[GalionKnight]

I am looking for a beginner group of game developers that is willing to accept someone of my age(13). I became interested in Programming, modeling, and animation and I think joining a group of people willing to help a beginner get around would be very good for me. I am mainly interested in C++ or C#. I am willing to try most languages no matter how tough it is. I do have many years to go through anyways . Also, sorry if this is wrong section. I have a MSN, Skype, and Xfire if anybody is wondering.

[ButchDean]

You need to be able to code well in C++ or C# to be useful to any game dev team. As you are aware you have many years to learn. I suggest you spend these years becoming a good programmer before you even think about games.

[GalionKnight]

You just made me think like crazy. But yah, your right. I just noticed I was placing a bunch of large projects infront of myself. I should concentrate more on learning. Can a mod of somebody close this thread for me?

[aaron1178]

Mods dont close topics that often but i 2 am a new game programmer. My gaming studios; Dark Rising Studios is new to the field. But we are making progress with our first and latest production. A bit of useless facts but game programming is a hard field haha but good luck,

Thanks,
Aaron1178

[milleja46]

Yeah if i were you i'd drop the game idea(learned this from personal experience) and work on small projects(ie a simple text editor) working up to big projects(ie video editor or something else maybe) then after working on stuff like that you can think about a small game

[Vip3rousmango]

Hey GalionKnight,

Don't fret just yet! You can still do game design with having some of the core aspects and major programming already taken care for you. Learning a scripting language, along with learning how to do some graphic design and content writing for a creative story would be involved but if you wanted to get your feet wet into game development then I highly recommend checking out:

------>>> RPG Maker <<<------

Their are many other game maker type software's and editors, but this one is my favourite.

If you're serious you can give the 30-day trial a go and see if it's right for you. Their is a lot of time, money, effort and pure work that goes into making an awesome game. I'm not too sure what style/type of game you were looking to design but I've always been a fan of RPG so I thought I'd just throw something out their.

I've included a getting started guide (RPG Maker VX) which should help answer any starting questions you have about the program.

If you don't like the pre-made sprites (What's a sprite?) you can download pre-made sprite packs of your favourite game characters to use in your games (as long as you don't take credit for work you didn't make AND charge money for your game) it ok to use.

If you feel like the task is overwhelming their are always places to look for help and resources online to follow and guide you along, espeically with the RPG Maker community.

Hope this helps you along your path to making an awesome game, and please post it so we can try it out when your done!

Eventually, the idea is you get so good at creating games you can make your own epic quests, or become inspired to take it to the next level, learning game development for a console/PC platform!
Good luck!

[milleja46]

Vip don't give him ideas of game dev he's not ready, even i know that from personal experience. He needs to pick a language, learn it and learn it well, and work on small projects leading up to games. Which he won't be ready to make a game for a year or so if he listens correctly...(ps Python is a great starter language and almost any language can be used to make a game, you just have to find the proper libraries...but you're years away from making a game like i said) period end of story

This post has been edited by milleja46: 10 May 2011 - 08:19 AM

[chuckb]

GalionKnight,

I taught three of my sons to program when they were 12/13. One son built a cool game when he was 15. They all focused on smaller programs besides the game. It required about 200 hours of his time. It was written in QuickBasic at the time. He also created his own artwork and music (MIDI format). So you can create simple games.

The important thing is you have a desire to do this. I can state for the record that building 2D/3D games in C++/DirectX, incorporating physics, particle effects, designing levels, create art/sound/music is extremely hard to do by yourself. You need a calling and a few damaged brain cells to take that on. However that is where teams prevail.

You can learn to make console (I mean DOS like window) games in C++. They can be very simple or very complex. It's a great way to learn coding and game development. Here's one I did recently. Tetris-like Console Game

If you can ignore the 'oo-ah' of great visual effects, then you can focus on the game engine (non-rendering bit). Stuff like loading/saving assets, reading game level files, managing game states, responding to mouse and keyboard events, timers, basic physics, etc.

Another possibility is learning to create 2D art assets, or 3D models. You can spend the summer learning to do this. If you enjoy it and are good then there are several indie developers building non-commercial games that could use your help. It's best to approach them with a 'portfolio' of artwork and some realistic idea of how much time you could devote to the project when you are not in school.

Best of luck and don't give up.

Regards,
Chuck

[thephpdev]

I am also rather young (14) but i've been programming for 2-3 years now. If you want to make games, then try Tic-Tac-Toe or Battleship.

[RandomlyKnighted]

My advice is this: Start with a good OOP language such as Java. Learn the basics: Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Inheritance. Once you have a really good understanding of all this try a project from Martyr2's Mega Project List or try one of Dogstopper's Java Game Tutorials such as his Tic Tac Toe tutorial found here.