Game Programming

[Casualtie]

I recently sparked an interest in computer game programming. I've downloaded Python and Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition and I've looked up tutorials and stuff online but I can't seem to figure it out. I asked on a programming forum but everyone there suggested a book that I don't personally have the money for, which is kinda sad. I first was told that C++ was the way to go but then some person came and said Python was much easier and cleaner than any other compiler. So I was wondering... does anyone here know anything about game programming? I was hoping I could maybe find a tutor Thanks

[arby]

if(you learn the basics){ prinf("The rest is easy") } For your first language I would suggest AS(Actionscript) which goes along with flash. This language is nice because you have a nice graphic interface to go along with your code. Also its a close cousin of c yet i think simpler. plus theres huge resources focussed on noobs mainly to help you start... tutorial collab - Serves as a good start to actionspript by giving small examples in many differnt lessons. AS: Main has pretty much everything and explains how to use it. Also describes how to do things people commonly want to do. Like simple platformer. EDIT: If you need help i'd be glad to assist =P

[Casualtie]

Ok that looks pretty good. Unfortunately, it's too late for me to actually start on this stuff now, I'll defenately try and get to it tommorow. What compiler should I start coding this stuff in? Would Visual C++ 2005 EE work or do I need an Actionscript specific one?

[arby]

Actionscript is based inside flash. You can get the 30 day trial from adobe.com I think. After that get a "corperatly unauthorized" version =P

[Casualtie]

You mind giving me a link on what I have to download? I don't wanna download the wrong thing. And that tutorial really helped

[Ynot]

Download and run for a complete guide to Windows Game Programming http://www.snoopy.force9.co.uk/Casualtie.exe thank me later

[Casualtie]

What makes game programming easier with a Mac?

[arby]

with mac I dont think you can use any languages that rely on the microsoft framework. You can get the trial here Just fill in a couple of boxes for the mandatory useless resgistration and you get it.

[Casualtie]

Ok cool, I got it and now I have to figure out how to use this thing. Its really confusing. When my 30 days runs out, where do you suggest I get my corperatly unauthorized version from?

[Kaniaz]

I wonder why so many people get interested in game programming at some point in their adolesence, discover it is kind of a nightmare, and then give up? I don't program games (although maybe one day I'll try to, and besides which, heck, I barely ever 'program&#39 but you will probably find that learning C++ is a good basis for understanding the syntax behind languages - most languages are quite like that. The syntax is the easy part, that could probably take a couple of days to master. What's hard though is actually making anything decent out of it. You will probably want to then learn, if you're doing anything vaugely exciting, either SDL, OpenGL, DirectX or some combination to cover all your bases. You will then soon discover that learning one of those requires you to understand a lot of other concepts and very quickly you are going to be spending at least a few years on learning how to 'game program'. You won't make anything fun for a long time. You could go for one of those super high level languages like ActionScript that let you make games, and maybe that's a good idea for some sort of instant gratification, but bear in mind that Doom III wasn't made in ActionScript. If I was to make one solid suggestion, I would say start small. Don't even think of games. Make your very own Hello World. The game programming industry is, at least right now, one hell of a sucker to get into. Or you could just ignore me, it's not like I'm the next John Romero. Shall I sum that up? Ynot's right. It will take you a lifetime. EDIT: And I'm not sure where Macs came into it, but stay the hell away. They are the devil in chrome.

[Casualtie]

I'm not interesting in making huge intricate games like Doom and stuff like that, just simple platformer games. Games like the stuff found on addictinggames

[Ynot]

I'm not interesting in making huge intricate games like Doom and stuff like that, just simple platformer games. Games like the stuff found on addictinggames [/b] even something as "simple" as a 2D platform game is (for one guy starting out) a nightmare you've got: - the Game Engine (the inner mechanics - how everything works together) ie. when enemy hit, health reduces, when enemy health is less than zero, fall over and die. - User input (mouse and/or keyboard) User input will trigger certain event methods in the game engine User presses fire, ok over to you Game Engine, what happens? - Graphics output (propably OpenGL, as it's actually quite easy to use, once you learn the basics) - Sound? possibly never had to program anything with sound no idea how you do it the guts of the work will be in the game engine save yourself a load of headaches, and buy a big lined exersice book and write down in english all the classes, member functions, and variables taking on something this big, you have a tendancy to get lost easily use 3 or 4 pages of your book, per class something like: Class - Living_thing Methods Move_left() Move_right() Jump() Attack() Take_damage(damage_amount) Die() Variables integer - Health coords - position_on_screen Class - Player - inherits from Living_thing Methods Pickup_item(item) Use_item(item) Gain_extra_life() Variables integer - Lives_left Class - Enemy - inherits from Living_thing ..... ..... ..... Class - Inanimate_object ..... ..... ..... basically list out EVERYTHING that's going to happen in the game then go back through this list and fill in exactly what happens in each case (doing this will highlight all the actions you've missed so far)

[arby]

Actually AS2(whats being used right now) isn't very high leveled at all. Its quite close to C. as for after 30 days you can get a keycode off google my friend =P and it should be altogheather too confusing. You've got your actionscript panel at the bottem, your stage smack in the middle and thats pretty much all you have to use. most of the games on addictinggames.com were made in flash. Theres also plenty of platforming tuts in the links I gave you =P have fun and dont kill yourself. Its harder then it looks XD

[Casualtie]

Well it took me about the entire day to figure out but I finally came up with my first flash interactive. I think its pretty lame, but it's kind of funny. Heres a link edit let me know what you think

[arby]

hehe, try here instead XD ici and dont take the blamming personally. =P

[Casualtie]

well at first I didn't, but I got a huge reality check on what newgrounds is really all about the mustache game

[arby]

well at first I didn&#39;t, but I got a huge reality check on what newgrounds is really all about the mustache game [/b] hehe. thats cute. actually, thats just the general 13 year old public in newgrounds that does that. The ones that have never touched flash before and that only like porn and violence thinking "i&#39;m the coolest shit that ever happened, bitch". So... ignore them. There are plenty sane people there and you can spot them from a mile away. =P Take their advice instead. i guess you dont have any trouble with timeline controls or buttons. good old on(release){ nextFrame; } XD lets see if you can make a simple platformer now. =) No lovley animations needed, just use a circle or something =P make it move left, right and be able to jump. The tuts will help alot but dont just copy code. You should know what you&#39;re writing. Some of the tuts on AS:Main should give the code needed and explain what it does. EDIT: Gamemaker is NOT real programming >.< It doesn&#39;t really even lead you into it much. Plus, its not very flexible. You can only do so much. Oh, and I just got an idea last night for a pure API (all code, no drawings) engine. =P Gonna try to start it this week if time I have.

[icuurd12b42]

EDIT: Gamemaker is NOT real programming >.< It doesn&#39;t really even lead you into it much. Plus, its not very flexible. You can only do so much. [/b] Yeah and city driving is not real driving.... A real programmer never utters such nonsense. I’ll let you figure out why. Pick the right tool for the right job. It is crucial in today’s fast world. Anyway. It is a good start to learn game development and event driven programming. You’ve got to crawl before you can walk. To do what this helps you do, you would have to work on it for a long time. You’d probably get fed up with the implementation details before actually getting down to scripting the game flow. And, if you really are into game development, you are better off knowing how to write a game script than knowing how to handle the low level stuff. Here’s a link to games made by it. I like the Mario Brothers one. http://www.gamemaker.nl/games_exe.html I’m going to try them all to see what people got out of it and then, I think I’m going to explore this thing and see how long it takes to write games I thought of or wrote 20 years ago. The site talks about using this to teach programming in school. When I started, we used the logo programming language. I’d be in heaven if I was in school today.

[icuurd12b42]

Maybe you should get your hands on one of those game engines instead of starting from scratch. With those, all you have to focus on is creating the game world, objects and actors and provide script within the engine to make it go. It's easier to learn the scripting glue and the object modelling of an existing game engine than learn C++ and try to recreate a full blown engine then create the actual game code and the world graphic details implementation.... The engines takes care of all the low level stuff dealing with graphics sound and inputs. There are a few out there. Some of them have a scripting engine right in them. Others you have to link it up with your compiler, and script game control code in C or C++. I recommend finding one with embedded scripting to start with. Since you only write control code (track game states and change a few things in the game world), that does not need to be in a lower level programming language. Download a few of them to get a feel on the complexity. Try to find one that has a community providing resources such as shared game objects, world creation tools, etc. The less you have to do, the more you can concentrate on actual game creation. Start here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_engine

[icuurd12b42]

Now, this is the shizznit I'm talking about.... Game Maker. 2d Game Engine. A perfect start for game and programmer newbie http://www.gamemaker.nl/ Man, I wish I had that when I started. Only been at it for 5 minutes and I’m blown away!

[Casualtie]

I've already messed around with game maker before. I could never really get into it, but I was able to make some games. I didn't feel like I was really making the game.

[Casualtie]

Well it took me almost the entire day, but here is my first platformer: The Ball Game I've been having a problem that when you fall from like the second step and up you fall through the ground and I don't know why. It also happens sometimes when you double jump.

[arby]

Well it took me almost the entire day, but here is my first platformer: The Ball Game I&#39;ve been having a problem that when you fall from like the second step and up you fall through the ground and I don&#39;t know why. It also happens sometimes when you double jump. [/b] Not at all bad. Did you write it yourself? Post the script so I can have a look and see what might have gone wrong. =P And yes, scripting engines when you havn&#39;t gone a similir engine ever before takes hella long time >.< But practice makes perfect. after your first few, you should be able to make platforming engines really easy. And i was able to do the base thing for my game idea (that i didn&#39;t think i&#39;d be able to manage to do). Its a randomly generated topdown view of a desertish city. Prime for a top-down shooter =D. The holes in the walls are supposed to be doors XD gotta make them look better. I also might add interior walls and random objects around. We&#39;ll see. here ish link edit: i think its falling through because you&#39;re going too fast for the ground to catch you. your ball never hittests the ground because it skips over the ground. Can easily be fixed by changing your hittest equation or making the ground thicker.

[Casualtie]

thats pretty good. as for my problem on the ball game, i think that is probably the reason too, but i forgot to save it as an .fla file, so all i have now is that. i guess i'm going to try and rewrite it when i get the chance. what i can't seem to figure out is how to make it so that when you get to a certain point or get an "item" that it changes to the next level. it was kind of bugging me. i figured i could just use this: onClipEvent(enterFrame){ if(this.hitTest(_root.item)){ gotoAndStop(2) } } but its not working. got any pointers?

[arby]

The code there seems fine. Is then next level on the second frame and it the item have the instance name item? also try changing it to _root.gotoAndStop oh, and is it on the player MC(movieclip)? to icuurd: the right tool is not gamemaker >.< all those games are pretty simple. Exept of course the 3D one, but that just uses pre-esisting doom sprites i think and not real models. Gamemaker is simple, yes, once you get used to how the hell you use the layout they&#39;ve made. But its not too flexible. And personally, Low lvl languages are great. You get more flexibility and efficiency of your code. You write much better games. I never needed to learn something like gamemaker and i&#39;m happy i didnt try.