Does anyone here know c++?
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I'd say it depends entirely on the game you want to create. I wouldn't recommend starting with C or C++, since you'll have to learn about how to manage memory. It's way too easy to have a C/C++ program bomb at some random point due to a flaw many lines away. Neither language hold your hand for you, making learning using them more difficult than other languages.
Trying looking at pygame [http://www.pygame.org/news.html] - I've never personally used it, but it's free and works under Windows along with a bunch of other platforms.
The honest answer, though, is that learning programming by writing a game is a bad idea. Pick a language to learn, and learn it first. Then you can start picking up the libraries required to actually create a game.
The pygame newbie tutorial [http://www.pygame.org/docs/tut/newbieguide.html] has some suggestions on how to pick up Python.
Trying looking at pygame [http://www.pygame.org/news.html] - I've never personally used it, but it's free and works under Windows along with a bunch of other platforms.
The honest answer, though, is that learning programming by writing a game is a bad idea. Pick a language to learn, and learn it first. Then you can start picking up the libraries required to actually create a game.
The pygame newbie tutorial [http://www.pygame.org/docs/tut/newbieguide.html] has some suggestions on how to pick up Python.
There are plenty of online tutorials that will get you started on the basics of C, C++, C#, Java, or what ever you want to learn (so long as it is not BASIC 
). I went the 4 year Computer Science degree path so I can't really vouch for learning programming from scratch on the web.
Once you know the basics of command line programming (think old school DOS). You should look into a graphic Library. DirectX, as mentioned above, is the industry standard. It competes with OpenGL which at times seems more academic than business oriented. Then there are a bunch of 3rd party libraries, my favorite being Allegro.
I have used OpenGL, DirectX, and Allegro to make software in the past. Of these three the easiest to use is allegro. It is an open source library that is maintained on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh. The main allegro community site is at http://allegro.cc . There you can find tutorials on how to set up the program and examples of how to use allegro functions to do all aspects of 2d game programming (graphics, user input, and sound). If you want to go 3d you would be best served by OpenGL or DirectX, but they are not as easy to learn.
Finally a word to the wise: Your first project should be some thing simple, like Pong or Tetris. You may have a great idea for a game you want to make right now, but attempting to make the successor to World of Warcraft as you first project is tantamount to a baby who doesn?t know how to walk challenging a master swordsman to a duel.
). I went the 4 year Computer Science degree path so I can't really vouch for learning programming from scratch on the web.Once you know the basics of command line programming (think old school DOS). You should look into a graphic Library. DirectX, as mentioned above, is the industry standard. It competes with OpenGL which at times seems more academic than business oriented. Then there are a bunch of 3rd party libraries, my favorite being Allegro.
I have used OpenGL, DirectX, and Allegro to make software in the past. Of these three the easiest to use is allegro. It is an open source library that is maintained on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh. The main allegro community site is at http://allegro.cc . There you can find tutorials on how to set up the program and examples of how to use allegro functions to do all aspects of 2d game programming (graphics, user input, and sound). If you want to go 3d you would be best served by OpenGL or DirectX, but they are not as easy to learn.
Finally a word to the wise: Your first project should be some thing simple, like Pong or Tetris. You may have a great idea for a game you want to make right now, but attempting to make the successor to World of Warcraft as you first project is tantamount to a baby who doesn?t know how to walk challenging a master swordsman to a duel.
Well, I sure can't help you by being in NZ or knowing C++ well, but I can mention that there are a number of game structure freeware things that can be used to structure a game before making a leap to full-fledged programming. Most of them are Choose Your Own Adventure type things, which are hard to incorporate graphical elements into, but simple RPG type mechanics are easily learned. Also, there're lots of examples to learn from.
The one I used, oh-so-many years ago WHILE I was taking a "computing for engineers" class was called TADS, for an English class CYOA game project based on Jorge Luis Borges (Don't ask). This was of course, drastically different than MATLAB, which is what I was being taught. (MATLAB is similar to a stripped down C++, focusing on array calculations for engineering. Ick) Depending on what kind of game you want to build, the best starting point might be Java or Python for something simple like a Pong clone or a combination of multiple elements from different systems. I will warn you by saying that if you don't like vector math, you're better off trying to find a simple game builder than leaping headlong into C languages.
Side note: an h-game would be the easiest game to program for beginners of any. This is not to say I encourage that.
The one I used, oh-so-many years ago WHILE I was taking a "computing for engineers" class was called TADS, for an English class CYOA game project based on Jorge Luis Borges (Don't ask). This was of course, drastically different than MATLAB, which is what I was being taught. (MATLAB is similar to a stripped down C++, focusing on array calculations for engineering. Ick) Depending on what kind of game you want to build, the best starting point might be Java or Python for something simple like a Pong clone or a combination of multiple elements from different systems. I will warn you by saying that if you don't like vector math, you're better off trying to find a simple game builder than leaping headlong into C languages.
Side note: an h-game would be the easiest game to program for beginners of any. This is not to say I encourage that.
This isn't meant as a flame, just clearing up some things. Javascript is actually a pretty versatile language that includes many OOP concepts like encapsulation, polymorphism, inheritance, etc. Objects can have private, public and protected members and methods just like any other OO language. With JS, I can tell you the voltage going through your northbridge -- so, it is more useful than just a HTML add-on.Elim Garak said:Oh, totally different - I just meant it is dead boring. If Java is C++ on training wheels, Javascript is Java on training wheels.
To the OP: Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but check out www.gamedev.net. There is quite a support community there for beginning game developers.
I just want to say this thread was a big help for me. Thanks to all that participated. I failed many CS classes and am teaching myself now.
I recommend buying a C++ book from a university and doing all the exercises for each chapter. Take your time, but do it on a schedule. Just like lifting weights, you must do it 4 times a week with out exception. Over time you'll be yolk.
I recommend buying a C++ book from a university and doing all the exercises for each chapter. Take your time, but do it on a schedule. Just like lifting weights, you must do it 4 times a week with out exception. Over time you'll be yolk.
Most of the important things have already been said. In the end I think that it doesn't matter whether you learn C++, C# or Java for your first project. I doubt that you'll reach the level where the performance differences would matter much. And if you do, you're surely good enough to pick up the other languages in a relatively short amount of time, because as AC10 said: All the object-oriented languages are very very similar and you're not really learning a language most of the time, but you're learning to program in an object-oriented manner. So, switching from C++ to Java or C# for example is really easy. The only real difference is that you don't have to bring out the garbage anymore, as Java and C# include an automatic garbage collection. From Java or C# to C++ could be a bit more of a challenge as you suddenly would have to clean up yourself.
The most important advice probably is to keep it simple. Do a really tiny game first. This might sound simple, but is really hard to do (for me at least): I've scrapped several projects, simply because it became obvious that their scale and demands simply were too big, either from a programming perspective or from a manpower point of view.
Also, if you want to go 3D: Aside from learning DirectX or OpenGL or using any one of the free engines out there: Learn the math behind it. Do yourself a favor and learn the math. You will need it, time and time again, and it won't go away, even if you use a 3rd party engine.
The most important advice probably is to keep it simple. Do a really tiny game first. This might sound simple, but is really hard to do (for me at least): I've scrapped several projects, simply because it became obvious that their scale and demands simply were too big, either from a programming perspective or from a manpower point of view.
Also, if you want to go 3D: Aside from learning DirectX or OpenGL or using any one of the free engines out there: Learn the math behind it. Do yourself a favor and learn the math. You will need it, time and time again, and it won't go away, even if you use a 3rd party engine.
...am I the first one to say I know C++?
I started off in Python, and that was just childs play compared to C++. I LIKE tabbing my lines!
If you want help buy some books, do not use online tutorials, as they suck more dick than a whore off the streets.
I'd recommend using Python first to learn about ;import, if-then, if-elif, loops, and object oriented programming. When you're done, you'll have a lot of basic and important C++ knowledge.
I'm not the greatest C++ dev, but I make it by on writing on simple programs.
I started off in Python, and that was just childs play compared to C++. I LIKE tabbing my lines!
If you want help buy some books, do not use online tutorials, as they suck more dick than a whore off the streets.
I'd recommend using Python first to learn about ;import, if-then, if-elif, loops, and object oriented programming. When you're done, you'll have a lot of basic and important C++ knowledge.
I'm not the greatest C++ dev, but I make it by on writing on simple programs.
Not quite. JavaScript does support something similar to normal OO style, but it's actually prototype based and it takes a bit of getting used to. It's closer to Lisp than Java.argonaut05 said:
And no, all members are public unless you're doing something really evil with closures. Which, while it works, isn't quite the same thing as true data protection.
As for "telling the voltage going through your northbridge" you're obviously using some third-party library, since you can't do that directly through JavaScript. (And if you're reading something from
Code:
/procHEATHEN!AC10 said:
Code:
:wq!I have to disagree with a lot of this, or at most give you that you are splitting some fine hairs. I can't argue that class prototyping takes some getting used to, but most programming languages have some quirk that takes awhile to grok (for me it was indentation in Python).Xenoveritas said:
There is nothing inherently "evil" about using closures to define the scope of members or methods to an object, since this is basically what is done in Java. There are tons of blogs over on MSDN addressing it.
As for using third-party software (in the northbridge case, operating system hooks), this is essentially the same thing C++ developers are doing by using DirectX or Allegro. If you were ambitious enough, you can use Jscript.NET to write low level libraries to take the place of the OS hooks.
My original point, however, was that JS is a lot more useful and powerful than an HTML plug-in used by kindergarden kids. That's turtle. We use a lot of JS in our company's enterprise level applications, where it buddies up nicely with our C++/C# code and in many cases is desirable because it allows us to deploy quickly.