So I finished PONG for the most part and I am super happy. Their are still a few polish things I need to add, but the basic structure for the game is done. I plan on randomize the ball start and adding a score tonight after work. I really happy i 'finished' this though. I have really learned a lot and I want to share it with someone. I hope this helps someone else.

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A link to the game using dropbox
MisterVirtue's Pong Clone
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- You can do it -

I have very little programming experience outside the classroom, I have never tried to make a game before but I learned if you really want to do something you can make it happen.

- Ask Questions, Gain Knowledge -

Gamedev.net is a great reasource with lots of friendly people who want to help you. People here are really nice and quickly come to your rescue, but people can't help you if you don't ask. Don't be afraid to ask questions, you have nothing to lose and you often more than just the knowledge you seek.

-Dig around, there is treasure everywhere -

Use the net to your advantage, there are plenty of resources to help a beginner. I used this sites and many other with code help, logic help, and other general support.

- You Can't Play Games and Make Games at The Same Time -

I learned the less time i spent playing games, the better i got at staying focused on my project. I love games and it's hard to put them down sometimes but if your project is important, you have to make sacrifices.

- Start Today -
Don't be lazy, or you will get nothing done. Try to start doing a little bit each day on your project you can ride that momentum to get more done.

I hope this helps someone else who is looking to get started. Like I said before I plan on give my Pong Clone the polish it needs tonight. After that my next plan is to start working on a break out clone. I really like programming, and I feel like i am having a good start.

Yeah I have been working a lot the last few days. I plan to polish the game a bit more before I move on to my next programming project. Thanks for the feedback Alpha_ProgDes. I feel like I am on my way to bigger and better things. The first step is often the hardest but it is always the most important.

This is the stage where most games go and die. I've made a few games so far, and all sit here, with basic mechanics are working, just waiting for it to be done... The problem I've found is that that last 20% seems to take 80% of the time...(the pareto principle). And I have so many ideas of how to reimplement something after i've done it, that I usually spend some time in the engine coding doldrums, and then move on to something else with my YAGNI.

You are right polishing your game is 90% of the work at the end of the project. I am only have a few things i feel like i need to do. Make the AI a little bit better, add a score board, randomize the intial launch of the ball. I will do that this week. I have just started on working on Breakout today. I just want to keep this momentum going and keep working upon one sucess to lead to another.

Congratulations... I'm gonna try it as soon as i get home. As other users pointed out polishing the game ( menu scores .. ) it's really boring compared to the game core and gameplay programming but extremely useful though.

small steps, thats what its all about. Good luck on your next project, pretty much the path i followed since i did Arkanoid as my 2nd which is pretty much the same .