A general question... 2

[gonzilla]

Hello,

I am still pretty new to programming, but I have always had a great fascination for computers and how and what makes them work - it's in my blood. I am wondering just what it is I want to do when I graduate (CIS Degree from DeVry) in a year and a half.

I have always had an interest in game programming. What does it take to make it in that field? Does anybody know of any good books that might give me insight as to whether or not I would like to pursue it? I'm not even sure where to start or if it takes special skills and knowledge of certain languages. I have heard it is hard and not all that lucritive, but I have this nagging feeling it's what I want to do.


Any other feedback would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

-Tyler

;-) Note: I posted this in C++ becuase it seemed like the best place to start. Sorry if I have placed this in the wrong area.

 

[newbieatassembly]

Requirements:
Lot of hard work and patience as you rewrite a lot at the beginning.

A good knowledge of graphics and gaming in general is required. Also be ready to be criticised as to something is not good and don't try to please everyone.

Books : go to

http://www.gamedev.net

- somme good books are shown there.


Regarding lucrative : Nothings is unless you are good at it.

 

[woliwol]

Hi,

You absolutely need to learn C and C++ (caution, despite similarities, these are different languages). To my opinion knowing C is not a prerequisite to learn C++ (I learnt C++ first). But if you don't have a good knowledge of the general mechanisms of programming, you may find C easier to start with.

If you really want to understand how a processor is working in details, you need also to learn the assembly (or machine) language. It is really abstract, and hard to learn but knowing assembly will always be a plus, and especially (I guess) in game programming.

Woliwol

 

[newbieatassembly]

Assmebly is not a necessity but if you want to take advantage of MMX etc you need to know it.

You need to know pointers in and out, but start with cout << &quot;hello world&quot;; simpler and build on the basics.

Have a look at Windows Game programming for dummies and Trick of the Windows Game Programming gurus both by Andre Lamothe.

Will give you a start at least.

 

[TheInsider]

Knowledge of Assembly is very important... inline Assembler atleast. Game programming is all about speed and efficiency of code -- you are trying to render ~30-60 frames per second.

You'll want to learn DirectX and/or OpenGL the above books by Andre LaMothe are good starting points (for DirectX). Andre also has an older &quot;Black Art of 3-D Game Programming&quot; book. This is about DOS based VGA game programming but is probably the best starting point. DirectX does alot of high-level stuff for you but it's always good to know the lower-level stuff for learning purposes. You'll also want to get comfortable with math, physics... etc. i.e. Geometry and Algebra.

Finally, start working towards this goal a.s.a.p. You will need to create a portfolio of your own work -- it doesn't have to be full of professional projects, just game demos and code that you wrote yourself that you can show others. Almost every programming student I meet these days wants to be a game programmer. The companies want people with a good deal of experience, so it isn't easy to get your foot in the door. I have spoken with recruiters in the game industry and they say the best way to break in, is with a portfolio of your accomplishments.
Good Luck. Rob Marriott
rob@career-connections.net

 

[pranavjosh]

For Game programming try OpenGL which can be used on any
platform and try programming.Game programming is
real programming.It requires the understanding of assembly code, language like c++,algorithms, and also graphics.
Game Programming has came a long way and now they are using
artificial intellingence in programming.But u should
have patience and fire to really do games programming.
Start with openGL download free from web the header files.
Try the website

http://www.gamedev.com.Book

name OpenGL bible is also available.I just got introduced to games programming
and i have started just one month back.You can try

http://www.Planet-source-code.com

there u can find lot of games code freely available.