[Deygus]

I am looking to learn all I can about gaming, what would be a good place to start or where can i get help with learning them even if it's starting simple?

[no2pencil]

Knowing which OS & Platform would be a wonderful start

Also, have you had a chance to look over our Game Tutorials?

[Kilorn]

I'd suggest checking out programs like Game Maker. It's an awesome little tool for people who want to start learning to make games, and don't have any professional experience or training.

http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/

From there, if you want to do art, start learning about 3D modeling with programs like 3DS Max, Maya, Blender, etc.

If you want to become a programmer, start learning everything you can about the most popular languages. C++ is most used language for game programming, but it's a really low level language and I wouldn't suggest learning it first. I'd suggest learning something a bit simpler such as C#, Java, Visual Basic, etc. Once you have a good foundation of programming knowledge, you'll want to start learning about the different libraries that are already available for developing games. The XNA framework is an awesome place to start once you've got a decent grasp of object oriented programming, if you do want to learn about XNA, C# will be your language of choice. If you choose to go with C++, you'll want to look into libraries like SDL, OGRE3D, DarkGDK, etc.

The most important advice I can give, is don't give up. If you really want to learn to make games, it's going to be a difficult road at some points, but as long as you stick with it, and devote the time and effort, you'll get there.

[TaintedNobodies]

There are a few game engines that are available for free to make your own indie game. www.unity3d.com is a very good one to start out with. In my opinion its is one of the easiest to use, and also the UDK development kit is also available. unity uses either javascript, C#, or Boo. I use javascript myself, but there is a slight difference, because this javascript is what i call unity javascript because there are some variations to it then regular javascript. The nice thing about unity as well is it has a scripting manual containing all the different syntax you can use as well as a user guide to explain stuff like how to use animation, and how colliders work and so on. I would try downloading the free version and messing around with it. on unity's site they have some tutorials as well as look on youtube.com and type in infiniteammo inc and there is a guy that basically has been making games since he was 7 and has a whole line of tutorials.

[ghillieLEAD]

You should find someone who wants to learn with you so you can work on projects together, ask one another questions, and keep each other going.

[SixOfEleven]

That is great advice! When you are trying to make games, it is much easier if you have people to work with. Though, working on recreational projects as a team can be hard. It is hard to keep interest and work as a team. Just a small heads up there.

[eZACKe]

I feel like your question all depends on you.

What kind of programming abilities do you have? Have you been programming for a while and now are just deciding to venture into the world of making games? If so, perhaps something like XNA would be best for you. For XNA you'll need to know how to program, yet you don't need to be a programming master.

Do you not have any programming skills at all? Well then I wouldn't suggest jumping right into game programming yet. I'd start with the basics. Pick a language (I'd suggest Java, C++, or C# if you want to get into game programming eventually), read some tutorials, ask some questions on DIC, and build your skills! Once you've done that you could start thinking about making some games.

Just remember, start small! I can assure you the first game you make will not be a WOW-killer. Perhaps one day you could make a game like that, but that takes years and years of practice.

[v0rtex]

I suggest tinkering around with as Kilorn mentioned, gamemaker: http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/
to get an idea of perhaps level design and the such, Its totally your choice what programming language you want to start with, granted C++ can be difficult but with the correct research the low-level capabilities of it will start to make sense however going for something a bit more high-level but similiar in syntax such as C# is also a great idea!

C++ is the game programming standard so most likely eventually you will have to learn C++, furthermore I suggest for your first graphical game, do something simple or alternatively do a clone such as a clone of tetris, if you put in the effort, you will get there.


"Without labor nothing prospers"
~Sophocles

Hope I helped,
v0rtex

This post has been edited by v0rtex: 24 June 2010 - 01:58 AM

[Deygus]

Cool, thanks for all the tips everyone!

[NeoTifa]

Learn to program, start small, experiment, practice, then beg people to help.

[dablakpantha]

ghillieLEAD, on 21 June 2010 - 05:10 PM, said:

You should find someone who wants to learn with you so you can work on projects together, ask one another questions, and keep each other going.

I am in the same boat as him. This is a great point that you made. I will probably be looking for someone to tag team with to learn on small scale project. Thanks for the idea!

[Aivenn]

I did the same thing my self, I was having problems understanding a lot of code or coming up with original ideas so i teamed up with my brother and have made a bit more progress.