Ooh, that book sucks! That is the book that I started with. As for not learning C, I think that is a bad idea. C++ is just another method of writing C code. It will be much easier to grasp C++ if you know C well. Once you have C and then C++ down, move on to Win32. Win32 sucks and you probably wont use it much, but you will have a much easier time with DirectX if you are atleast familiar with how Win32 is put together. Ive been writing Win32 for 6 months and am about to move on to DX. I have been writing a tileing engine in Win32 GDI for awhile now, and I plan on converting to DirectX when I have that down. Ive been coding for 2 years total so dont get frustrated. Learning to make games takes a lot of study, and is still a very difficult thing to do. With a little (lot) of perserverance, you can be a good game programmer.

Well, you should learn C++ aswell. That''s what DirectX is all about. As for console programming, ick, it apears that Microsoft may be starting a monopoly on that market aswell. So, I guess it would be best to know DirectX (Microsotf), which uses C++. Don''t get ahead of yourself. You won''t get very far with a knowledege of arrays and pointers.

JoeMont001@aol.com

About the C vs. C++ thing:

To learn C++, you''ll have to learn C anyway, so it isn''t really a matter of "Should I learn C or C++?", but more of a "Should I learn C and continue on to learn C++?". As for that second question, I say go for it. C++ can to a lot of nifty time/effort saving things if you know how to use it well (I don''t claim to, but I have found a few very cool uses for it).

As for general tips: Read, read, read, and experiment, experiment, experiment. Like the others said, once you learn a new topic, play around with it for a while until you really understand how it works, even its you think it''s something trivial. Also, read everything you possibly can on programming, code design, etc. If there is a topic that interests you, there is probably a paper relating to it somewhere on the net, and most likely on this here gamedev.net site.

not console as in DreamCast and the like GaMeStA.. they mean console as in text mode

Ok, Lets get the facts straight, The first thing you need to do is learn C( if you start with C++, you will get confused and write bad code without even knowing the basics of what your errors are. ). Then, once you know C and you''ve made a couple of little apps, you learn C++ ( with the knowledge you get by learning C, you will understand more clearly what Objects do and how to write good code ) then move on to Win32 API ( you have to go through that if you want to understand the basis of windows programming and also the basis on what DX was made ) and finally DX... Anyhow, that is how I learned it and it worked for me. Though I wouldn''t recommend as all the others before me already said, to write a game with the little knowledge you have at the moment. I would keep on going until I''ve finished the book as you will surely use Structs and Pointers in your game as most programmer do...



Cyberdrek
Headhunter Soft
DLC Multimedia
Two Guys Soft

Try "C The Complete Reference" by Herbert Schildt. It is one of the best books about C. It does not have a teaching format but the author is VERY good.

Edited by - The_C_Guy on June 22, 2000 2:21:10 PM

Im learning C from teach yourself C by Herbert Schildt, and im finding that its an excellent book (almost finished now)

quote: Original post by CoiN

Im learning C from teach yourself C by Herbert Schildt, and im finding that its an excellent book (almost finished now)

I''m using that book, as well as The Waite Group''s C PRIMER PLUS.
3rd Edition. Both are great books.




BeOS, "It's da bomb, baby"