Board index ‹ General Randomness

[TooMuchJuice]

Well i have a desire to make games and have tried but when it comes to coding i don't know a single thing.I was wondering if you can help with these questions:

Where to learn?

Easy programs to start with?

Recommended software?

What age did you start coding?

After or during school exam times etc?

thanks for all your help

~TooMuchJuice

[Mumbl3s]

NO.

[Mumbl3s]

just kidding i don't know anything lol or i would help

[Mega]

It really depends on what you want to do.

Do you want to make websites, games, bots or something else?

[TooMuchJuice]

@Mega games

[RadJor]

Hey. I am a programmer that just graduated with a bachelors in Computer Engineering. I never programmed until I started college. I worked on a few game projects during college, but nothing to completion. College has a way of draining creative energy and refocusing it towards useless things . I have spent a lot of time in web development writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and I think they are a good way to get a beginner into programming as well. Anyway, to the point of this thread. If I have too much to say, you can read this tl;dr section first.

tl;dr:
There are a ton of programming languages and they can all be used to make games. If you program an iPhone game, it will be in a different language than a PC game. Any device that has apps/programs will have programming languages to write those apps in. As a beginner, you shouldn't worry about what platforms your game will be on. You should first worry about learning the basics of programming. I personally learned programming by taking some Java classes at a community college. I also took a basic JavaScript web development class. The internet is also an amazing tool for programmers. If you google "programming for beginners" or "Java beginner tutorial" or whatever way you want to phrase it, you will find a ton of websites with helpful step by step tutorials to get you started. If you want to make a game using game making tools to help you, there are programs like Game Maker and RPG maker for simple 2d games. There are also tools like Unity 3d or Unreal engine for making 3d games. Even though all these tools make game development easier, you might run into a brick wall trying to use them without understanding some programming. Everyone learns differently, but from my experience, I need to learn the basis for it all before I can effectively use shortcuts.

the meat and potatoes:
So there are a million different languages and frameworks out there that can be used to write games. Its all about what fits your needs and what you enjoy. You can write an entire game from scratch or use a variety of tools to simplify certain tasks.

Most games (tripe A tiles and such) are written in C++. There are reasons that I won't get into as to why it is very efficient for game programming. However I would never wish C++ upon a beginner.

Many games are written in Java (like Minecraft).

If you want to write a game on a web browser, you might consider Flash. Flash is well established and there will be a lot of help and tutorials out there related to it. You might also consider using JavaScript and the HTML5 Canvas element. Right now, I am building a game in JavaScript. It is not the best choice for high performance and lots of stuff going on, but if the game is simple enough, you end up with a browser based game that can be used on any device.

There are a number of other languages that people have written games in, but those are just a few that I have had some experience with.

If you want to build a game from scratch, you would probably consider one of those.

On the other hand, because you are a beginner, you might want to try out some tools that help in making games. Game Maker and RPG Maker are both used by a lot of people to make simple games. I have never used these but I see a lot of people building games with them.

If you want to make 3d game, Unity 3D is an amazing tool for making games. Superboss makes their games in Unity, and so do many other developers.

All that being said, from my experience, you need a foundation in programming no matter what route you take for making a game.


May I ask what grade you are in? If you think you are interested in programming/game development, start as early as you can. I regret waiting so long. Even in college as a Computer Engineer, I focused way too much on many classes that did not interest me, because I wanted to pass everything, and I wasn't able to spend as much time building games. Looking back I shoulda spent more time on what interested me, because in the end, that's what you have the best chance at being good at and making a living on. I have a lot of catching up to do . Also understand that it requires a lot of thinking, and even so, I think every programmer wants to throw their computer out the window at least once a week. So understand that its tough, but that's why programmers make a lot of money (the currently employed ones, not me), and produce amazing things. Not to mention its really awesome to spend time on an application or game and see the final result bringing joy or usefulness to other people.

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help.

[Eibx]

RadJor made a great post.

I just want to add that making games is a long, hard, frustrating, time-consuming, blood-sweating, hair-pulling process. Especially for beginners.
The reason I say this is a lot people start out their having WAY to big hopes for their game.
Examples being: MMO games, Multiplayer FPS games, GTA/Sandbox like games.
These kind of games require tremendous amount of knowledge and work.

I really recommend making something very simple. And by very simple I mean start out with being able to move a gray box around with the arrowkeys on a black background.

This simple "game" will touch upon a lot of things like Programming, framework, entry point, gameloops, compiling, opening a window, rendering/drawing, key handling, object manipulation and a lot more.

So you really have to be patient.

[adwuga]

I partially disagree. Unity is surprisingly simple to use(at a basic level), and from what I've heard(and experienced) Javascript is very easy to learn, and is great for beginners) Here is how I started:
http://www.codecademy.com/
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7AE076AFAFD3C305
From knowing nothing about programming or game development, and using basically only these two resources, I've started making a relatively complex game(compared to moving a gray box, for example).

It's true that it takes a long time. I spent quite a few hours on codeacademy, and watched ~25 of those videos before really doing things on my own. But it's worth it. I love working on my game(though it kind of sucks right now), and I learn so much all the time.

[RadJor]

I totally agree with Eibx. Start with something tiny and get a good understanding of what you are doing.

@adwuga: Thanks for the links. I didn't have any good resources to give him. I just google everything when I need it. I think I will be checking out that youtube channel in the near future though .

[TooMuchJuice]

Wow thanks for all the replies guys

[TooMuchJuice]

Hey. I am a programmer that just graduated with a bachelors in Computer Engineering. I never programmed until I started college. I worked on a few game projects during college, but nothing to completion. College has a way of draining creative energy and refocusing it towards useless things . I have spent a lot of time in web development writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and I think they are a good way to get a beginner into programming as well. Anyway, to the point of this thread. If I have too much to say, you can read this tl;dr section first.

tl;dr:
There are a ton of programming languages and they can all be used to make games. If you program an iPhone game, it will be in a different language than a PC game. Any device that has apps/programs will have programming languages to write those apps in. As a beginner, you shouldn't worry about what platforms your game will be on. You should first worry about learning the basics of programming. I personally learned programming by taking some Java classes at a community college. I also took a basic JavaScript web development class. The internet is also an amazing tool for programmers. If you google "programming for beginners" or "Java beginner tutorial" or whatever way you want to phrase it, you will find a ton of websites with helpful step by step tutorials to get you started. If you want to make a game using game making tools to help you, there are programs like Game Maker and RPG maker for simple 2d games. There are also tools like Unity 3d or Unreal engine for making 3d games. Even though all these tools make game development easier, you might run into a brick wall trying to use them without understanding some programming. Everyone learns differently, but from my experience, I need to learn the basis for it all before I can effectively use shortcuts.

the meat and potatoes:
So there are a million different languages and frameworks out there that can be used to write games. Its all about what fits your needs and what you enjoy. You can write an entire game from scratch or use a variety of tools to simplify certain tasks.

Most games (tripe A tiles and such) are written in C++. There are reasons that I won't get into as to why it is very efficient for game programming. However I would never wish C++ upon a beginner.

Many games are written in Java (like Minecraft).

If you want to write a game on a web browser, you might consider Flash. Flash is well established and there will be a lot of help and tutorials out there related to it. You might also consider using JavaScript and the HTML5 Canvas element. Right now, I am building a game in JavaScript. It is not the best choice for high performance and lots of stuff going on, but if the game is simple enough, you end up with a browser based game that can be used on any device.

There are a number of other languages that people have written games in, but those are just a few that I have had some experience with.

If you want to build a game from scratch, you would probably consider one of those.

On the other hand, because you are a beginner, you might want to try out some tools that help in making games. Game Maker and RPG Maker are both used by a lot of people to make simple games. I have never used these but I see a lot of people building games with them.

If you want to make 3d game, Unity 3D is an amazing tool for making games. Superboss makes their games in Unity, and so do many other developers.

All that being said, from my experience, you need a foundation in programming no matter what route you take for making a game.


May I ask what grade you are in? If you think you are interested in programming/game development, start as early as you can. I regret waiting so long. Even in college as a Computer Engineer, I focused way too much on many classes that did not interest me, because I wanted to pass everything, and I wasn't able to spend as much time building games. Looking back I shoulda spent more time on what interested me, because in the end, that's what you have the best chance at being good at and making a living on. I have a lot of catching up to do . Also understand that it requires a lot of thinking, and even so, I think every programmer wants to throw their computer out the window at least once a week. So understand that its tough, but that's why programmers make a lot of money (the currently employed ones, not me), and produce amazing things. Not to mention its really awesome to spend time on an application or game and see the final result bringing joy or usefulness to other people.

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help.

WEll thanks a lot RadJor you have made a great contribution and I'm in Year 9 (14).From what i've heard i might think about making a 2d game on java? Once again thanks a lot for the help

[RadJor]

Haha great choice. My very first attempt at building a game was a final project for one of my early Java classes. A 2d game based on Penumbra It was terrible and unfinished, but not a bad place to start.