I started learning with a C++ "game programming" tutorial which really taught the basics of programming, and very little gamedev-specific stuff. Then I learned C# with XNA, and have been programming in multiple languages since then.
I'm not planning to make a game anytime soon since now I realize how much work that takes, but I definitely haven't given up on programming in general.
I've learnt programming while making a game. A lot of work but not rocket science, unless players shoot rockets.
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Anonymous2012-03-12 22:46
>>5
I shouldn't have to explain this. The skill sets required to make a game include but are not limited to:
-physics
-algebra
-art
-music
-design
-programming
It takes years to get good at any of the aforementioned things. Mastering C++ alone will take many tears, lube and tissue.
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Anonymous2012-03-12 22:55
>>8
don't forget math, and computation methods for simulations, and artificial intelligence, and graphics programming, and algorithms and data structures for graphics.
and oh yeah, designing games that are actually fun to play.
Results will be better and come faster if you work in a group of people with diverse backgrounds.
As far as I know only one man has succeeded at making an indie game with good art, music, storytelling and gameplay and that was Cave Story's developer. That's about it[1].
Anyone who makes the argument that making games is easy, I'd love for them to explain why katawa shoujo is the only well known game to come from 4chan, and it's not even a game, it's a visual novel.
[1] Citation note: Touhou's art is shit. Minecraft doesn't have music. Western indie games suck ass so don't even try to fact check my post.
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Anonymous2012-03-12 23:00
start making dinky console games with python imo
python is useful for lots of stuff if you end up not liking game development
and you will write much better c++ by thinking in the abstractions provided by python, and then translating to c++ as you go
>>9
Also, programming. Yes some games require actual programming
to be made
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Anonymous2012-03-12 23:10
I call bullshit on anyone offering advice in this thread. I doubt anyone on /prog/ has created a good game. Prove it's possible then give advice. Show me a good indie game and I'll show you a person who can write, draw, program and compose music. People with all those skills don't exist. Such a person would be fantastic if they could exist.
>>2
Maybe if you're working in a team, but making a game by yourself is hard. Much harder than coding a website or app.
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Anonymous2012-03-12 23:15
I started just because I really wanted to know how a computer worked. What makes the stuff on the screen appear the way it does? I attempted a text based game in C++ and ran into an infinite loop by the third room, and since I didn't really care about game programming I gave up.
Realistically - making the entirety of a current gen game by yourself is impossible. For /prog/ dwellers we would most likely stick to writing the physics engine or the NPC AI - neither of which are "hard."
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Anonymous2012-03-12 23:28
>>15
>current gen game
Not even the current gen. Making a game of Sonic the Hedgehog's quality by yourself would be hard. Could you see yourself doing the art, music and programming all by yourself? Doubt it.
>>16
I'm satisfied with just an engine. I wouldn't care if sonic the hedge hog was just a blue rectangle on a black background. I'd prolly procedurally generate the levels and shit so I wouldn't have to make them, and also have an element of surprise for gameplay for myself.
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Anonymous2012-03-14 13:13
I started learning programming and network security at university because I'm a paranoid tinfoil hat-wearing faggot
I did. But I ceased because I found more interesting things than games.
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Anonymous2012-03-14 14:22
i am working on a few games at the moment, a couple of 2D scrollers and a weird 3D thing. it is definitely the most challenging work i have done, but a huge amount of the work is getting artists to do their job in a timely fashion.
i would not say it is possible to make anything decent in a 1 man team really. i wish there were more artists about, they always seem to be the weak link.