I have been trying to learn game programming for at least a year..I have GP for Dummies(lost the cd) TWGPG(ditto) 3D Game Programming with C++, Game Architecture and Design, Zen of D3D Game Programming...anyway the only thing I was able to accomplish was little stuff with TWGPG because he wrote a lib for me to use....I look at the code and try to follow it and just cant seem to get whats going on ot why...I think, maybe I am not good enough with C++ so i start to read about it and I go hey I know this already, so I am lost...Is it possible that I just cant learn it?

well i think if u really want to learn it u can. if u are young (like 12 or so) then it might be pretty hard, it was for me. but i just got older and stuff started coming to me more. i guess i just got a more "analytical" view on things and started to see what was causing what in books sourcecode.

maybe if u learn BASIC or something easy before u try C++, then C++ will be easier, because programming languages all have a lot in common. i learned basic and programmed it for a month because i didnt want to get dependant on it, and moved on to C, C wasnt that hard, then i moved on to C++ and C++ wasnt that hard after that.

And a good way to learn stuff is to make sure you understand everything in the first chapter before u go onto the second, that way u wont get confused with 1st chapter stuff when u are supposed to be learning 2nd chapter material (i didnt practice this when i learned and it screwed me up a lot)

hmm, i hope that helps a bit

it is theoretically possible that you are just too stupid......
but just keep at it. i was in the same boat thinking i would never get it, then one day it just hit me and i finally started to pick the stuff up


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It can be that you are trying to bite off more than you can chew, too.

It''s like learning the piano by learning Beethoven''s 5th instead of starting out with Heart and Soul.

I would try a more basic learning book with C++, and learn pointers, some concepts of data structures (linked lists, trees), algorithms (quicksorts, tree parse), recursion, etc. and try to come up with some challenges for yourself to master those concepts, then move into the game programming realm.

Too much too fast can be a real hindrance.

quote: Original post by burgc002
I have been trying to learn game programming for at least a year..I have GP for Dummies(lost the cd) TWGPG(ditto) 3D Game Programming with C++, Game Architecture and Design, Zen of D3D Game Programming...anyway the only thing I was able to accomplish was little stuff with TWGPG because he wrote a lib for me to use....I look at the code and try to follow it and just cant seem to get whats going on ot why...I think, maybe I am not good enough with C++ so i start to read about it and I go hey I know this already, so I am lost...Is it possible that I just cant learn it?

Well, I can''t believe no one actually thought of this when they replied but the main reason why you don''t get what''s going on with the DX code in the TWGPG is simply because DX uses what''s called COM. If you read the book from start to end, you will see that he gives a brief explanation of it. It doesn''t go into details but it does show the basics of how it works( sort of )... BTW, just keep at it. It will come to you. When I started windows game programming, I came from a DOS background and what got me was all the code necessary to create a window and setting up a callback. Once I figured that part out, the rest was just to pound at it until I understood.

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you are probably skipping the important stuff (ie the stuff you find boring) and are trying to run before you even know how to crawl.

remeber, being stupid only means you have to work harder then smarter ppl to accomplish certain goals. it dont mean you cant learn it. though losing cds points to being unoriganized, which is a very bad thing for a coder since programming is about solving problems using logic and math which require some structure and organization.

i see all yoru books are on game programming. this is just silly, learn "real" programming first. you have to understand learning a langauge, learn to program, and learning to create games are 3 distinct yet intertwined topics.

if you EVER read from a c++ book, and say "hey i already know this" then skip it though are having problems. it svery likly you only recognize some statemnets but dont understand the concepts (ie the programming part). almost all c++ books have coding problems at the end. you should be able to complete them all WITHOUT refering to the answers in the book (ie not relying on copying code from the chapter, though looking up what functions do is acceptable).

most ppl who think they cant learn something are ppl who dont want to deal with the "boring" important details that make up the foundation of the skill they are trying to learn. they need to see results quickly and want to accomplish everythign without "wasting" time dealing with basic concpets. unless you can explain the basic concepts to someone who does not know them so they to can understand, then you dont know them well enough (the ultimate test of understanding is to try and grant it to someone else).

I agree with just about everything here. I found that as I got older, things began to make a lot more sense. One thing that helped a lot was the higher math I''ve been taking, which teaches to think logically and of course, helps me write algorithms that I couldn''t otherwise write.

I''m 17 now, but I started coding in GW-BASIC at 11 or 12. I always wondered if I would ever get it. I mean... a variable. OMG. What''s that? Not sure how old you are, but understanding what a variable does and how to use it might be a difficult concept at first. I say you should just keep at it, see if it gets easier, and practice the "boring stuff".

Even with the boring stuff, you should be able to write SOMETHING fun. For example, I was writing a text based turn-based strategy game on a console program. Granted, I never finished it, but it was a lot of fun to work on it! You can do RPGs too, fairly easily, if you''re in to that. Text RPGs have a lot of elements that make them useful... variables, objects (if you choose to go that route; I would), loops, file i/o, a bunch of other stuff I''m sure.

So yeah, again, keep trying and try and think of a good way to make all that "boring stuff" fun. Remember, even games like Quake are just a bunch of boring things put together

quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
...because programming languages all have a lot in common.

Try writing something in Lisp or Prolog. You'll change your tune in a hurry.

burgc002, I agree with the rest of the crew here. You need a good background in general C++ (or any other valid language) before even touching game programmng and DirectX. The COM stuff will especially send you for a loop.

BTW, I actually understood COM a lot better after I took Java and learned about interfaces.

[add] If you want to learn DirectX, you NEED to learn pointers inside out and backwards and forwards (and any other direction you can manage to learn them ). DirectX and COM are full of 'em.

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[edited by - Chem0sh on June 25, 2002 11:14:11 PM]

[edited by - Chem0sh on June 25, 2002 11:16:48 PM]

[edited by - Chem0sh on June 26, 2002 6:12:22 AM]

Hey thanks guys...I have taken college classes in C++, but unfortunately they wren''t very OO or good either. We completed a grade book program. I started programming in Basic(not visual mind you) a long time ago, moved to C then finally C++. But I have decided to reinforce my C++ knowledge. I have a book by WAITE Press. C++ Online something or other. It was originally a complete system with cert. after completion but they sold out or something and *poof* cert gone but the book is chocked full. I am also going back to the beginning of the Zen book. Thanks for your replies. I feel psyched now hehe.

Great, glad to hear it! Believe me, I felt the same way as you did awhile back, but once you get into the fun stuff, and UNDERSTAND it, it''s great Nice to hear that you''re going to stick with it!