Ok, this may belong on a nother form, but I am a Newb, and this is a Newb Question, so I thought I would post it here. I have wanted to be a game developer for about two years. I got past the part where ''Im going to make the best game ever!'' Part, and I just recently realized, im probly not gonna make any money off of this for a while. Im 16, and cant be stuck in a stupid ass job with no creativity. Game developing gets harder, and harder as time goes on. I know C++, I took a college corse on that last year, and did very well in it. I am now at the point, where games get heavy in Math, Im not good at Math at all. So, I was wondering what one of you would recomend I should do to perfect my skills in C++, and get better at math. Should I join a MUD team, please dont just tell me to ''Make a pong game'' Because I dont know how! It makes me mad that I dont know how, not that you tell me to do it. I know C++, but I dont know how to apply it, or use it for any purpose, and thats what I need to learn to do. Its so frustraiting to have to sit here, and not be able to do any of it, sorry about any spelling errors so far. Im not gonna quit, ive spent two years driving for this, but I just need some help in finding out where to go next, any advise you could give me would be very appreciated, or if you run a small time little MOD, or MUD, I would love to join, assuming you would help me along the way. My AIM is vegadam13, and email is vegadam@93xrocks.com Thank you very much!

Can anyone recommend any books or online articles that takes the reader step by step through the creation of a simple game for this gentleman?

Maybe something slightly more complicated than Pong, that shows off the elements of a game program and how to put one together?

right forum for sure.

look in the Articles & Resources section of this site. and especially start out in the For Beginners section of this site. it''s got a pretty comprehensive list of stuff to do to get started.

as for math. you definitely need to learn some math. it can mean the difference between 50 lines of code or one fast line of code. but as you get into more advanced game programming you''ll be forced to learn the math and it''ll be fun to learn it too. so no worries.

so yeah, plug around in the For Beginner''s section to get your feet wet and it''ll give you some good starting points.

-me

Thank you for your input

Vega,

See the thread in the beginners section "Need help getting started on your first game?" or something like that...

Basically, I''m starting a tutorial series in the next day or so, that goes through the steps of creating COMPLETE games.

Also, if you''re trying to make your first game, and you cant get started, you dont want to start with anything more complicated than Pong. It''s all about self-eficacy and motivation.

As far as math skills, I would suggest the book "Mathematics for Computer Graphics Applications" It''s your basic Linear Algebra book, with some calculus and geometry.

At any rate, for more information see the thread above or come to the site below.

OldGames: Making Games from Old to New

Best Regards,
Jeromy "Maverick" Walsh
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"The question isn''t how far, the question is do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed?" -Boondock Saints

I didn''t really want to make Pong, but when I did I realized how much I learned from it. I felt the same way as you, but by making that stupid little simple game (which I hate) I learned the basics to start on a side-scroller, which is what I wanted my first game to be. You gotta crawl before you walk. Don''t wait for a tutorial for Pong, just think about how to do the stuff, and if there is something you can''t figure out ask here.

______________________________
[Free Books!] [Reference and Tutorials]
[For Beginners] [IGDA]
[OpenGL Tutorials] [Sourceforge]
[DirectX Tutorials] [Gamasutra]

I would say the next step is a gfx api.
DirectX is the standard, more or less.

I use OpenGL, its alot easier.
When you can hack out displaying stuff in 3d/2d space, start working on something...

Like..say...3D pong.

Seriouly, though.
Learn a graphics API plus some Windows API and math.
When you can handle them, start hacking away at something bigger.
Make alot of small test progs...


Bugle4d

Its not that I dont want to make pong, i dont care that its a stupid little game. I dont know how to make pong is what I ment. People allways tell me, just make a simple little game like pong..... i would love to, but I dont know how. Im glad you are starting that site though, I think it will help me alot.
Thanks all

quote: Original post by Vegadam
Its not that I dont want to make pong, i dont care that its a stupid little game. I dont know how to make pong is what I ment. People allways tell me, just make a simple little game like pong..... i would love to, but I dont know how. Im glad you are starting that site though, I think it will help me alot.
Thanks all

Hey,

Try breaking it down - draw some stuff of pong on paper and start thinking lol.

Strictly pong has 2 bars and 1 ball. The ball collides with the bar and move up and down. Consider 1 bar as player 1 - other bar as player 2 - now increment score if player 1 or player 2 misses. Have some maximum score for the game to finish.

So basically you need to do is ->
1. Draw 2 bars
2. Move them right and left
3. Check bars for left and right bounds
4. Draw ball
5. Check for collisions.
6. Increment scores.

Well this is a very simple view of what you will be doing, but as you keep doing it you will get newer and weirder ideas. At times you might get stuck, but don''t worry about it - we all get stuck at times. Well if you know a graphics API like Opengl or DirectX you could start of right away - and if you don''t you could do the pong game while you are learning it.

This is where questions arise, what is check bars, and how do I check for collisions. Its so annoying, I know how to code, but not how to apply what I know.