Hello! I'm a new member to the GameDev community, and taking my baby steps in the art itself. I've recently ordered "C++ Primer, 5th Edition" so I can learn the language, started reading theory on game development and brought along a couple of friends who are interested, both because we want to learn together and because we all stay motivated working in a team. I know this is a long road to even making the first text-based game, but I think it is a road worth taking.

As every craft, game development requires motivation, and part of motivation is surrounding yourself with what you love. I'm currently trying to organize my work area (room, desk, computer folders etc.) so when someone comes into my room and views my work, everything has to scream 'This guy loves games'.

When it comes to functional setup, I've set up a folder with a few subfolders that I share with my buddies on a home Filezilla server. Each folder has our names on it, so everyone puts their work/ideas in there for everyone to see. My room and desk are pretty neutral, though, and I'd like some ideas (preferably low-budget) to make my room into a gamer's room, without it looking too nerdish, just showing my love for gaming - the occasional girl comes here!

So how do you guys organize your space? Do you have game posters hanging around? Character figures? Vintage stuff? Share it here!
(Photos would be nice)

I'm not a good person to ask about this :D, but a few of my friends certainly have game/movie posters and action figures. Not a wallful of them, but several characters from the games/movies/shows that they really like. Add a few "gamers" gadgets, like illuminated keyboards, heavy set of speakers/headphones with dual monitors setup would add nicely to your workspace.

I have three posters for inspiration:

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/John-Coltrane-Blue-Train-Posters_i8548756_.htm

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Big-Lebowski-Dude-Posters_i7347717_.htm

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/The-Old-Guitarist-c-1903-Posters_i328746_.htm

Coltrane tried to master a craft that can never be mastered.

Picasso reminds me that success can happen.

The Dude is just cool. :D

Nothing gamey in my work areas I had. Anybody that would have come into my rooms would have thought that I am probably some Facebook lurker Office user picture browser.

Anyway

I know this is a long road to even making the first text-based game, but I think it is a road worth taking.

This is suspicious to me. You do know that the best way of learning is by doing, don't you? And doing things that are not in the book. Don't wait until you read those books to start developing, start as soon as you are able to compile some harder-than-HelloWorld programs. Long road to the first text based game? That shouldn't be long at all. Don't over-prepare yourself with just books, gadgets, desks, posters and shit. Jump right in.

I actively remove everything from my workspace that does not contribute to me making games.

I'm actually due for another cleaning pass, but right now, I have on (or under) my desk:

• A stack of paperwork
• Some minor cruft that shouldn't be here - a ketchup packet, a firecracker, a plastic spork, and so forth
• Three monitors
• Two workstations
• One set of noise-canceling headphones
• Keyboard, mouse, and some security-related USB peripherals
• Batteries for the headphones

... and that's it.

At home I'm even more spartan: I maintain no workspace besides wherever I decide to set my laptop.



It's all about the zen. Crap does not make you a game developer. Making games makes you a game developer.

I've got a stack of random papers, where some of them actually have useful stuff written on them.

A can of receipts. (from when its my turn to buy breakfast)

Two pens.

A big high resolution monitor.

My laptop. (no extra keyboard/mouse, prefer my macbook trackpad over mouse)

My headphones.

And a small skateboard (fingerboard), since we're currently working on a skateboard game

Post it notes everywhere, on everything. Oh and get some play-doh or modelling clay. It helps inspire me to try to make the models I'm creating on the screen in real life.

I think, personally, that having general gaming paraphernalia all over is too much distraction, particularly if its unrelated. For me, I want a lot of space to spread out, organize work, and to be able to set things out of the way but in-reach. I have a largish (5' x 4'), L-shaped desk similar to what you'd buy at IKEA, with an upper-deck that I built where my monitors, XBox 360, laptop dock, speakers and headphones sit, so that the entire lower surface is usable. I keep paper of various kinds (lined, unlined, quad-rule, and some hexagon and isometric-printed patterns I found online), pencils, pens, markers, and my trusty TI-84. Usually a cache of books that are related to what I'm working on. Too often, random junk that's piled up and needs to be removed.

My computer setup is three monitors, a 30" 2560x1600 flanked by 20" 1600x1200 monitors in portrait orientation, for a total desktop size of 3960x1600. I use the side monitors for things like email, referencing web-pages, spotify, or debugging when I'm running my app fullscreen on the central monitor. The center monitor is always for my main task, and its wide enough to look at two pages of code side-by-side. I do real work on my laptop (docked, with proper keyboard and mouse), but there's an aging workstation who's primary duty is gaming these days. I've also got a filing cabinet and some mail-slot-type organizers underneath the desk.

I've also got an old tube-style television in a wire shelving unit next to my desk that's hooked to various older game consoles, which is useful for research and just goofing off. On my walls immediately around my desk, there's a large foam-core promo poster for a Marilyn Manson album, a framed copy of my college degree, and a large window.

The kind of paraphernalia I would keep around would be stuff from the project I'm working on--Personally, that's the kind of thing that would inspire me to sit down and work every day. In very early stages is might not be much more than some rough sketches, together with paraphernalia from things which are a direct inspiration to your project. I also think it can be very motivating to see tangible work from your project slowly replace external sources of inspiration as you flesh out your project and move toward your goal.

On left, stacks of books, my ham radio, lamp, in center my computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, and on the right a big tub of moisturizing lotion. Above my desk I have a fake Picasso. I think it is best to not clutter up your space with too much "programmer stuff" so that you can get your mind off it for a second when you need to.

It's all about the zen. Crap does not make you a game developer. Making games makes you a game developer.

If there was a one up button in this forum I would push it.

You can see where the magic happens in my current setup in the "Gah!" thread.