I want to make games, where should I start?

[yougetagoldstar]

I recently made a post about making a game similiar to Legend of Mana.

I started reading two c++ books that aimed at making games, but after skipping a head a few chapters, I realized that they seem to only use creating simple games (that aren't really games) as merely examples to explain features in C++ that might be used in a small part of a game.

I was wondering if anyone knows any book or website that can actually show me how to make a real game from start to finish. I ask because I have no idea where to start. I'm looking for a tutorial or something that will lead me to making an actual visual game.. I'm assuming it will lead me to visual c++. I am a beginner with very little knowledge about. Any information will help me out.

[TrulyRazor]

I would recommend you read the books you have.

You can't dive into instantly making a game with a GUI. You need to learn how to accumulate a lot of things together to make a game, and that's what those books are trying to show you.

Have some patience, and eventually you will be able to make a game.

[3qX21hU5]

As TrulyRazor was saying in every field you must start out learning the basics(Learning C++ Basics) before you can jump into the hard stuff (Making Games). Games are actually some of the hardest programs to make when it comes to programming. They require you to have a pretty good understanding of the core language and then some.

So first you are going to need to learn the basics before you can learn games programming. The basics should only take you about a year to get a good enough grasp on that you should have no problem learning a graphics library. Once you are ready to learn a graphics library I would recommend checking out SFML which is a great beginner library to start out with.

But the bottom line is it will take hard work and dedication to learn how to make games. It won't just happen over night either it usually takes people years to learn how to make a game and much longer to learn how to make a good game and actually finish it.


Here is a very simple checklist of things you should learn before getting into games programming (There is much I have left out probably).

~ Learn C++ Basics like Variables, Control Structures, Functions, Classes, Casting, ect.

~ Learn C++ Advanced Topics like inheritance, polymorphism, templates, the standard template library, and all them goodies.

~ Make sure you are familiar with maths like basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trig, psychics, and whatever. Basic math should be ok for simple stuff but you will need advanced maths if you are planning 3D or advanced features.

~ Learn basic programming design patterns.

~ And most of all complete a few projects. It is very easy to know about the concepts of programming but it is a whole different story to be actually able to use them concepts to make a real life program that solves a problem. So go out there and code a bunch of programs.

[yougetagoldstar]

Thanks for these responses.