hello, im very new to game programming, and slightly new to c/c++ programming. Also, ive only just recently introduced myself to windows programming. Since i dont want to be doing too many new things at once, id rather hold off on learning directx and/or opengl until Im comfortable with c/c++/windows. but is there any way to still practice game programming without using directx/opengl? How else do i get graphics on the screen? i need a very simple way because I want to focus on learning my regular coding, not get all caught up in the syntax of using graphics libraries. So far i''ve been trying to use a string of text instead of an actual graphic, because a string I can handle! I dont even need to start big. I dont need to make a tetris clone as my first game, as some of the keener people do. I''d be happy to make a ball bounce accross the screen or something like that. Just simple animation that mabye responds to keyboard input. any and all comments/suggestions are more than welcome! Help me! thanks.

To do graphics in Windows without using OpenGL or DirectX you can use the GDI. The GDI isn''t fast, and it isn''t really easy (you''ll probably leak memory all over the place until you''re used to it). However, it is good enough to make things like the "ball bouncing in window" type of program you spoke of.

[Resist Windows XP''s Invasive Production Activation Technology!]

Or you could try Allegro, which is very easy and will help you get a good grasp of all the basic gaming aspects. Learn about it more here: http://alleg.sourceforge.net/ and here: http://allegro.cc and when you're ready to install it, I recommend the graphical installer here: http://galileo.spaceports.com/~springs/ (my site)


Allegro is a lib for C/C++ that "wraps" up DirectX/OpenGL into an easy to use interface. Gives you options like put_pixel(), draw_sprite(), play_sound(), and set_video_mode(). It makes input, graphics, sound, and loading compressed data files a breeze. Comes with good documentation.

-Justin

Edited by - Justin_W on December 15, 2001 6:57:25 PM