making computer games

[Cozminsky]

I don\'t know that C++ is the be all and end all of languages to develop games in, although it is definitely probably one of the most popular and something employers will be looking for.

If I were to go about learning how to program I\'d try and figure out the basic concepts behind programming. One way of doing that is to expose yourself to a number of different languages and types of languages.

In computer science the popular school of thought at the moment is that there is 4 programming paradigms.

Iterative programming, such as Basic, C or Pascal. The program basically follows a series of steps and does each step in order. There can be forks in the paths that the program takes.

Object Oriented programming, such as C++, Java and LPC ( I mention LPC because it is an easy language to learn and get involved in coding text based adventure games). This basically treats the program as a series of objects that pass messages between each other to tell the other components what is going on.

Functional programming languages, such as Miranda and Haskell. This treats things as a function similar to the way mathematicians write down equations. These are mostly used in mathematical modelling and the like.

Logical/declaritive programming languages, such as Prolog and Mercury. These treat programs like a logical framework. These are often used in AI research and the like.

So if you find that you like programming or want to investigate it I would recommend checking out what is out there, you might only ever use C++ in your job, but if you have played with everything that is out there it should give you more ideas on what is possible and what makes computers tick.

[cmhitman]

if you\'d like to be on a dev team, its nothing to go find a non commercial dev team and sign up.
I got hired on a dev team (music dp at http://www.geocities.com/alienproductionsadmn/ ) about a year ago to make this game. I didn\'t do much, all i did was send a resume with a sample of a song that i did using fruity loops, n-track study, and sound forge and bam they let me on. I decided to drop, cause I wasn\'t interested in the game at all, i just wanted the experience. We were all just beginners, but thats how you learn. Hows the saying go?Stupid people in numbers is a strong force, ur some\'n like that.
Anyway, I recommend that you search out a noob friendly group of people that have the same wish to create games as you do

[DevotedEternal]

i once used an interesting little engine by the name of ZZT, it was Epic MegaGames first ever release made by Tim Sweeney. It used ASCII characters for graphics and its own simple OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) language... I had alot of good times with that program.... and the language was simple to learn, yet it gave me a good taste of programming basics. The only problem is that it is fully DOS based and some people have trouble running it.... but if you can find it, grab it.

[Ravenmaster]

Originally posted by paxx
I recall there is a game that almost everyone with a PDA that I know had called drug dealer or some such name,

I know this is off-topic, but I know the person who first made that game. Drug Wars 1.0

[Bigfoot]

Tim Sweeny => God himself

And on the 6th day he created the Unreal Engine, and on the 7th day he rested, while the rest of us got to bask in its glorie!. Halay Yula

[rathma]

soemething you should ALWAYS keep in mind: a game making is not only programming.
music + art + models + maps + *content* + *story* + *idea* = game

 I could think of SO many story plots for a game, and i could make tons of popular games. But  it\'s pretty hard to find someone and tell them i have an awesome idea for a game so get people to make it for me. That\'s why i\'m learning c++ .

[kyp14]

well good luck if you can make a good game eventually no one here is going to complain,  

oh and a word of warning please don\'t try and make a FPS unless you have a really innovative idea for one or can produce jaw dropping visuals cause of you don\'t do one or both of the 2 for that genre it ain\'t gonna turn nobodys head.

oh and if you want to make a simple yet fun game with out much coding try 3drad http://www.3drad.com its a entry level development tool rather nifty to don\'t underestermate how nifty it is.

[Waahlord]

It`s depends on what type of game you want to make.
I make lots of 2d platform games by myself and they take about 2-10 days but if you`re want to make really good 3d games it takes lots of time,money and very good friends...

[Aztec_Brave]

A general tip. Learn a language (as if it hasn\'t been said in every post) Look at the most popular ones adn decide which you want to learn.

BASIC: Very simple, DOS based. Easy to learn, but there isn\'t much to master in it. It\'s an excellent way to kick off your career.

Pascal: Don\'t have much experience with this. I know quite a few people who started off in Pascal and only later learned more powerful stuff. Also DOS based.

C: Structured programming (so where the 2 above, by the way). Not easy to learn. you might be best off learning C++ anyway. The basics are practically the same. Only small differences (like printf() compared to cout <<).

C++: Object orientated. Basicly means that you have a lot of blocks and you pull them together to make a program. Of course you have to make th blocks. Very practical, although quite hard to learn.

Visual Basic: Code-wise it\'s just a Windows version of BASIC. You get the added advantage of being able to utilize the Windows enviroment to the full (VB is made (stolen!!!) by Microsoft, so Linux and Mac our out of the question), making life very easy for an application or database progammer. It sucks for making games though.

Delphi: Don\'t know much about it. I think it\'s just a visual and updated version of Pascal.

[hook]

seldom laughed that hard at a post!!!

...sorry, don\'t get it wrong, but making a good game can be even harder then making a fully usable gui application

if you\'re thinking of 3d then you should give some free open-sourced pre-made engines (cube, crystal space, ...) a try, but still you\'ll need some programming skills (afaik!)

and that\'s just the beggining of it!! ...then there\'s the graphics, the movement and animation (it\'s a real b**ch to make a smooth animation), but the REAL problem is the idea itself and especially the levels (or the world)

btw: PS runs on crystal space

[Xoralundra]

I do some indy game coding in my spare time, so I thought I should hurl my 2 cents onto the pile for ya.
A great source of info on game development is http://www.gamedev.net They have lots of resources in the form of articles, aswell as a large community based on a forum and an IRC channel. So there\'s plenty of ways to get more constructive flames to your question \"How do I make games\"  
I would also recommend http://www.gamasutra.com/ for some good articles.

As far as learning a programming language is concerned, you may or may not have your work cut out. This depends on the way your brain is wired up   . Well probably not, but it certainly helps if you have a logical understanding of the way computers work. If you dont have this then you might struggle.
C++ is highly recommended as a language to use for games programming, as it has the happiest median between performance (ie speed, very important for getting that all important FPS figure) and structure. Also, a lot of the API\'s used in game programming (such as DirectX, OpenGL, win32) are designed with C++ as a primary language. (I believe DX actually has VB components as well, but I never use em)

However, C++ is not an easy language to learn if you have never programmed before. Still, I can recommend a very good book for the purpose: SAMS Teach yourself C++ in 21 days. (Yes I know it sounds like a rip, but its genuinely a good book)

After that your gunna want to start using your programming skills to throw a game together. There is a series of books edited by And? LaMothe, published by premier press that cover pretty much every aspect of game production.

Hope thats coherant enough for you.

oh and to clarify, Pascal and Delphi are mathmatical programming languages. Beyond that I dont know much about them.

Edit: Forgot, game production is a lot more that just coding too, as has previously mentioned. Have a look a gamedev, and you should get a feel for how much that is true.


~X

[chrischoo]

Delphi is more associated with database management systems although it can be used to rapidly develop Windows-based software. I\'ve noticed quite a lot of simple Windows programs developed using Delphi and used it a couple of years ago to develop a database system as part of my junior college studies.

Game development is never an easy thing. Sure it\'s easy to talk about and ideas are always rife when you chat up 24-hr gaming gurus, but when it comes to the crunch and doing the actual work, a lot of talent is required, and that talent is not always found within your circle of friends (That\'s why there\'s Planeshift)

There are many aspects in making games and if you wanted to make one entirely on your own you\'re better off being a programmer. Otherwise if you\'re not that ambitious, working in a group where each person has some specialty would certainly produce better results. 2 heads are better than 1, but too many cooks will spoil the brough.

If you head on to the Fragnetics site my team did up a Counterstrike map of our school about 3 years ago and that alone was ridiculously difficult already. We spent several months developing the map itself so we have an idea what it\'s like for those who are into more complex stuff such as modding or creating entirely new games itself.

It\'s certainly never easy but with the right minds and more importantly the right attitude, you should be able to get somewhere. Minesweeper is perhaps the most widely played game on Earth and it didn\'t take 1.5 years and a tens of developers to finish it.

My take on it is that you need a good idea, the right attitude, and the right team to get the job done. You don\'t need to start out big like what the rest have said, but taking small steps each time will eventually lead you towards bigger achievements in the field.

Good luck!

[Athirr]

hum you might want to start making your game with something thats not som hard to learn and is free to i suggest you start with game maker...
 here you can check out a game i am making with gamemaker on my site: Cateyesoft  

[Rulzern]

I would also like to add, C and C++ are not that different at all, you can do OO C and structural C++, they both have their advantages, I prefer C, since the advantages of C++ are in my opinion outweighed by the disadvantages.

And making a simple game isn\'t all that hard if you understand the logic, it just takes a fair amount of time, I made my first game in C in about 4-5 days (opengl y-shooter)

[Kundalf]

who told you that stuff ? OO in C
The reason why C++ was invented was that C was outdated and did not support OO programming. It never changed until today (atleast not the ansi C standard). Maybe you are using a strange compiler...

If you prefer C, thats you choice, but maybe the main disadvantage of C++ is a completely new orientation towards oo programming. So you have to learn a completely new style, what may be hard if you\'re used to algorithms.

But if I\'m mistaken tell me a disadvantage of C++, please.