Hello. I am fairly new to programming and am interested in game programming specificly. I''ve been searching the net for tutorials to get a feel of what its like before i spend $50 for a game programing book. The tutorials I so shocked and confussed me. It seemed like endless lines of code all for something simple to happen. So my question to all you is: Was it hard to start off and is it hard to code? Also I dont know any other friends that program or anything of the sort so I''ll be going solo. I dont want to spend time and money for something that will only make life harder. Thank you for your input. ~Jake

Well, you''ll really never know until you try it. I can guarantee that most all the programmers who use this site enjoy it or else they wouldn''t program durring their free time. I personally find coding incredibly enjoyable experience, and encourage you to persue it as far as possible.


"The computer programmer is a creator of universes for which he alone is the lawgiver...No playwright, no stage director, no emperor, however powerful, has ever exercised such absolute athority to arrange a stage or a field of battle and to command such unswervingly dutiful actors or troops." - Joseph Weizenbaum

"Artificial stupidity (AS) may be defined as the attempt by computer scientists to create computer programs capable of causing problems of a type normally associated with human thought." - Wallace Marshal

"640,000 bytes of memory ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981

"Is all what we see or seem, but a dream within a dream?" - Edgar Allan Poe



-Brent Robinson

you don''t need a game programming book, I didn''t get one. However it is very hard, especially all the stuff you have to do to start up directx or something. After you get over that hurdle it changes, you get to the part where it isn''t all or nothing and thus you can start small. It is still hard if you want to get something complex going but you can make a simple game pretty easily once you set up graphics and other stuff.

Start with QuickBASIC.

It''s the easiest and cheapest way to learn programming.

You can download QuickBASIC 4.5 as well as tons of demo source from my site including quite a few games.

Once you can make games using that, then you can apply that knowledge to DirectX and it makes learning it much much easier. Programming is not the way you display something (DirectX or whatever), it''s how you work everything underneath which the display is composed of.

If you''re new, DX and C++ is not really the place to start. You have to learn the universal concepts first. Loops, variables, input, ect.

No matter what you do, it will take years before you''re any good.

Ben
http://therabbithole.redback.inficad.com

Its not hard once you get use to the language you use to program with, for instance, I started learning C from the smallest C app possible:

void main()
{
printf("Hello World");
}

Then by going of tutorials and other peoples code I learnt how to add variables, strings, pointers, etc...

It also helps to be good at maths, especially with 3D programming, 2D programming isnt very mathematically intensive so it may take a month or so to get something up on the screen.

If you get frustrated easily, dont bother with game development, I can tell you now, there will be many unknown problems (bugs) you will encounter, but with the help of the gang at GameDev.com its not too bad

  Game Download  ZeroOne Realm

Like most other worth-while things, programming (including game programming) is challenging. But it''s definitely doable. If you think it''s something that you might be interested in, there are a few things to keep in mind so you don''t overwhelm yourself.

1) Start small- Learn to program in a text based environment, like DOS or a Windows console. Graphics programming and windows programming are a different matter. While you *could feasibly* start in windows or something, it will be much easier for you, and for others to help you, if you start with text based stuff.
Keep in mind that this will make it hard for you to impress your friends until you''ve been programming for quite some time

2) Take a break if you need to, but don''t give up- There will be times when you have no idea what''s going on and you are very frustrated. These times can happen from when you are first learning about language concepts all the way until you get into complex graphics algorithms and stuff. If you need to get away for a little bit, do it, you can always come back. Remember that everyone has problems because some of this stuff is hard to understand.

3) Make sure you understand the language *completely*- Once you learn a language (probably C/C++ if you''re interested in games), you can do whatever you are willing to spend time figuring out. Keep in mind that if C/C++ is too hard at first, you can learn another language for your first. Learning the language can be both mundane and fulfilling. It''s mundane when you are learning boring aspects, but it''s very fulfilling when you see some language feature or something and recognize what great things it could potentially help you do in the long run. If you stick through the hard and boring parts of learning the language, then you''ll have a large toolset to use when you want to make more complex programs.

Finally- Programming is all about problem solving in steps. Learn your language to the point where you are comfortable with it. Then you are ready to get a more advanced book about something like game programming or windows programming.

Whenever you come up with something you want to do, sit down and think it through in steps. Don''t be afraid to ask for help, and always stay determined.

Programming is hard, but don''t let that discourage you if you think it would be fun (because it IS fun ).

Good luck.

no

To be very honest it all depends on your approach. Typicaly people start off Game programming with the idea that they are going to make "Doom" right away. They read source code, they read books, they edit stuff, and eventualy get no where. Why? Because they are trying to learn everything at once, it''s too much even for the best of us. As you start out even the simplest of games "Pong" becomes a daunting task in itself. It''s definately hard at first. But as with anything from weight loss, to fitness. It gets easier as you move along. The one thing that never changes is that there is always something new and cool to learn about.

Personaly I''ve found that there are levels of "Enlightenment" as you learn. You may not understand something today or tomorrow but one day you''ll wake up look at the code and suddenly understand what''s going on, why it''s being done, and how to reproduce it.

Finaly, if your honestly intrested in game programming then start learning. Buy a book (the best way in my opinion to learn about this stuff). And start working at it.

Joseph Fernald
Software Engineer
Red Storm Entertainment.
------------------------
The opinions expressed are that of the person posting
and not that of Red Storm Entertainment.

There are lots of tutorials on the internet of how to do super-complex stuff with all kinds of fancy algorithms and such. Don''t let this scare you, these tutorials assume a high level of prior knowledge about game programming. Learning to make simple games, and moving on to advanced stuff is not that hard. Just so long as you start simple, and take it slow. Try buying the books, they aren''t that difficult to understand. One of the hardest things to do is actually learning a language, but once you do that, you can just learn an API or something and then it''ll be very easy. So, buy a C++ book, after that, you could get a book on DirectX or OpenGL or something (if you choose DirectX, buy ''Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus''. It''s one of the best books IMO for beginning game programmers). Just read the books slowly and carefully, and do not skip anything (very important, too many people make this mistake because they think certain things aren''t important for making games).

So, anyway, game programming itself is very easy. It''s just learning it that might be a little difficult. Trust me, books will help you learn a lot (and they are usually easier to understand than internet articles).

Most of the people who say that Game programming is hard want their first game to be a perfect game like Unreal tournament...
When I start game programming my first game was ridiculous, but my second was better...
Learn something from your errors, start slowely and it will be easy...
HIBSP

( I agree with Qoy: programming is very fun!)