hi! i have decided to make the jump into game development, my question is this: i am not new to computers i am very good in windows and know quite a bit, but when it comes to programming i have no clue what to do. I would like to start making games but i dont know where to start. can someone tell me: what programming laungauges are the best to learn first 2)what software should i buy 3)any good sites to visit for this beside this one for that info? and finnaly 4)where did you began first what books did you read and what laungauges did you learn...i am really commited to this because i want to be in the game industry. THANKS!!! we dont need no stinking badgers-UHF

Languages that I learned were:

BASIC (really good for learning, comes with Windows up to 98 I think)
Turbo Pascal (really good for learning as well, after BASIC )
C/C++ (Great for game development, but hard to learn - well, relatively)
Eiffel (good for teaching, not so great for games)
A couple of other languages

You can pretty much teach yourself BASIC (you probably have Q-BASIC, if not, you can probably download it for free somewhere) using the help files. I taught myself the first 3 languages from just the help files. I did extend my C++ knowledge with a LOT of books though...

You really need to know how to program in C/C++ or Java for games, but you can take many different paths to get there. Visual Basic is good for learning as well, but if you want cheap then just find a nice free BASIC interpreter (or compiler).

You don''t need to buy any software, because there are a lot of free compilers and interpreters out there. You can also get a lot of material from different sites like here (GDNet) as well as Gamasutra.com and a lot of other great sites (thinking Game Programmers Galaxy and a lot of others). You can find an abundance if you do a search with your favourite search engine...

Just my $(2*rant/100)

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)

Hi there.
Well i''ve started programming on C64 with Basic, then Assembler and now i''m coding in C++. The Website where to find hints and tips on how to make games -- WELL, IT''S ALL HERE!
About the Software and Language... well, i think VisualC++ (V5 or V6) or Borlands C++ Builder are the right tools..
Look also at Chris Hobbs Win32 Assembly-Game Programming-Articles. There you''ll see that it is also possible making games in Assembler using DirectX and stuff..
About the Books: There are many, many books but for you as a beginner i would give you to read "DirectX in 21 Hours". It''s an very easy to follow book with lots of examples including Direct Draw and Direct3D.
I hope that this helps you a little. CU.

We don''t need answeres, WE NEED WEED!! *satanic LOL*

the main programming language nowdays is c++... and it is a good place to start(its where i started)
get a good book on c++, and visual c++(or borland if you want, but i think msvc is pretty much the standard nowdays), and once you know enough about c++, get a book on windows/directx(tricks of the windows game programming gurus is a really good book for this) .. and you''ll be making games in no time!

No, C++ is NOT a good way to start. You need to learn the basics BEFORE you move on to it. It is MUCH easier that way. Follow BASIC->C++ for all I care, but do NOT start on straight C++, you will probably get a huge headache from it. Just thought I''d make that point.

Bad Quantum!

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)

I started in Pascal, moved on to C, a little Java and then C++.
In other words, don''t start with C++ ! You''ll get so frustrated you''ll probably throw your monitor out the window !
Start with Pascal, learn the basics and move on to C/C++.



The road to success is always under construction

Yes, listen to Tornado... At least there is somebody who still has their sanity Quantum probably doesn''t anymore

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)

Dwarfsoft is absolutely right.

Most proggers like me did in fact start off with QBASIC. I even made a load of good games with it! When you understand that, you will really have a feel for programming in general. You will understand how it is structured, and when you do eventually make the leap to C++ (after about a year at the least) you will realise that although the syntax is painful at first, you will be familiar with the structure of programs.

Once thing: you do not really need a book to teach you the language. If it''s on special offer, then great, but you should be able to get all the info you need of the ''net. In fact, I managed to teach myself C++ just by looking at examples.

It''s an upward climb all the way.



========
Smidge
www.smidge-tech.co.uk
========

The only thing I made with QB was shitty programs that asked you a question and then let you know whether or not it was correct

PRINT "What is 5*5? "
INPUT answer

IF ANSWER = 5*5 THEN

PRINT "Correct"

ELSE

PRINT "Idiot"

END IF

Edited by - Muzzafarath on August 12, 2000 7:33:08 AM

LOL! That is one of the funniest programs that I have ever seen. Ours were much less inventive

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)