Thanks Lazarus404 for your advice.

I have decided not to use C++ for games just yet. I''m going to be using VB, so I probably will use Revolution3D to teach myself, but probably make a basic 3D engine, cos i''ve got a friend who knows VB and DX really well.

Thanks anyway, but I won''t be using DarkBasic as its absolutely, completely, without a doubt, the biggest piece of crap in the history of the world. Granted it does teach you how to make games, but not what goes into it because its commands are like: make_quake_3_clone(); And the frame rates are crap as well. Also the games are so slow its unbelievable that its a commercial product.

Mr_Confused,

I have not forgotten what it was like to be a beginner. I would say that all programmers are beginners in one way or another.

I do remember though, when a term I didn''t understand came up (like "enum") I would look to see what it meant, and not insult someone who was trying to help.

MSDN can tell you, as will a google search.

I can often be very terse with my answers here, and almost as often this can be seen as rudeness, but I don''t intend it to be. I''ve got work to do so I can''t hang around on the board, but when I see someone asking something I know the answer to, I try to help.

The key to good game design is mastering the language, and knowing what tools to use for each problem you''ll find. There are tutorials all over the web, unfortunately they are more often than not for more advanced topics.

Most programmers solve problems by seeing a similarity to a problem they''ve solved before and constructing a new solution from that. If you''re a beginner to programming, then making a very simple game would be the way to start. I suggest something like Pong. It seems *too* simple, but remember that each game you make after then will be just an easy step from something you''ve done before.

- Pete

quote: Original post by Mr_Confused
They have all forgotten what it is like to be a beginner. For a start I barely understand what an enum is; I know it is a data type, but thats it.

That''s exactly why I chose not to use an enum...No need to confuse. I''m sure that in time you would learn by yourself what an enum was. Right now you need to get started.

I do think that it is a mistake to abandon C/C++ (if you want to do games).
I think you should stick with C and use a graphics wrapper such as Allegro or SDL.

If you still decide to use VB then check out the artices section and look for Jack Hoxley''s ''Direct X graphics for Visual Basic'' parts 1, 2 and 3. It teaches basic 3D using DX8.

,Jay

quote: Original post by Mr_Confused
I also would like to say thanks to Siaspete who provided me with a perfect example of how the game developing community thinks. They have all forgotten what it is like to be a beginner. For a start I barely understand what an enum is; I know it is a data type, but thats it. They think that beginners, game beginners anyway, need to learn functions, datastructures and languages to make games, when infact they need to undertand how to make a game, i.e. what goes in.

I disagree - I think learning your tools is equally important. Everything you do will be expressed through those tools (the language, the functions, data structures), so if you don''t understand them, you won''t be able to implement your ideas.

Now, I understand you didn''t ask about programming details, and that is fair enough. But on the whole, the two go hand-in-hand and need to be given equal consideration.



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(1) Siaspete I did not mean offense when I made the comment. It was not a personal comment about _you_, you just happened to say the right thing at the right moment. However I do fell that I didn''t explain myself properly. I did not mean that programmers forget what it is like to be a beginner in the sense that they can''t remember, I meant that beginners ask _why_ something does that, whereas experienced programmers say how do I do that. Beginners simply need a basic understanding, whereas experienced programmers need a basic explaination. I hope you understand I meant no offense.

(2) Granat I would like to say that I am not abandoning C++, I am going to be making small apps ''n'' stuff.

To everyone who keeps saying that the learning the language is important. I do not disagree, but as Granat said, "Right now you need to get started" and he is exactly right. I do not need to learn the language to a huge extent I just need get started. Thanks Granat you''ve been really helpful.

Thank you to everyone who has replied to this post, all the info gathered has been really useful. Thanks.