I started becoming interested in programming since I was around 12 years old. I tried to teach myself C++ plenty of times but I would usually get bored or frustrated and stop. I stepped away from programming and started making add-ons and gamemodes in Garry's Mod using lua. This helped me to get familiar with how functions and conditions work. I am 18 years old now and I have recently tried to get into programming again and eventually start making games.

I started getting back into programming this June. I did a lot of research and found out that C# was a pretty easy to understand programming language. So I jumped right into it. I started watching beginner programming tutorials about C# and picked everything up really fast. I made a simple guessing game to get started. Improved it with a score system and an option to restart or quit the game. After that I started working with gui Visual C#. I made a working log-in and user creation system. You could type a username and password into the text boxes and I used Streamwriters to write the info to a .txt file and readers to read it when the program started and loaded the info into an array of usernames and password. I then bought a C# Serious Game Programming book and tried to follow along with that. I was told by a friend that the book uses the Tao library which he told me was pretty complicated to use. So I tried to start smaller with XNA. I started working on a 2d side scroller. I was getting really excited about it, I learned how to draw a tile map with a 2d array of integers and a lot of other things. One of my IRL friends told me he wanted to get into programming, but he refused to "learn another language". He had already started learning C++ years before and he is really stubborn so he refused to switch to C#. I wanted to make games with him so I tried C++ with SDl, and Allegro. It was a nightmare. C++ confuses the hell outa me with pointers and references. I understand how they work and what they are supposed to do, but I don't understand when you should and should not use them. My friend lost interest in programming so I got off of the C++ train ASAP. I tried to go back to C# but after doing more research learned that the XNA library is no longer going to be updated. So I decided to stop that project to. Now I have gotten myself into a new language. I have been fiddling around with Java and I thought that maybe Java is the language for me. So far I love it, I love how similar it is to C#, and I also love that it is widely used.

Java and C# are so similar that after watching a few basic programming guides, I already had understood the things I thought I needed to know to start game programming. So I jumped right into it. I followed a video tutorial step by step and thought I was figuring things out pretty well when I started to notice something about the video guide. The guy who made the video was copying Notch's code for his Minicraft game. NOT MINECRAFT, MINICRAFT. Notch did some things where he would use arrays of integers that represented pixels, each pixel would have a hex-decimal color value. He would import images with image.io and then get the RBG of that image which would return an array of integers then he would copy that array into his own array and render the image like that. It was very confusing to me. It almost seemed redundant.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14952863/importing-a-sprite-from-a-sprite-sheet

This link shows some of the code that was in the tutorial. It all seems super redundant to me.

I don't know if it is just a bad tutorial but drawing images to screens in java looks like it's a big pain in the ass. Should I be confused about something like that? I'd like to think I'm ready to start making at least a 2d game, but sometimes I get confused and wonder if I am doing the right thing. I really don't know what more I can learn with basic programming. Please help me out. Thanks!

Just start.

The only way to learn how to code games is by coding games, and any problems you encounter will only give you experience as you solve them.

There are so many great resourses on the topic you'll read yourself to death trying to learn it all before you begin.

http://makegames.tumblr.com/ has been a good read for me. It's definitely worth looking into.

I keep trying to jump into it and I don't know where to go, I want to start off this game by making a tile map. But I have no clue how to do that in java.

I tried to teach myself C++ plenty of times but I would usually get bored or frustrated and stop.

Then you are not coding the right things.
Rule #1 about Code Club: Never code anything that is not fun.
Rule #2 about Code Club: Never code anything that is not fun.
Rule #3 about Code Club: Only code games.

…Am I read[sic] to start making games yet?…

See rule #3.
You were ready to start making games as soon as you started learning to code.

The first program I ever made was a very simple guess-the-number-chosen-by-the-computer game. Total crap text-based game but it was a game.
Normally I would say, “If you have to ask, you are not ready,” but that would make it catch-22, since being able to code even just barely means you are ready.

I am basically confused by the whole dilemma you are facing. You “hope to start coding games soon”? What the hell? Then just start coding games already. They don’t have to be amazing. What exactly do you mean by “game”? Is a text-based game not a game? Can’t you start with a few crappy games and just move up incrementally? Not seeing the dilemma here.


L. Spiro

You know just because XNA is not being updated anymore doesn't mean it suddenly stopped working and trying to compile XNA code will cause your computer to burst into flames. You can still write games in XNA... besides it's not like your first few games are going to become worldwide hits selling millions of copies, it fundamentally does not matter what technology you start off with as long as it gives you enjoyment and the desire to do more and that you are actually learning things (i.e. don't rewrite "guess the number" 400 times in slightly different ways but try and make different and increasingly complex programs or games).

If Java strikes your fancy, then code in Java. If you prefer C#, that's what you should do. C++ giving you headaches? Don't use it! The point is, you need to start somewhere, and no matter where you start, if you are to become a game developer (or even a developer period), you are going to learn more than one language. Repeat after me: you will learn more than one language, what you start with does not matter. You will eventually learn C++. You will eventually be writing C#. You will eventually learn about Python. You will eventually come across some kind of functional language. You will discover new ways to write code, new methodologies, new ways of thinking about problems and how to evaluate and design solutions to them. I can guarantee it. It will happen naturally, at your own pace, but it will happen. So stop thinking so hard about those details.

I did start with little programming games as well, like tic-tac-toe, solitaire, hangman, space invaders, tile-based games, snake, and a lot more that I cannot recall - though I no longer make games - but I found the most important thing when I was starting out programming was to actually CODE and not worry about good design, writing perfect maintainable code, impressing my peers, etc.. just the simple act of coding, bumping into problems, solving them (or putting them aside if deemed too difficult at the time, and, yes, there are still many problems I cannot solve) and always learning new things. The rest will come later in due time.

Moral of the story, you are getting ahead of yourself and trying to anticipate and solve problems that do not yet exist. Just start making games. Break up the problem "making a game" in multiple steps, start solving those that seem like the logical first step, and then add on the missing stuff until you have something that looks like a game. Then polish it, get feedback, start again.

Hi,

Am I read to start making games yet?

You have already started.

Research is the intellectual backbone of game development. In the course of a whole week you should be spending some hours on research, both directly related to the tasks at hand and also those issues which you expect to face in time. This learning discipline causes you to find your way and builds confidence. Hopping around the scene and quitting projects generally results in fewer actual things being accomplished. Sticking with a program of development until a major project is completed is far more beneficial than shifting several times, even if the overall project is a bit inferior to your future goals. Completion builds confidence and competence.

Now, strategic thinking is to decide on a genre of games to develop and stay in that area for months or even 1-2 years. You need to be more specific than merely vague 2D games. What type of 2D game? Choose a type and develop a strategy to best approach it. Along with this is to settle on a particular software development environment and stay with it for quite a while.

In relation to other people, you need to listen to all advice but allow yourself to hang tough with a system that works. As I see it, one person's opinion about what I am doing is not nearly enough for me to drop a system or even a project. Listen to suggestions to adjust your direction but complete the tour.

Java or C# is just fine. The language is not the issue.

Coding language should be chosen mostly because of objectives which you set and not only because of feelings. A game engine, SDK, or IDE which suits your goals in game development should determine the language. Since you know that you can handle C# and Java, liking both of them, then the framework is the next major strategic decision for you. Let your game concept goals and framework guide you in selecting a language. Before you can really get to work, you need information perhaps in the form of a book, tutorials, or online course to help you.

It is all that simple so go do it and stay the course.

Clinton

I agree with Spiro - Just start making games. Your Problem is that maybe what you are trying to make is way over your head at this point.

The next "ZOMBIE APPOCOLYPSE" is not a game you want to start off with.

My first Program was sort of a game. When American "FANTASY FOOTBALL" first became popular, my freinds and I bought a peice of software to track our fantasy league. The program was flawed and would crash at a certain point. I was studying programming, got determined 1 night, read the rules book, which contained everything the program was supposed to do, and wrote the program. Guess what ? It worked!!!! Just like it was designed to do. And our Gaming League pressed on.

Here is a hint > "You are most likely beyond the guess a number game". If you are into Sports, write a sports game. Do it text based. Make it WORK!!!!! Then get the Graphics part down. ( Study the Graphics, just do not concern yourself with them until you get the game coding down )

An American style Baseball game Text Based has surprisingly minimal game coding, with alot of statistics and data. Cricket is similar.

In the post I meant to say 2D games. But you guys are right, as usual. I do need to stop making it so complicated. Where is a good place to start with 2d? I simple mario clone?

In the post I meant to say 2D games. But you guys are right, as usual. I do need to stop making it so complicated. Where is a good place to start with 2d? I simple mario clone?

platformers are fairly advanced, if you havn't made any game yet you should probably start with something less complex. (pong, snake, etc are good starting projects)