I have a question....I need to find game development software that is compatible with PC. I did find one but it is not PC compatible. A Mac to PC translator would also be helpful. -GreenGuy

That is a pretty vague question... ''game development software'' could range from compilers, IDE''s, art packages, 3d modelling software, sound editing software etc etc etc etc.

You aren''t likely to get a useful answer unless you ask a more specific question.

Just use the MakeCoolGame() function that comes with any C/C++ compiler!

quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
Just use the MakeCoolGame() function that comes with any C/C++ compiler!

I tried that function, and all I managed to get out of it was a Half-life clone... WHEN are they going to update their damn functions?!?

-Chris

quote: Original post by crouilla
I tried that function, and all I managed to get out of it was a Half-life clone... WHEN are they going to update their damn functions?!?

Dude, you have to use the proper parameters:

#include < coolgame.h>int main(int argc, char* argv[]){  int gFlags = MCG_NOTHLCLONE | MCG_NEXTGEN | MCG_NOCOPYRIGHTINFRINGEMENT;  MakeCoolGame(gFlags);  return 1;};    

l0lz0rz how many times have I heard this question... too often, almost started flaming right away but I guess I shouldn''t cuz I hated those flamers when I asked that question 2 years ago...

I guess you mean an engine. In case you don''t know, an engine is a group of functions working together which do a lot of the hard work for you. Maybe this is not entirely right, but it''s the easiest way to see an engine. It''s a bit more difficult in "the real world"

Say, if you have a function which loads a Targa image file... you need to make a function for this which consists of, say, 50 lines of code. Maybe it''s a bit less or a bit more, but this is just an example. Once you made the function, you can just use the command LoadTargaFile(char *filename) to load a targa file... Easy isn''t it? But the hard part is you have to make the function first. This part is done by the engine I was talking about. All you do (well, not everything. Engines never feature enough functions for a whole game ) is use these functions to make your game.

Now, this may seem good to a newb game programmer who wants to start out with cool games right away, but it has many cons:

For one, if you can only use these functions, you have a lot of limitations. The functions are probably not exactly how you want them to be so they are as efficient as possible in your game. You can''t change this though. You can change it when you made the engine for yourself, but now you can''t. Bummer.

Second, if you are a programmer, you''ll probably like programming. If you like it, why take away all the fun stuff? Yes, you take away most of the programming, so you take away the thing you like and do. So, less coding for you. You''ll learn less because of this too.

What follows, if you do not have to code a lot anymore, you''ll have to spend more time on modelling, level-designing, etc. I guess this is not exactly what you want, or you''d have been a modeller/map maker I guess. Maybe I''m wrong...

Last thing, if you always base your game on other people''s engines, you will never be able to make one of your own. You''ll get used to the easyness of the engines, and you''ll get a hard attack when you see how difficult the "real" code is compared to the code you had made before... So forget the nice game programming job... they require the skill to make your own engine

My advice: Just make your own engines. It may be though and less fun at start, because your skills are not good enough to make those killer games yet, but you''ll learn enough to be able to program a nice 3D game in just one or two years, at least I did. (What do you mean my games are not nice?!?! )

Get some good books, like the OpenGL Superbible (2nd edition) or the OpenGL Game Programming book. If you are even new to C++, learn at least the basics of that language first. You can also get various books for that, or seek for tutorials on the internet. (Or both)