Sunday, August 2, 2009

Can anyone tell me of a good book/website to learn game programming/modding from?

A pretty good site for an introduction to OpenGL (3D games) programming would be http://nehe.gamedev.net/ They have a variety of demo's available for free download, as well as explanations of the code. Prior to that, you probably want to seek out C/C++ development, as most (not all) games are written in these 2 languages. For those, many of the "Learning C" or "Learning C++" type books from O'Reilly (http://www.oreilly.com) are pretty good starting points.





Don't get frustrated, as this is not easy to jump into, but can be very fun in the long run! Enjoy!

Can anyone tell me of a good book/website to learn game programming/modding from?
It is not a website, nor is it a book, but try downloading the DirectX SDK. The SDK includes a lot of documentation as well as samples using C++ and C#. This is a great way to learn the basics of developing in the 3D environment. It may seem overwhelming at first, but hang on to it, and you will be able to pick it up. As you program with these examples you will start to pickup on the loop structure of a game. There are many other concepts that go into game development, such as AI theory and physic engine development. (I would save those for a later date and time.) If you get started making a render loop with simple graphics, you will be far on your way.





As for the post above me, the advice in using C and C++ is correct. Both languages tend to perform the best in game solutions. But with the new DirectX SDKs (not sure about OpenGL) managed code such as C# is starting to see the light of day in game development. Although I doubt it will ever be used widely as it is slower.





Another option would be to look into Microsoft's XNA. XNA is new and supposedly provides easier tools to develop modern looking games. I havn't looked into much, don't have the time. But check it out, might be worth looking in to. One of my friends has used it in the past and was very pleased.





http://www.xna.com/





I almost forgot, IF you decide to go with DirectX as your graphics API, a glorious resource at your finger tips would be Microsofts MSDN site. Just click on the DirectX portion of the site.

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