Could someone sort of outline the steps that will lead me to making fully functional visual games?

[yougetagoldstar]

Before someone says, "you have to learn the basics," I totally agree. To me there's no other way to learn this language than to start from the bottom. In fact for years I've started tutorials only to get headaches from all the terminology and symbols and quit, but recently something just clicked and all the variables and functions just started to make sense. I've never kept at c++ for as long as I have lately.

But it will definitely boost my moral if I know that I'm headed in the right direction to make my dream a reality.

Could someone pretty much tell me the steps I need to take, the direction I need to go that will lead me to making games? Right now my goal is to make a game like Legend of Mana. And perhaps later on 3d games.. though that seems far far off.

I heard that in order to make a game like this I'll have to use visual C++. Will the tutorials on this website lead me to Vis. C++?

Starting from the basics: variables, strings, bools and whatnot, where do you go from there that will lead you to seeing your game before your eyes?

If someone could put it this way: **Learn this** --- **Then this** --- **Then this** --- **Start making a visual game by doing this and this** -- **Learn this** -- **And this** --- **Promised land \*o*/ **

It would help shed light on things. I know that there's lots to know about graphics and things, like Open GL and Direct X (I don't know much about them, since I've only been a player of games and not a developer), but whatever you can tell me I'd appreciate. I'd just like to think, okay, I need to do B and C to get to D, and this is exactly how to get to D.

-Game Screenshot-
http://i.imgur.com/BTEm4ij.jpg

[Fransje]

I heard that in order to make a game like this I'll have to use visual C++.

That's not true. You can develop games in any IDE you like. But Visual Studio is a good one.

I would go like this:
- Buy a good book on C++ targeted on beginners. You can also read a good tutorial: http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/ and http://www.learncpp.com/ for example are good ones, but I would recommend a book. Once you're done doing this, you should have a good global understanding of C++. You should also write a lot of (simple) programs, experience is important
- Learn a 2d Graphics library; SFML is a really good one: http://sfml-dev.org/ and write some simple games with it.

By the time you're ready with that, you should be able to start with the game you want.

[Mats]

There are so many solutions to this and what is best depends on exactly what kind of games you intend to write. Start with the basics - Get some C++ books and learn how to use it. C++ is not necessary in fact, if you use a game engine, but it will help immensely if you know the basics of programming before you dive into using one. You then have several options, including:

Using a game engine to create the games (e.g. Unity, GameDevelop, UDK)
Using a 3rd party library to create the games (e.g. SFML, SDL, Allegro)
Create your own libraries to create the games (not recommended)

Exactly what game engine or which library to use is really quite an important choice. You will probably be able to better decide once you know some basic programming.

[metulburr]

i would say:
1) learn the basics, especially OOP, get comfortable with the language
2) After that, make a few console programs spending 1-3 months on each at least. While in this time learn the language more, learn algorithms, write your own classes for handling basic operations, rewrite some boost libraries in your own code, get familiar with the compiler errors, join some open source projects, etc.
3) jump into a 3rd party library. SFML for example. Delve 100% into it, read http://www.barnesandnoble.com/listing/2689802801350?r=1&cm_mmca2=pla&cm_mmc=GooglePLA-_-Book_25To44-_-Q000000633-_-2689802801350
4) write some games using that library

at that point you should be close to where you want to be. Communicate via forums when you have problems or dont understand. You can learn a lot just from reading thread after thread, post after post, skimming the forums.

by the way, after 3 years I am still on @2 just now going on #3. During #2, i got distracted by delving into a few other programming languages, making those smaller programs, GUI programs, web frameworks, network programming, etc.. My whole goal in starting to program in the first place was to make games.