Hello,

I have recently found a great interest in programming and I have a few issues. I've read the 'Getting Started'-guide on the wiki here and I still am a bit lost on where to begin. I'm not discouraged, since I found a lot of helpful information already. I found, for instance, that I'm in the visionary category (definitely not a techie...). I have a lot of ideas and I just want a good foundation to be able to realize some of them.

I have been looking at the C++ language and I find it ideal due to the fact that most games made today seem to be written with just that. My problem is that I can't figure out which libraries to use or which programs to write in. I was hoping I could get some options from you if I just explain what sort of games I intend to make.

I'm currently looking to program iPhone apps and basic games for PC. I'll wait with the apps, since that clearly goes into the iOS category. The PC games I intend to make, or the one I'm currently brainstorming some ideas for is a RTS game. I realize my limits and the complexities of making such a game, but I want to start with the basics. What I'm looking to make is an extremely basic and early predecessor to games like Warcraft I (a game that got me sold on RTS the first time I played it). I understand that making such a game won't be realistic for me to do right away, but it's where I hope to land after learning and developing the idea I currently have. If anyone knows of any good programs and libraries to help me get a little closer to my goal it would be much appreciated.

It's important to note that I have no programming experience at all, save fiddling with Escape Velocity (awesome game) in ResEdit and EVEdit. Even there I was so young I hardly remember anything useful to help me right now. If I should pick another language (I saw C# was easier for beginners in the guide) or start with something other than a RTS game I'll gladly take your input to heart. I am however set on eventually realizing my RTS ideas.

It's also important to note that the end result of the game I have in mind isn't realistic for me to finish on my own, due to the extensive and complex features and graphics involved. I do wish to make a basic game on the same concept as the one I'm dreaming of making some day though. I don't care if I have to make 10 predecessors, just having something that I created by myself will be reward enough in the long run.

I did try to browse the forums for advise like this already written somewhere, but it seems everyone on this forum already has programming experience of some sort (whereas I don't). If any question I ask here have already been answered just direct me to it, and I'll try to do more research next time I need help.

A shove in the right direction to help me get started with my RTS game is what I'm looking for now though, and any help is greatly appreciated.

Hey and welcome to the forums

Well, if you're not a techie kind of person i wouldn't advise you to start with c++, as it requires quite a bit of background knowledge about how the whole thing works. Even c# puts you in the similar corner, while it is quite a bit more straight forward it still is a programming language that needs a lot of knowledge to work correctly with.
If you rather would just jump into the actual development of games you might want to consider using something like flash/flashpunk or maybe gamemaker, or you could even use unity3d aswell. Those will enable you to immediately start with the 'meat' of your ideas after working through a couple of tutorials without too much knowledge about programming (you still need a bit though )

It's good that you are prepared to go a long way before you can work on your 'dream game'. I (and most others) would suggest a simple game for starters like:

Pong
it's so basic in any aspect, but you get all what you need: sprite rendering, movement, an introduction to game physics (the ball! )

Breakout (an advanced pong actually)
introducing a kind of level structure, but it pretty much works the same.

Tetris
Quite challenging on the logical side (managing rotations of your objects), moving the on a grid and stopping when they cannot move.

Pacman
Direct control of a character, first steps with ai.

Those are pretty much the first instructional games you could try realizing.
They will help you to get accustomed with the libraries you work with, get a feel on how to program, and show you problems you havent though you'd encounter before.

Feel free to ask any question on this board, we're usually pretty nice

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Great! Thanks a lot.

Just looking on some screenshots and whatnot of what you just linked, Flashpunk seems to be closest to the level of complexity I need for the first draft of my game. I loved how Unity looked too, but that's 3d and seems like a bit overkill for what I need right now.

Just to be clear, are you saying I should start with making Pong or Tetris game before I attempt making an RTS game? The textures and sprites in for example Flashpunk don't seem to complex and overall I think would be a good place for me to start. That is, if I'm going to make an RTS game to start with. If you recommend I try something simpler first I'll do just that, to see how difficult it is.

Thanks for the help once again.

Hi,

Yes, he is suggesting to start with stuff like Pong and Breakout.
You are going to have your hands full on learning the programming language. The simpler the game you are programming, the better.

It may seem stupid to start with these simple games, but you'll be surprised how many things are hidden under the surface.
The nice thing about them is that they are small games, you can make them in a short time.

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Since the most important here is learn the programming logic behind the games, I suggest you to begin with an easy graphic engine to make your games:

http://alleg.sourceforge.net/ (you can type in google "allegro binaries" to find the library already compiled and ready for use - it's actually a library which uses DirectX).

And... not always a breakout or pong are very simple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDrLQhV-v0U

Well, any doubt you can post here. Welcome to the GPWiki.

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My WebBlog: PixelDeveloper
English is not my native language, so excuse me for any writing mistakes.

Alberth and Felipe are right, even "simple" games can have alot going on under the hood and sometimes require some clever logic to implement.
That being said, once you get basic game logic down, I'd reccomend a language like C#.. Easy to learn, very powerfull, takes care of alot of low level stuff for you (Memory management, etc).. and it works with XNA Game Studio, which is a great tool from Microsoft for creating games. Handles graphics, sound, input.. that sortof thing.

Just my 0.02

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