (let alone play COD4), it's more than enough to start learning (game) programming. Of course if it keep crashing and you keep waiting for simple tasks it might get frustrating to use. Sometime a simple format/reinstall can do. I can't deny that having the latest high-speed QuadCore with over 6gb ram, a GTX280+ and a clean Windows7 install won't help, but as you say it can be pricey and not absolutely necessary. It will help for playing games, but not necessarily make them, at least not until you are compiling a massive project many times a day, which won't happens soon­.

Laptop are great of course, but the "gaming" laptop is currently loosing ground to the "netbook" style.

Mac don't have "less" problems than a PC, it's the OS making the huge difference. If you are thinking about getting serious about 3D programming you should stick to Windows though, cause it's a whole lot more used. On Mac (or Linux), you can go to the open-source opengl path, but you will find out fast enough it can be a bitch in comparison.

As for the programming language, sure C++ is still well used in commercial games, but you can't just try making game while learning C++, you need many months of some serious study of the language alone before thinking about games. Having a teacher help greatly too. Some people here will tell you to learn "easier" languages first, just so you learn programming concept and see if you like it before investing too much time.

BTW, how old were you when you first played Wolf3d? Or, how old was the game? :)

Quote:Original post by Dunge
You sound like you try to convince yourself that buying a new computer is a must. I don't want to be a jerk, but if you're able to post on this forum with your current computer (let alone play COD4), it's more than enough to start learning (game) programming. Of course if it keep crashing and you keep waiting for simple tasks it might get frustrating to use. Sometime a simple format/reinstall can do. I can't deny that having the latest high-speed QuadCore with over 6gb ram, a GTX280+ and a clean Windows7 install won't help, but as you say it can be pricey and not absolutely necessary. It will help for playing games, but not necessarily make them, at least not until you are compiling a massive project many times a day, which won't happens soon­.

Laptop are great of course, but the "gaming" laptop is currently loosing ground to the "netbook" style.

Mac don't have "less" problems than a PC, it's the OS making the huge difference. If you are thinking about getting serious about 3D programming you should stick to Windows though, cause it's a whole lot more used. On Mac (or Linux), you can go to the open-source opengl path, but you will find out fast enough it can be a bitch in comparison.

As for the programming language, sure C++ is still well used in commercial games, but you can't just try making game while learning C++, you need many months of some serious study of the language alone before thinking about games. Having a teacher help greatly too. Some people here will tell you to learn "easier" languages first, just so you learn programming concept and see if you like it before investing too much time.

BTW, how old were you when you first played Wolf3d? Or, how old was the game? :)

Thank you very much for the reply :) Very informative. I've also been thinking about waiting to buy a new MacBook (this was a thought I had before I made this topic) until they get updated sometime in June or Juli (cant remember which one it is). So now I'm thinking I could spend that time learning C++ and once its update time, I'll be certain of what to purchase (I hope). Also I've been thinking about reinstalling everything cus this pc is getting kinda slow.

Finding a teacher will be hard for me cus no one around even knows what C++ is, or programming for that matter.

So I guess I'll wait and see what happens and what I'll decide in the future.

Oh and I think I was like 5-6 years old when I played Wolfenstein, I remember being scared of RoboHitler.. :D

If you don't need to develop for the latest and greatest hardware (and if you're just starting out you probably don't [smile]), you probably already have a decent enough computer already. I mainly use an iMac myself, but I also use a five-year old WinXP PC that works fine for what I do. For game development, having a nice desk and a comfy chair is more important to me than the latest hardware.

Quote:Original post by benryvesThe only advantage of laptops is that they're easier to move around, but if you don't need that (which I imagine most people don't) everything else about them is a disadvantage (size of screen, quality of keyboard, ability to upgrade parts, physical space for all those additional drives and peripherals, price).

Apart from mobility, there's two other advantages I see to laptops: they're compact and can be packed away which is useful if you haven't much work space, and unlike desktops they've got built in battery backup so if there's a power outage you don't instantly lose your work. Laptops are getting quite price competitive with desktops these days.