Got time for a n00b?
by Andrew Mayer · in Technical Issues · 03/21/2003 (1:17 pm) · 3 replies
I just bought the Torque engine and I am pretty excited about the possibilities I see in it. I have been developing a game treatment for the past year or so, and I have been unable to drum up enough free work to get it off the ground. So, I decided to take the plunge and do it myself. My C++ skills are marginal, although I am taking an advanced class this quarter, so I should be fairly competent in beginner terms soon. My game plan, on the other hand, is not a weak point, so I am too excited about the idea to wait for developers anymore.
Here's the deal though... I am a total, total n00b when it comes to game programming. Actually, make that any software programming. I am a good programmer, but I have pretty much focused on web-related code for my entire career. So, I am not asking anyone on this forum to lay out all the steps I need to take to get my massive game project rolling, but if you guys have any tutorials or resources (I'll pay any and all subscription fees), I would greatly appreciate it. Any tutorials on how to get started would be very valued.
Just learning how to use torque to get a red box (character) to walk around a big landscape box in 3rd person view with a few objects (trees, rocks) is enough to get me started, but, as I said, I am so nub, even that is a closed book to me.
I am looking at creating a free game throughout its beta stages (a la Counter-Strike).
Here's the deal though... I am a total, total n00b when it comes to game programming. Actually, make that any software programming. I am a good programmer, but I have pretty much focused on web-related code for my entire career. So, I am not asking anyone on this forum to lay out all the steps I need to take to get my massive game project rolling, but if you guys have any tutorials or resources (I'll pay any and all subscription fees), I would greatly appreciate it. Any tutorials on how to get started would be very valued.
Just learning how to use torque to get a red box (character) to walk around a big landscape box in 3rd person view with a few objects (trees, rocks) is enough to get me started, but, as I said, I am so nub, even that is a closed book to me.
I am looking at creating a free game throughout its beta stages (a la Counter-Strike).
#2
[http://www.actionrpg.com/]
In addition to this, I have no doubts that by learning Java & Oracle & (ad infinitum) that you will become a more versed programmer, more adept at your craft thus making your skills highly marketable to developers/publishers. Kinda cliche, I know, but what can I say.
03/21/2003 (4:33 pm)
On the topic of learning multiple languages, I have it on good authority that Python is a good language to learn and incorporate with Torque. This information comes from reading many threads written by Joshua Ritter. His website can be found at[http://www.actionrpg.com/]
In addition to this, I have no doubts that by learning Java & Oracle & (ad infinitum) that you will become a more versed programmer, more adept at your craft thus making your skills highly marketable to developers/publishers. Kinda cliche, I know, but what can I say.
#3
Read. The more the better. Not just any books, the kinds of books that show up on the "Book" resource panel over on the right.
Some favorites:
Code Complete (Do yourself a huge favor, read it. Pretty much anything by McConnel is worth its weight in gold)
Effective C++/More Effective C++
Design Patterns
There are really 3 different types of books out there. General programming theory (algorythms, engineering processes, etc), language books (), and area books (sound programming, HTTP programming, whatever). All three types can be further devided into "tutorial" and "reference", though many books do both.
I recommend that you get quite a few of each type.
04/24/2003 (8:09 am)
My take on becoming a better programmer (no, I haven't done any games, but theres many 10s of thousands of lines of code out there that all call me "daddy"):Read. The more the better. Not just any books, the kinds of books that show up on the "Book" resource panel over on the right.
Some favorites:
Code Complete (Do yourself a huge favor, read it. Pretty much anything by McConnel is worth its weight in gold)
Effective C++/More Effective C++
Design Patterns
There are really 3 different types of books out there. General programming theory (algorythms, engineering processes, etc), language books (
I recommend that you get quite a few of each type.
Steve Fletcher
I can't really tell you anything about Torque, because I use Java nowadays.
The MOST important thing I can tell you is that you can NOT just churn some huge game first. I tried that back in my younger days. It didn't work - I had enough trouble getting stuff to be drawn on the screen. It was until I made a little, junky puzzle game (which I can't find anymore) that I figured out how to program games pretty well.
I did alot of things wrong, but it still worked because the game was just that easy. From the mistakes I made then, I eventually worked my way up to my current programming "excellence" (I use the term excellence loosely). I'm no Sid Meier, but I can actually make a reasonably good game given enough time.
Also, you should try to bone up on general programming knowledge as well. Alot of the general algorithms you learn in classes and such will turn out to be useful later - a tweak here and a tweak there and they'll turn into things that you need in your games.
Learning multiple programming languages helps too. I think it's something about how you have to see programming in different ways when you use different languages.
- Steve Fletcher