Anyone want to start Writing/Making a Video Game??

[EdenMaster]

But...laziness is so much easier!

[-iLluSiON-]

How about a Flash Cartoon then?

[EdenMaster]

We've been kicking around the idea of adapting our old Shiggy images into a Flash animation, but it never came together...because...

*laziness takes over, unable to type further*

[Laser Link]

Programming is easy. Any first semester can write hello world. Any CS grad should be able to write a compiler (with proper training and time). Writing a game is a tad bit different. It's not like C++ comes with a bunch of libraries you can call to simulate physics. C++ doesn't even come with graphics code.

You can use Open GL or DirectX, but both of these are extremely gigantic graphics libraries that use completely different programming concepts from anything you'll learn in school. Once you understand the syntax of how these libraries work, you need to understand how the computer does graphics. If you are doing 3D, get ready for a bunch of linear algebra with matrix operations.

After you master graphics, we gotta start talking about algorithms. Even the simplest games require you to make good algorithm decisions. For example, Tetris uses collision detection. How will you figure out which blocks are touching and when you have filled a line? It's not as easy as it sounds.

And even for the people who are really good at all this stuff, it still takes a whole lot of time. Like years for a team of 5-6 programmers working 50-60 hours a week. So yeah, writing code is easy. The hard part is figuring out wha tyou actually want to write. Programming a game is an advanced form of software engineering, and it's not easy.

[-iLluSiON-]

Then I'll ask other programmers I know. I'm pretty sure I have a friend who has written codes/engines for games before. He was in the business.

[A Black Falcon]

OB1 and his friend were making a game... I seem to remember you at some point you'd do music for them, but then you dissapeared for like a year.

[Laser Link]

I wrote a 3D F-Zero clone from scratch using OpenGL for school. I spent about 200 hours on it over the semester. It is playable, but very ugly, has a low frame rate, 1 hard coded track, and a car made from approxiamtely 50 polys. To really make a decent game, I'd have to start over because I did just about everything wrong even though it seemed like the best idea at the time. :) If you have a friend who is in teh game development business, he has probably learned a lot of the tricks that really hinder development and could probably put together something nice for you.

I really want to spend some good time with engines likek OGRE or Crystal Space, because you can get into making content rather quickly instead of spending days writing your camera functions...

[Darunia]

Approximate chances of this project ever getting off the ground:

1 in 9.292237 ludijillionex.

[Darunia]

Approximate chances of this project ever getting off the ground:

1 in 9.292237 ludijillionex.

For those of you who aren't familiar with advanced mathematics, ludijillionex is the number ONE followed by a GIGGLEFLOP of ZEROS.

[Great Rumbler]

OB1 and his friend were making a game...

ARE making a game actually. It's nearly finished.

[-iLluSiON-]

do they still need music??

[A Black Falcon]

ARE making a game actually. It's nearly finished.

The early version was fun, if frusterating in parts, I'm interested to see how it's coming along...

[EdenMaster]

Tell me that isn't OB1s toaster...

[A Black Falcon]

Sure looks like it... themed levels? :)

[Great Rumbler]

do they still need music??

I imagine they've probably made or found their own music by now.

Tell me that isn't OB1s toaster...

Sorry, but it is.

[A Black Falcon]

Samurai Toaster? :)

[Great Rumbler]

Yep.