Beginner Developer.............
by Brandon Lockridge · in General Discussion · 10/06/2004 (5:13 pm) · 7 replies
Ok well i am very interested in being a Game Designer/Developer and will be going to school for it after this last year of high school well...
How can i start now? I dont have the best computer...... so how can i start learning how to do some basic programming, What should i get? What are the best sites to go to? Just anything that i can start learning the basics then gradually move up.
How can i start now? I dont have the best computer...... so how can i start learning how to do some basic programming, What should i get? What are the best sites to go to? Just anything that i can start learning the basics then gradually move up.
#2
A great start to programming I've found is the DeMystified series of programming books. If you want to get into game design, then C++ is the way to go, so start with C++ DeMystified, then grab OOP Demystified (OOP = Object Oriented Programing).
To "compile" (or build a program so a computer knows what you want it to do.. basically translating your instructions), you need a compiler. If money is not a problem, I reccommend either buying Microsoft Visual C++ or, if you have money and you (like me) are not a fan of Microsoft, grab an Apple computer (dosen't even have to be a high-end one...), as it comes with a free IDE (Integrated Development Environment, or what you program in) which also has a built-in compiler, and that whole program is called "XCode".
Most importantly (and this is not a pitch as I still need to buy it myself...) buy Torque! And if you can't afford that, once you are comfortable with programming, check out the web site:
http://www.liberatedgames.com/
They contain a lot of games that have become open source, so you can take a peek under the hood.
Also, a lot of game companies these days want to see what you have done... and this is extremly important in terms of game mods. Once you're up to par on a certain skill (or even remotely good), find a game mod that a good team is doing on the internet and see if you can join up. One note on this, however, that for every 100 MOD's that are made, probably about 10 (if even) get finished, as people find it is much more difficult than they initial hope it will be (which makes the developers even more interested in the mod's that are not only completed, but also the ones that are of AAA quality!)
For schools, there's a bunch of good ones out there... The Guildhall in Texas (VERY intensive, but VERY good). There is where I am going, "The University of Advancing Computer Technologies". Most Art Institute schools across the country now have game dev courses (but I have no idea on their quality). Then there is also the highly advertised Full Sail, but I would not reccommend it as everyone I have talked to and everything I have read about it says it is a joke (some big business magazine, Forbes or Fortune 500, said it was the "Scam of the Year" a few years back, however many game companies DO look at people who went there.) Overall, all schools have their ups and downs... so make sure that you yourself ask around and talk to people that went to / are going to a school rather than listen to what I have to say, as the only one I can really talk about is the UAT (and if you want to get into detail about the UAT, e-mail me through my GarageGames profile).
Phew... that's about all I can think about for now, but I'm sure many other people here on Garage Games will be filling in what I missed. Joining Garage Games was probably the best thing you could have done... the people here are, for the most part, great people, fun, and more than willing to help out someone with less than no experience. =)
Welcome to the garage, and welcome to the industry! =)
-Dave Calabrese
21-6 Productions
10/06/2004 (6:07 pm)
You don't need a good computer to learn how to program. Heck, people started programming even before the 386! =)A great start to programming I've found is the DeMystified series of programming books. If you want to get into game design, then C++ is the way to go, so start with C++ DeMystified, then grab OOP Demystified (OOP = Object Oriented Programing).
To "compile" (or build a program so a computer knows what you want it to do.. basically translating your instructions), you need a compiler. If money is not a problem, I reccommend either buying Microsoft Visual C++ or, if you have money and you (like me) are not a fan of Microsoft, grab an Apple computer (dosen't even have to be a high-end one...), as it comes with a free IDE (Integrated Development Environment, or what you program in) which also has a built-in compiler, and that whole program is called "XCode".
Most importantly (and this is not a pitch as I still need to buy it myself...) buy Torque! And if you can't afford that, once you are comfortable with programming, check out the web site:
http://www.liberatedgames.com/
They contain a lot of games that have become open source, so you can take a peek under the hood.
Also, a lot of game companies these days want to see what you have done... and this is extremly important in terms of game mods. Once you're up to par on a certain skill (or even remotely good), find a game mod that a good team is doing on the internet and see if you can join up. One note on this, however, that for every 100 MOD's that are made, probably about 10 (if even) get finished, as people find it is much more difficult than they initial hope it will be (which makes the developers even more interested in the mod's that are not only completed, but also the ones that are of AAA quality!)
For schools, there's a bunch of good ones out there... The Guildhall in Texas (VERY intensive, but VERY good). There is where I am going, "The University of Advancing Computer Technologies". Most Art Institute schools across the country now have game dev courses (but I have no idea on their quality). Then there is also the highly advertised Full Sail, but I would not reccommend it as everyone I have talked to and everything I have read about it says it is a joke (some big business magazine, Forbes or Fortune 500, said it was the "Scam of the Year" a few years back, however many game companies DO look at people who went there.) Overall, all schools have their ups and downs... so make sure that you yourself ask around and talk to people that went to / are going to a school rather than listen to what I have to say, as the only one I can really talk about is the UAT (and if you want to get into detail about the UAT, e-mail me through my GarageGames profile).
Phew... that's about all I can think about for now, but I'm sure many other people here on Garage Games will be filling in what I missed. Joining Garage Games was probably the best thing you could have done... the people here are, for the most part, great people, fun, and more than willing to help out someone with less than no experience. =)
Welcome to the garage, and welcome to the industry! =)
-Dave Calabrese
21-6 Productions
#3
10/06/2004 (6:16 pm)
Could Some one send me a link to get these books?
#4
Models? Blender. Free.
Compiling? GCC. Free.
IDE? KDevelop. Free.
Linux? Lots of them. Free.
Only thing that wouldn't be free would be Torque.
10/06/2004 (7:46 pm)
If you want to dabble, and have a "decent" system, then install Linux, and get Torque. Besides, if you want to learn to program, then you'll most likely get into C++ (as mentioned above) and you can get everything on Linux for free (can always get a better system (PowerMac!) later).Models? Blender. Free.
Compiling? GCC. Free.
IDE? KDevelop. Free.
Linux? Lots of them. Free.
Only thing that wouldn't be free would be Torque.
#5
10/06/2004 (8:05 pm)
Hey, I was trying to check out GCC before, but I got a little lost on where exactly to start to compile it... think you could either point me in the right direction there, or in the direction for a Windows and Mac binaries?
#6
To get the Mac version, you can build in one of two ways:
1. Launch Xcode and open the torque/pb/torque_pb_2_1.pbproj project.
2. Open a Terminal and cd to torque/pb and hit "xcodebuild".
From there, you'll need to copy the resulting .app to the example dir (or adjust the project settings first to place the .app after it's built).
Both of the steps above will create the Debug version. It's simple to change it to production.
10/06/2004 (8:36 pm)
I only do Mac for now. I'm planning on getting a new Windows box, and I haven't touched the Linux version (yet).To get the Mac version, you can build in one of two ways:
1. Launch Xcode and open the torque/pb/torque_pb_2_1.pbproj project.
2. Open a Terminal and cd to torque/pb and hit "xcodebuild".
From there, you'll need to copy the resulting .app to the example dir (or adjust the project settings first to place the .app after it's built).
Both of the steps above will create the Debug version. It's simple to change it to production.
#7
Microsoft Press Release
3D Game Programming All In One
This one I haven't bought, but it may be of interest.
10/06/2004 (9:02 pm)
The book links:Microsoft Press Release
3D Game Programming All In One
This one I haven't bought, but it may be of interest.
Torque Owner James A. Burke