I just have one question to all you people. Does it take like, a genius to learn how to start programming games??? I have tried for long now and it seems like the hardest thing on earth. Can someone please tell me how to like structure your reading and stuff (before my brain gets a synapse leekage)??? (((((((ZULU)))))))

Start very small. You should have saw where I started from! In vb, using a imageBox for the character in the middle of the form. He had to be a square, and he flickered like crazy when I moved the pictureBox below him(the terrain). What crap. But it was a start. I kept refining my idea, with help from the internet, and eventually I could make a game that could have sold millions about 10 years ago. Wow! It felt great!

(yeah, not the best advise...)

Here is what I recommand. (Assume you are trying to write a PC game somehow)

1. Get VC++ 6.0 (not too hard to find, and this is your only investment)

2. Learn Win SDK. I recommand understanding of WinSDK, which reduce a lot of pain down the road. I''d give 3month on this. there are tons of SDK samples in MSDN you can learn from. You can even get a job with this skill. (try get a good program behavior here, or it will be a pain in the future)

3. Learn DirectDraw. This should take less than a week. when learning directdraw, try write a sample program that animates a sprite.


4. This is the hardest part and fun part, and takes patience. Practice and Practice. Think of a simple game, and start with thinking about architecture. Create building blocks then code the function/classes.

5. Adding features, and learn new technologies.

No Offense, I wouldn''t mind use VB writing simple window applications, and it''s easy to learn. However, I will not use it for gaming. (someone may flame me, but this is just my personal experience)

Turtlenet

Yeah, I wouldn''t recommend vb for game development, that''s just how I got started.

Thx for all suggestions!

(((((((ZULU)))))))