Looking for a new hobbie, the most easy programming language for writing games?
-
I'll second a vote for XNA (though just for Windows, not for XBox or the Windows Phone 7). That may require you to learn C# (though it's very similar to VB.Net). And if you buy a USB wireless XBox controller, that makes it even more fun. I implemented controller logic for the OmniSnake pseudo-game I started making. Was pretty fun.
I put a 3rd vote in for XNA there are so many how to videos, and such its easy to pick up and learn, heck for about 60 bucks you can grab a book at the store to walk you through about 3 games and get you a hands up on it. Depending on your flavor you can use XNA for the computer, for xbox 360 and a dumbed down version for Windows 7 phone. Key thing is its the same concept / language just different amounts of code libraries you have access to. Also for those tech people that don't read much WP7 coming to Verizon early next year, possibly as early as late Jan / Early Feb. Another possible option I have started picking up is Silverlight games, mainly for the cross platform option, and the web based hosting options. Same thing watch about 10 videos for about 1-2 hours worth of time and you can create everything from tetris to othello, from there you can start making your way into more compelling games. If you fall in love with it, there are a few physics and 3d code libraries available that will take your game to the next level. Heck with silverlight you can create basic games without writing a real line of code, if your tricky / use behaviors well. Behaviors are reactions that objects preform when basic interaction happens. IE on mouse enter do this, etc. There are a few other good options around as well, if your looking for a good drag and drop option there are a few good game engines as posted above as well.
-
Yeah I reckon it's safer to stick with the most popular providers then. Not that I've had bad service from ATT except in some really rural towns where I've lost 3G and sometimes even Edge.
Regards, Nish
My technology blog: voidnish.wordpress.com
They all have their share of dead spots. I've been with T-Mobile since '06 and have a couple of bad spots outside of town. Buddy of mine has AT&T and he also experiences a few. It goes with the territory.
Everybody SHUT UP until I finish my coffee...
-
I used to be a developer in VB [insert sarcastic note here!], and after a couple of years without coding, i feel my mind is getting slower. So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games, only to remember how good it felt to solve something and give some healthy work for my brain. I'm not thinking about fancy graphics and anything like that, just in learning the logic to implement some situations (turn by turn battles, etc.) Recommendations are welcome... :-D
Get a copy of never winter nights (the original, about $10 online). It allows you to script the actions of just about anything in the game (combat AI for example). The scripting langauge is like C, but I assume you are really more interested in the logic then the language.
-
I used to be a developer in VB [insert sarcastic note here!], and after a couple of years without coding, i feel my mind is getting slower. So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games, only to remember how good it felt to solve something and give some healthy work for my brain. I'm not thinking about fancy graphics and anything like that, just in learning the logic to implement some situations (turn by turn battles, etc.) Recommendations are welcome... :-D
Probably the best way to get started with games programming outside of XNA is by using the "Dark Basic" development environment, which can be found at the following address... http://www.thegamecreators.com/ This site has everything you need to develop entry level to medium level games. If you want to be more adventurous, go back to VB.NET with one of the Express Editions and use the excellent Torque-X development libraries, which can be found at http://www.torquepowered.com/products/torque-x Both tools are relatively inexpensive considering the power they offer. I have always wanted to develop a good war-game and have decided that the best approach is with the Torque-X library. It will take a bit of learning but it will most likely be a very satisfying challenge. I program professionally as a software engineer and have been doing so for many years. The US business world of Information Technology is definitely no longer worth the time and effort of competent developers so for those wanting to get into or back into development such as yourself; create something good and go out on your own.
Steve Naidamast Black Falcon Software, Inc. blackfalconsoftware@ix.netcom.com
-
I used to be a developer in VB [insert sarcastic note here!], and after a couple of years without coding, i feel my mind is getting slower. So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games, only to remember how good it felt to solve something and give some healthy work for my brain. I'm not thinking about fancy graphics and anything like that, just in learning the logic to implement some situations (turn by turn battles, etc.) Recommendations are welcome... :-D
There's a lot more to writing games than just what language you use. I recommend you find a group writing one and join them. That way you can focus on doing the parts you have the skills for and not the ones you don't (unless you want to learn some new skills). Look for a local game development users group, or maybe check with a local school that has a degree program in game development. Longshots both, but at least its a starting point. Or.. find a game engine that provides the kind of experience you want your users to play in and do your game in that. They all have some sort of scripting language you get to play with.. SCUMM or Adventure Game Studio (think early Monkey Island games), Unreal engine (think early Laura Croft games), etc.. Some are more primative than others, some are even free or with a reasonable (!) cost for a hobbiest. As others have mentioned, the phone stuff is popular now, and might fit into your career somehow too, so give it some serious consideration. Personally, I'm going to play with the javascript programming for the Wii remote as my next game-related project. I doubt it can do much of anything, but it should be fun to learn its limits anyway. Besides, if it works through the Wii browser, there's just no beating being able to make even a simple game for one of the big game machines :)
patbob
-
I used to be a developer in VB [insert sarcastic note here!], and after a couple of years without coding, i feel my mind is getting slower. So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games, only to remember how good it felt to solve something and give some healthy work for my brain. I'm not thinking about fancy graphics and anything like that, just in learning the logic to implement some situations (turn by turn battles, etc.) Recommendations are welcome... :-D
-
If the ease of programming is your major concern, I'd look into game programming with Python[^]
-
I used to be a developer in VB [insert sarcastic note here!], and after a couple of years without coding, i feel my mind is getting slower. So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games, only to remember how good it felt to solve something and give some healthy work for my brain. I'm not thinking about fancy graphics and anything like that, just in learning the logic to implement some situations (turn by turn battles, etc.) Recommendations are welcome... :-D
mAreValo wrote:
So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games
Former VB programmer here as well (Since VBDOS, yikes) This may seam weird, but learn javascript. It's actually a good language (Not the DOM part of course, that is like trying to control chaos) but the language itself it has a lot of functional aspects that gives my tired mind quite a nice workout. This winter project for me is picking up "JavaScript: The Good Parts" (ASIN:0596517742, <$20) and a copy of Impact (JS game framework engine, http://impactjs.com/, $99) and trying my hand at some html5 games. Nice part is they are not expected to have awesome graphics, will run on any PC/Mac and most newer phones as well (iphone/windows/android) If you want to stick to more traditional languages, C# is great as you can use it with either the 360 or windows phones (with XNA) or windows pcs. Also Java is good as you can use it with PCs and android phones. Or even Google's app inventor is surprisingly robust and complex and you can easily make marketable games for android with that.... Let me know what you think/end up going with... (Note, if you do end up using javascript to manipulate the DOM, use a library like jQuery to at least make it bearable) -Jam
-
I used to be a developer in VB [insert sarcastic note here!], and after a couple of years without coding, i feel my mind is getting slower. So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games, only to remember how good it felt to solve something and give some healthy work for my brain. I'm not thinking about fancy graphics and anything like that, just in learning the logic to implement some situations (turn by turn battles, etc.) Recommendations are welcome... :-D
C#?
-
I used to be a developer in VB [insert sarcastic note here!], and after a couple of years without coding, i feel my mind is getting slower. So i was thinking about a new hobby and start writing games, only to remember how good it felt to solve something and give some healthy work for my brain. I'm not thinking about fancy graphics and anything like that, just in learning the logic to implement some situations (turn by turn battles, etc.) Recommendations are welcome... :-D
You know the VB programming, just go see the XNA solution, surely one of them could help you. Here a link to know them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_XNA[^]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft\_XNA The framework work in C#, with your knowledge, it will be easy to understand. You can achieve some tutorial to make you more familiar with C#.