Beginner with a dream.

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33 comments, last by Cecilius 8 years ago

Oh one more question, is there is program which allows me to create UIs?

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Oh one more question, is there is program which allows me to create UIs?

"UI" is a very broad category so it'll help if you expand on the context in which you want to create a UI. Assuming you specifically mean GUIs, there are "WYSIWYG" editors which can help make desktop application style user interfaces. Microsoft's Visual Studio lets you make these for many languages, including C#. This is supported by the Express and Community editions of Visual Studio, both of which are freely downloadable from Microsoft. However, this might not be what you actually want. Unity supports "UI" elements as well for in-game GUIs (for menus and such).

In all cases it still requires some programming knowledge to cause the UI to do something practical rather than just something you look at.

C++: A Dialog | C++0x Features: Part1 (lambdas, auto, static_assert) , Part 2 (rvalue references) , Part 3 (decltype) | Write Games | Fix Your Timestep!

Oh i see, well I have begain reading book on C#, hope this will me get me on the road.

Check this out, looks like he is also new to the stuff http://www.gamedev.net/topic/676226-completely-new-where-to-begin/

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3D models instead of sprites is fine, but remember to take it step by step. You can't eat an elephant at once, only 1 slice at a time.

Or as my boss once said, having a drivers license doesn't mean you can jump in a F1 Car and hit the tracks.

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Thank you for that advice :)

After reading through a book I found I'm starting to understand C# more and more :D

first thers this:
http://www.g4g.it/fgv/2012/08/27/borderlands-2-8-bit-demake/

you can use it as inspiration.

in borderlands its all about the loot (or at least its a big part),you shod create a solid loot system,with drop rates etc.
http://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-code-monster-loot-drops--cms-20449

also make a weapon class with atts like :dmg type,fire rate,spread,clip size,special effect,abilities etc (check borderlands weapon wiki for more).

when i started learning game dev i looked at alot of raw code (i was a programmer for a year before i got into game dev).it took time before it all sinked in.

learn linear algebra and trigonometry intuitively(or at least enough to manipulate things on a screen).

http://www.amazon.com/Macromedia-Flash-Game-Design-Demystified/dp/0201770210

http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-part-1/

http://kirill-poletaev.blogspot.co.il/2010/07/rotate-object-to-mouse-using-as3.html

learn refactoring and design patterns, game programming can become complex and you need to keep it all organized and easy to change. plan everything in detail.

c++ is ok use smfl or allegro, i learned a lot from using game engines and frameworks.

and keep a small scope for your game. or else development wont end.

first thers this:
http://www.g4g.it/fgv/2012/08/27/borderlands-2-8-bit-demake/

you can use it as inspiration.

in borderlands its all about the loot (or at least its a big part),you shod create a solid loot system,with drop rates etc.
http://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-code-monster-loot-drops--cms-20449

also make a weapon class with atts like :dmg type,fire rate,spread,clip size,special effect,abilities etc (check borderlands weapon wiki for more).

when i started learning game dev i looked at alot of raw code (i was a programmer for a year before i got into game dev).it took time before it all sinked in.

learn linear algebra and trigonometry intuitively(or at least enough to manipulate things on a screen).

http://www.amazon.com/Macromedia-Flash-Game-Design-Demystified/dp/0201770210

http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-part-1/

http://kirill-poletaev.blogspot.co.il/2010/07/rotate-object-to-mouse-using-as3.html

learn refactoring and design patterns, game programming can become complex and you need to keep it all organized and easy to change. plan everything in detail.

c++ is ok use smfl or allegro, i learned a lot from using game engines and frameworks.

and keep a small scope for your game. or else development wont end.

Thank you for the suggestion but, I am mostly planning on making a game similar to the "Strike Force Heroes 1,2, & 3" games series, but with a more 3D feel to it and with a borderland environmental shading style also.

Consider looking at something like Unity or Unreal Engine to get started as well.

C++ is not a great first language, and while you can learn it first you may find it slower going than another alternative (such as C#, which you can use with Unity). Using something like Unity or Unreal will let you make concrete progress on your goal of making this 2D shooter game without having to make you endure months and possibly years of learning basic programming fundamentals and the myriad of other small things you probably don't realize go into making even a basic 2D game.

While you work on your "dream project," you can also learn a programming language alongside that project.

While the majority of this is true, I believe that it's a better idea to work away from game engines and instead use game libraries to get full knowledge of the language. While Unity will teach you the basics of C#/Javascript/Boo, if you ever opened up Visual C# and were asked to make a basic application, you'd have no idea what to do. Other than the basics of programming, you don't really "learn [the] programming language alongside [the] project". When using game engines you are locked down to the API that they provide to you, and although the knowledge in the engine may be great to have, if you're looking to continue with programming outside of game development, Unity will never help you in a different programming environment. So in conclusion there's two ways to look at this:

  1. If you're looking to simply create this game and only games from there on, go ahead and use Unity. You'll finish the game in a faster amount of time than you would using a separate library or programming it from scratch.
  2. If you're looking to gain full knowledge of the programming language itself, become well-oriented with the language, and develop games among other applications, stray away from a game engine and focus on building a good understanding of the language.
I am mostly planning on making a game similar to the "Strike Force Heroes 1,2, & 3" games series

Big dreams eh? smile.png

I played one a few minutes, and it seems like a nice game (the 2D one, 3D would be better smile.png ).

I think it's good to have dreams. I had them too (I still have them), and they inspired me to pursue big goals. I learned however that dreams tend to ignore little details like reality.

Reality here is that you have to do an insane amount of low level foot work before being able to get at your strike force heroes idea, at the level you're dreaming about it.

The game you played is not built by a programmer that just wrote his first game. It would be strange if you could do that.

The answer to this problem is to stop aiming for the zillion dollar game on one lottery ticket. Don't aim to build the ultimate game first. Instead, make yourself a road towards that goal, make a series of smaller games that are increasingly more complex, and slowly add features you want in your dreams.

Longer road (more steps in between) is generally better, for example

1. pong (main routine layout, winning, losing, movement, user input)

2. tetris or space invaders (shapes, grid-like game field, time, levels)

3. pac man (enemies, path finding, different modes (hunting versus being hunted))

4. platform game, like donkey kong or lode runner

And beyond this, I don't know, probably some simple 3D platform game

While these games look terribly simple and stupid at first sight, they do give you a challenge. To give an idea of complexity, I know how to program, and I think I can do Pong in a few days without major effort, but I wouldn't know how to do a platform game like donkey kong without doing a lot of searching and reading (but that is a large part of the fun for me).

Chances are that you don't believe me, and that's ok. There is a second reason to take this road. You are new to programming, and new to games. That means you will be struggling with two BIG things at the same time. It is much easier to make progress if you take on one problem first, and once you have found your way in it, tackle the second problem. The start of the road above will let you do that. You can concentrate on programming and stuff, while you prove me wrong on these game challenges. Then, once you have some basics in telling a computer what you want it to do, work more on the game side of your dream.

Most importantly however is that you enjoy the trip. You'll be traveling for a long time in game programming land, being happy about what you do makes it a much more pleasant experience.

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