Thread: I want to program a game, what do i need?

im getting fed up with calculaters and text adventures. i want to make an actual game in C++ and i dont know where to get started.

what do i need to learn. what do i need to do. what do i need to get???

do i need the DirectX SDK

Originally posted by DarkViper
i want to make an actual game in C++ and i dont know where to get started.

what do i need to learn. what do i need to do. what do i need to get???

You could give Allegro a try.
Have a look here, there was a recent thread about it

hey thanx everyone. i already have all the tools needed, ie a level editer, a model editer, a skinning tool and paihnt shop pro. so maybe ill work on that **** first.

again, thanx, and i dont want to learn allegro. i know too many and just want to learn C++.

WOW! then my classmates are dumb****s! they told me it was another language!

>>If you want to program a 3D game, like Half-Life

Wow... isn't that a little much?

>>Try Allegro, try SDL, try this, try that
Doesn't anybody know how to use plain 'ol Windows GDI? Why does everybody start right off doing Allegro/DirectX/OpenGL/crap? Sure, they do the job very well, but imho, people should also figure out how to do graphics w/out those (i.e. so that they can make SIMPLE progs that anybody can run with or without DirectX). GDI is, truthfully, quite slow. However, for the purposes of a simple 2d game, it is adequate - you can check out the link in my sig if you want.

Originally posted by Hunter2
>>If you want to program a 3D game, like Half-Life

Wow... isn't that a little much?

>>Try Allegro, try SDL, try this, try that
Doesn't anybody know how to use plain 'ol Windows GDI? Why does everybody start right off doing Allegro/DirectX/OpenGL/crap? Sure, they do the job very well, but imho, people should also figure out how to do graphics w/out those (i.e. so that they can make SIMPLE progs that anybody can run with or without DirectX). GDI is, truthfully, quite slow. However, for the purposes of a simple 2d game, it is adequate - you can check out the link in my sig if you want.

Every time you post that Windows GDI crap and I see it, I'm gonna post back and say that it isn't an option for everyone. SDL is cross-platform and works great. Probably Allegro is too, I don't know, I don't use it.

You've argued that no "professional companies" would use SDL or Allegro, and I've pointed out that you are obviously wrong, but let me ask you this: What kind of professional company would program a game in Windows GDI???

EDIT: You say "that anybody can run with or without DirectX..." Who, exactly, runs Windows without DirectX? Isn't that sorta... Stupid? Yes, I believe it is. I thought that Windows 98 and on had DirectX included? And either way, when you say "that anybody can run" you are excluding Mac, Linux, and BeOS users. Sure you may not care, but some people might.

What kind of professional company would program a game in Windows GDI???

None. But they might program something that isn't graphics intensive with it.

And true, it isn't cross-platform. But the thing is, GDI is never even mentioned. Why not? For those who use Windows, it is an option.

And yes, everybody has DirectX (or whatever you said). True, DirectX is superior; but not everybody asking what graphics stuff to use is that advanced yet. A lot of people are just trying to make a ball show up on the screen or something; with DirectX, that'll take about a month to achieve. With GDI? Say, probably a week max.

The windows GDI API is fairly ugly (less abstracted than allegro or SDL), it's non-portable, and it's slow (no hardware acceleration). So if you can get those 3 other benefits for a small download, why not?

*sigh* okay, but I thought it might be useful knowledge to have, considering the fact that M$ is trying to take over the world...

Wow, a month to make a ball show up with DirectX? Maybe you need a book or something...