Where do I go from here?

/prog/, I recently got my AS in Computer Programming and I'm looking for something to do. I realize that in a 2-year college, I couldn't learn a whole lot beyond the basics, so I want to expand my knowledge and work on some big projects for my portfolio. The only problem is I can't think of anything to work on. People keep telling me to think of a problem relevant to me and try to solve it, but I can't really think of any that I can work on with my current knowledge.

So I guess what I'm asking is... where should I go from here? I've got limited experience with graphics in Java, no experience with graphics in C++, and not much else. So I think I want to start with graphics, perhaps with a couple easy games. I already started working on a Pong game, and I have plans to convert my Knight's Tour and Tic-Tac-Toe games to graphical games, but these games don't really give me any idea of how bigger games are structured.

For example... in a game like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, or similar RPGs... how do you handle levels? I can think of how games like Pong work because the main loop is extremely basic... but I can't imagine how the main game loop and levels would be handled in a game like Zelda.

I've tried looking for books on game programming in both C++ and Java, but what I've found is that a lot of the books are extremely inaccurate, with code that doesn't even work, and with coding practices that are disgusting to look at. Not to mention that all of these books are several years old, and some of the technologies used are deprecated.

I'm not really planning on going into game development, but since games utilize a lot of different skills at once, and they're entertaining to code, I thought they would be a good place to start. What I want to do for a career in the long-run is artificial intelligence.

So, /prog/... where should I start? I'd really like some book recommendations if anyone knows of any I've overlooked.

http://code.google.com/p/progame/

Check this out. Study it. Learn how everything works together. It's not complete, but you should be able to pick something up from it.

Its called autism spectrum disorders now, not aspergers.

There's a whole lot of programming that has little to do with graphics (even in game development). And you also said you didn't want to be a game programmer.

Skip graphics all together, and re-implement a couple of common command line tools. Try to make sort with different algorithms (quicksort/mergesort) and input allocation schemes (realloc, mmap). Make it sort in parallell. Make a limited grep or sed. Or maybe a file compressor that can be used as a filter.

There's much that goes into even the simplest programs.

If you're an inexperienced programmer, stay out of games or simulations. It'll twist your view of how programs in general should be structured.

The key to all real-time games like Zelda or RPGs or FPSs is event-driven programming. Instead of a loop handling each object in a fixed sequence like Pong, the loop receives messages and calls methods/functions on each object affected by the message. These same messages can be transmitted over IP packets so multiplayer and single player share the same core engine. Even the original Super Mario Bros. used event-driven programming based on interrupts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event-driven_programming

>>3
Asperger's disorder is an autism spectrum disorder. They just lumped them under the same umbrella in DSM-5 because there was too much bickering about what constitutes autism:
http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=94
The criteria are pretty similar, so most people currently diagnosed with Asperger's disorder will be considered to have autism spectrum disorder once DSM-5 is published some time in 2013. Don't buy into the FUD that Asperger's disorder will no longer be "recognized", the media have been misinformed or misunderstood.

I'm not inexperienced. I've been doing this for a few years now. I didn't want to give the impression that I've just barely learned control structures and barely know anything about object-oriented programming. I called it "the basics" because it's only the bare features of the respective languages.

Also, I did say I don't want to be a game programmer, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to make a game on my own. I'm just trying to think of a game that would teach me a lot, as well as give me some experience working on big projects.

Among the projects on my GitHub page are a Linked List header, a text-based Tic-Tac-Toe game, a text-based Knight's Tour game, and the beginnings of a Pong game.

Also, I WANT to do graphics because, though this may sound a bit cliche, I am getting tired of writing only command-line programs. I would like to do something graphical for once, even if it's just a form GUI.

Also, what's with all the posts about ass-burgers?

Also, what's with all the posts about ass-burgers?
It's not a disease anymore. The Jews psychologists who wrote the DSM-5 reclassified it.

And what exactly does that have to do with my topic?

>>10
Well you said you have AS.

>>11

<sigh>

>>12
You forgot to close your tag buddy.

So can anyone recommend me some books to read?

>>6
No they don't. Screen rendering is a loop

>>15
the event processor would be implemented in some sort of loop, or thread.

>>1
Obviously you need to get a job. And you won't have to worry about what to program because they'll tell you. It's worth much to be able to say you actually have been employed as a programmer than to show some toy projects.

>>15
Instead of a loop handling each object in a fixed sequence like Pong, the loop receives messages and calls methods/functions on each object affected by the message.
Learn to read, motherfucker.