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Question at your disposal
Good evening friends
I want to start programming a computer game in the first person
Where should I start?
Mean me please
I want to start programming a computer game in the first person
Where should I start?
Mean me please
That's a very general question. Can you be more specific ?
What kind of game ?
What platform ?
What knowledge do you have about programming in general and in C++ ?
What kind of game ?
What platform ?
What knowledge do you have about programming in general and in C++ ?
I intend to make a game of sea trading in the style of the game
hias seas trader
To PC
I have no knowledge of programming so I turned to you to direct me with what to start with?
hias seas trader
To PC
I have no knowledge of programming so I turned to you to direct me with what to start with?
You start by learning the basics and then adding to that.
Start by reading a short overview of what programming is and how things work, ignoring language.
C++ is a challenging language, and on top of that you will need to add graphics, sound, I.O, and UI elements.
You can learn the basics at https://www.learncpp.com/
but be prepared to spend a lot of time writing simple console programs at first.
Once you have worked through that site, then you will need to start making decisions on how you will do the graphics and windowing and such.
While you are learning though, you can refine your requirements. For example, what will be in the first person? Most of the popular sea trading games are mostly 2-d, where you control shipping and production and such from a map of the area, with occasional combat (pirates?) in some of them which may or may not be in 3-d or first/third person. As you imagine yourself playing this game, what do you do, what does it look like, .. what parts are first person, what parts are on a map or other interface, ... when is it set? Are you the ship captain or do you have many ships? Write it all down so you can have requirements and a solid idea of what you want to do later. Maybe even play some of the classics if you have not.
Start by reading a short overview of what programming is and how things work, ignoring language.
C++ is a challenging language, and on top of that you will need to add graphics, sound, I.O, and UI elements.
You can learn the basics at https://www.learncpp.com/
but be prepared to spend a lot of time writing simple console programs at first.
Once you have worked through that site, then you will need to start making decisions on how you will do the graphics and windowing and such.
While you are learning though, you can refine your requirements. For example, what will be in the first person? Most of the popular sea trading games are mostly 2-d, where you control shipping and production and such from a map of the area, with occasional combat (pirates?) in some of them which may or may not be in 3-d or first/third person. As you imagine yourself playing this game, what do you do, what does it look like, .. what parts are first person, what parts are on a map or other interface, ... when is it set? Are you the ship captain or do you have many ships? Write it all down so you can have requirements and a solid idea of what you want to do later. Maybe even play some of the classics if you have not.
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| C++ is a challenging language, and on top of that you will need to add graphics, sound, I.O, and UI elements. |
Absolutely true. It will take many month before you even can start your game.
Are you patient enough ?
Do you have to do it in C++ - would you maybe consider another language ?
For books, there's several on Amazon that teach C++ through game development. See:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=c%2B%2B+game&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=c%2B%2B+game&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
Amazon's US site has a slightly different offering of books at the start of the list.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=c%2B%2B+game&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
I have "C+++ Through Game Programming" in the Third Edition and it is decent for what it is about.
Programming a game doesn't necessarily take advantage of all C++ features available.
I would recommend the Third Edition, mostly because it is considerably cheaper than the Fourth Edition.
IIRC there is at least one algorithm used in the book's code that has been deprecated and removed from modern C++ standards, std::random_shuffle.
https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/algorithm/random_shuffle
I'd bet the Fourth Edition still uses it given the publication date of 2014.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=c%2B%2B+game&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
I have "C+++ Through Game Programming" in the Third Edition and it is decent for what it is about.
Programming a game doesn't necessarily take advantage of all C++ features available.
I would recommend the Third Edition, mostly because it is considerably cheaper than the Fourth Edition.
IIRC there is at least one algorithm used in the book's code that has been deprecated and removed from modern C++ standards, std::random_shuffle.
https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/algorithm/random_shuffle
I'd bet the Fourth Edition still uses it given the publication date of 2014.
You might find life much happier if you go mess with Godot: https://godotengine.org
High Seas Trader game? Looks like a version of Sid Meier's Pirates!
To do something that ambitious, with sound and graphics, would require learning more than programming, no matter what the language used to code the game.
It is doable, but the amount of time to learn all of it by yourself is a lot.
Using a premade game engine, as Duothomas suggests, would make it easier. You'd probably have to use custom graphics and sounds, if that is possible with Godot.
You'll have to decide what you really want to do. Learn to program in general, or use a game making framework app for quick results.
Doing graphical games aren't easily portable between operating systems. How Windows does graphics is different from a Mac or *nix.
A console-mode game on the other hand can be cross-platform with little to no modifications.
I personally would learn to program using C/C++ so as my coding skills grow I can create my own game engine/framework that can be used to create other games. Start out with console mode games. Learn how the OS does graphics and music/sound, Windows has extensive built-in support for that. Use the GUI framework to create simple 2D games.
Simply saying "I want to create a game" is far too general of a concept. You need to think and PLAN what you want to achieve. And list the steps needed to reach that goal.
There are reasons current video/computer games are created by teams of people, the days of one person creating a "killer app" game up to the standards of what gamers expect now are long past.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to learn. :)
To do something that ambitious, with sound and graphics, would require learning more than programming, no matter what the language used to code the game.
It is doable, but the amount of time to learn all of it by yourself is a lot.
Using a premade game engine, as Duothomas suggests, would make it easier. You'd probably have to use custom graphics and sounds, if that is possible with Godot.
You'll have to decide what you really want to do. Learn to program in general, or use a game making framework app for quick results.
Doing graphical games aren't easily portable between operating systems. How Windows does graphics is different from a Mac or *nix.
A console-mode game on the other hand can be cross-platform with little to no modifications.
I personally would learn to program using C/C++ so as my coding skills grow I can create my own game engine/framework that can be used to create other games. Start out with console mode games. Learn how the OS does graphics and music/sound, Windows has extensive built-in support for that. Use the GUI framework to create simple 2D games.
Simply saying "I want to create a game" is far too general of a concept. You need to think and PLAN what you want to achieve. And list the steps needed to reach that goal.
There are reasons current video/computer games are created by teams of people, the days of one person creating a "killer app" game up to the standards of what gamers expect now are long past.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to learn. :)
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| There are reasons current video/computer games are created by teams of people, the days of one person creating a "killer app" game up to the standards of what gamers expect now are long past. |
nah, the phone crowd will play *anything*. They eat up stuff that would have been embarrassing in 1990. There is also a weird 'new' generation of gamers that go for low graphics, simple stuff like minecraft or gauntlet.
I wouldn't expect to get rich off it but one guy can certainly make a browser game or phone game and pull in a solid chunk of change. Consider ye that idiotic 'wordle' craze.
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I guess I'm an outlier on this all since the concept of playing a game on a phone is anathema to me.
I was thinking of the first few Ultima games, and other early-early DOS games.
I do play solitaire on my tablets from time to time, I prefer to read a book, the version I play is definitely not remotely high-intensity graphical as most current PC games. But the game certainly looks better than what MS offered for solitaire originally with DOS or Windows.
I was thinking of the first few Ultima games, and other early-early DOS games.
I do play solitaire on my tablets from time to time, I prefer to read a book, the version I play is definitely not remotely high-intensity graphical as most current PC games. But the game certainly looks better than what MS offered for solitaire originally with DOS or Windows.
I don't have a cell phone. Its a racket -- a small % of the computing power on a small% of the screen for an unholy price per month on a device that tracks the location of your every fart. I don't have anything wireless at all, its too slow and has drop outs etc for my big rig & I don't need it for anything else. But, I can see how people who go outside or something can find uses :)
But I acknowledge that there is money to be made from the sheep, even if I never own one myself.
But I acknowledge that there is money to be made from the sheep, even if I never own one myself.
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Maybe OP should focus their efforts on learning to use Unity or something, which happily does the vast majority of the technical work involved in actually programming a game. This probably cuts the time needed to learn the prerequisites in two or more.
I suppose this depends on their ultimate goal.
They obviously have tutorials etc.
I suppose this depends on their ultimate goal.
They obviously have tutorials etc.
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Godot is a very friendly game engine that exports to just about everything, and quite a lot of it without touching code.
For the code end, though, it uses a very simplistic version of Python for its scripting language, but if you are inclined you can do everything in C or C++ and link that in instead.
I absolutely do not recommend trying to learn anything else first. If you want to program a game, start going at it. You just need to work your way through each step as you learn more and more. No sense dinking around with console stuff if your aim is a mobile game.
@jonnin
Many modern cell phones are full-fledged computer systems — you can hook them up to peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc) and use them like you would your PC. Here’s a decent overview (https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ways-turn-smartphone-into-pc/). Not bad for $700–800 to buy the thing outright. (Or $70, as the article suggests you can find for older Windows phones that know how to connect with your smart peripherals.)
For the code end, though, it uses a very simplistic version of Python for its scripting language, but if you are inclined you can do everything in C or C++ and link that in instead.
I absolutely do not recommend trying to learn anything else first. If you want to program a game, start going at it. You just need to work your way through each step as you learn more and more. No sense dinking around with console stuff if your aim is a mobile game.
@jonnin
Many modern cell phones are full-fledged computer systems — you can hook them up to peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc) and use them like you would your PC. Here’s a decent overview (https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ways-turn-smartphone-into-pc/). Not bad for $700–800 to buy the thing outright. (Or $70, as the article suggests you can find for older Windows phones that know how to connect with your smart peripherals.)
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