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Games programming

BritannicusBritannicus Posts: 98
edited 2011-11-30 11:12 in General Discussion
Hi All - I'd like to see if anyone can help me with a bit of advice slightly off the robot mainstream, but I'm srue there are plenty who can help me
I remember in my early days struggling with basic on my commodore 64 and what fun it gave me to finally produce a basic game - akin now to the fun I have struggling with BASIC for the STAMP.

My 11 year old - who is brighter than me and with a higher geek reating has been nagging me to find him a way to program his own computer game - he's very keen and staggeringly quick on the uptake - He reads steven Hawking and does algebra for fun, so he's a bit unusual for an 11 year old!

So to my question - can someone advise what I should start him off with as an introduction ?? I got rid of the commodore years ago and we now run windows vista. Surely there must be some tutorials around he could follow - I'd back him against anything that's designed for an average 16 year old, so It needn't be too dummy.

I'd welcome a bit of advice on how I get him a quick start with something useful that delivers gratifying results reasonably fast. I'll have to learn with him I'm afraid as my skills lie in different directions!

would really welcome your thoughts

Comments

  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-11-28 12:02
    @Britannicus:

    There are a few of us who are doing some game programming with the Propeller, using it's ability to handle video, sound, and controls over multiple cogs. The "retro" feel of Propeller gaming is simular to that of the Commodore 64, or Spectrum computers of yesteryear.

    Here's a few links that you might find interesting:

    Creating your own video game from scratch: (For the Propeller)
    http://www.gadgetgangster.com/tutorials/358

    A collection of games for the Propeller: (So you can see what is being done)
    http://www.propellerpowered.com/propellergaming

    Also, I have a wealth of materials which I'm currently moving to a new home (From the old SavageCircuits site) which may also be of interest.

    OBC
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2011-11-28 12:32
    Download the Allegro games library for the PC:

    http://alleg.sourceforge.net/

    That should keep him amused for months. I'm not into games, but it made programming a graphics interface for an unstable tracking (Jex-type) task very easy.
  • Spiral_72Spiral_72 Posts: 791
    edited 2011-11-28 12:51
    My opinion? Quick Basic (QB64) is very easy to learn and CAN make respectable basic games.... Pong, Donkey Kong, 2D scrollers and the like.... Tetris.

    I think Python would be a better platform for all those listed above with the possibility of much more advanced games as an option. With Python you have a real option of adding the third dimension for run-around-shooting games. I've made games with Python before.. It's a reasonably capable performer and fairly fast with a huge gamer following with graphics and sound libraries readily available using transparency and alpha graphics, multiple channel sounds, the whole thing. It's all (mostly?) open source and most everyone is glad to share their code/methods/libraries.

    Of course he won't make a first person 3D shoot em up game right off, but it's nice to start with a language you can grow with.
  • wjsteelewjsteele Posts: 697
    edited 2011-11-28 13:06
    If you're talking about Propeller based, then get him a Hyrda. If you're talking about real game development, then have him download XNA from Microsoft. It's free and he can build games for XBox, Windows and even their Phone with it. It'll teach him real game development (they have loads of tutorials, some of which I wrote) and he'll get valuable real world experience that will apply to pretty any much every game platform out there.

    (BTW... I just retired from Microsoft after 20 years and did a lot in the XNA space.)

    Bill
  • BritannicusBritannicus Posts: 98
    edited 2011-11-28 13:10
    Cheers Guys a fund of wisdom as always ... I've never yet asked a question in this forum and not got first rate advice - you guys Rock !!
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2011-11-28 14:15
    Props (no pun intended) to you Britannicus for taking an interest and getting involved in what your 11 year old is interested in doing. The world needs more parents like you.

    C.W.
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2011-11-28 14:24
    I second what Bill Steele said - download the XNA libs and Visual C# Express from Microsoft. The learning curve may be a little steep, but C# as a programming language is well structured, powerful, and similar to Java. It is also quite easy to port from Windows to XBox 360 (if you have one) which adds a certain amount of cool factor.

    I work as a programmer in the video game industry, and I write a lot of tools in C# - it is definitely a "real world" language. If it's something he might be into as a career, it'd be an excellent head start for him.

    Jason
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-11-28 15:49
    Seconding wjsteele on the Hydra; even if you don't get him a Hydra kit, seriously consider getting him the Hydra book, which is fantastic and full of useful information, such as strategies for movement control and collision detection, which is useful even if you end up programming on another platform.
  • blittledblittled Posts: 681
    edited 2011-11-28 19:47
    I agree that the Hydra book is a great resource. You can find the pdf version of the book at http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/prod/prop/HydraGameDevManual-v1.0.1.pdf
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2011-11-29 05:31
    If he wants to make computer games, I suggest you download Blender ( http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/ ) as it will allow the creation of 3D objects and has a built in game engine. You can program games entirely in a GUI editor or by code, so it is a great "stepping stool" for beginners. Plus, it is capable of producing very good games.

    If you want "Gratifying results fast" this is the program for you!
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2011-11-29 08:49
    What does he want to program on?

    That's really a starter question. Or, is he looking for suggestions?
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-11-29 19:23
    Since the question was asked in "Microcontroller" forums, it seems logical to answer accordingly.

    I'm a fan of the Hydra, but wouldn't invite any newbie to start fighting with pin differences between the Hydra and everything else.

    This would make a good starter for anyone...

    http://www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/744/Default.aspx?txtSearch=Gadget+Gangster

    Then of course the book.. (ebook online)

    http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/prod/prop/HydraGameDevManual-v1.0.1.pdf

    OBC
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,261
    edited 2011-11-30 08:40
    That suggestion seconded. It's a high barrier at first.
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2011-11-30 11:12
    The Hydra is a nice system and the book that goes with it is an excellent resource. You may also want to check out the other books on Video game design (both hardware and software) as well as read through the forums here:

    http://www.xgamestation.com/
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