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GothicMuslim
Lowly Slime


Joined: 11 May 2008
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2008 12:43 am    Post subject: Game programming is too hard... [quote]

I've been searching for rpg programming tutorial for dummies and beginner like me. And i found zero....

There is nothing compatible to me....

To all, anyone have advice...??
Or links to start with ?

Please really need help....
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Scrim
Mandrake's Little Slap Bitch


Joined: 05 Apr 2007
Posts: 69
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2008 6:00 pm    Post subject: [quote]

I guess it sort of depends on your previous programming experience and what kind of game you want to make.

Few people grab their favorite programming language and start building a game from scratch. There are a lot of toolkits that people use to make their lives easier, and they usually come with tutorials and examples.

To pick three:

Pygame is a nice graphics library for the python programming language. It has the advantage of making it "easy" to build things but isn't a good choice if you need performance.

http://www.pygame.org/

SDL is a popular graphical toolkit for 2d games in c++. I've not used it personally but a lot of others on this forum do so. It's probably harder to use but the performance is a lot better.

http://www.libsdl.org/

Edit: I really ought to be mentioning Allegro in there as a C++ library. It's a little higher level (read: easier) than using straight SDL.

http://www.talula.demon.co.uk/allegro/

Slick is a graphics library for Java that I've played around with a little and seems like a nice compromise on ease of use and performance.

http://slick.cokeandcode.com/


RPG programming is kind of hard, since RPGs are complex, content-rich games. Depending on what you've done before you might want to start by designing something really easy, like a simple arcade game.
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cowgod
Wandering Minstrel


Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 114
Location: Pittsburgh, USA

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 2:51 am    Post subject: [quote]

There's no good RPG programming book available. There was one book about RPG programming for DirectX, but it's no good. I actually threw the darn thing in the trash.

There's a book called Swords and Circuitry, which is a good book about video game rpg design, but design does squat when you don't have an engine.

I recommend the following: buy some books about a programming language, buy some books about game programming in that language, program some easy 2d games, and then finally make an RPG.

RPG programming isn't that much different from programming other games. If anything, it might require less depth of programming knowledge but possibly more breadth. RPGs are often alot of different parts cobbled together.

If you use Java, I recommend the following game programming books: Developing Games in Java and Killer Game Programming in Java. Buy both cheap on Amazon.com or a similar site.

They're several years old now, so you might be able to find something better.

Those two books only teach you about programming games. You will need to get a book about general Java programming first.

Additionally, any book about any kind of computer science will be useful. Even though video games are fun, programming video games is still work (though fun in a way).
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valderman
Mage


Joined: 29 Aug 2002
Posts: 334
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

PostPosted: Sun May 18, 2008 11:52 am    Post subject: [quote]

The most important thing is to write code. Lots of it, before even attempting to make a game, let alone an RPG. There is no magical tutorial or book that will enable you to create a game; it's all hard work and long hours of practice.
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phu
Pretty, Pretty Fairy Princess


Joined: 29 Mar 2008
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2008 8:03 pm    Post subject: [quote]

Writing code is important, but in terms of creating an entire program, it takes a back seat to application design. If you don't learn design, you'll write code... lots and lots of code, almost certainly way more than you really need to.

It's not that game programming itself is hard. Programming anything complex is time-consuming and requires planning and skill (which, yes, do come in no small part from practice).

If you don't enjoy program and data design, if you aren't at least good at both, if you don't find writing code fun, then programming probably isn't for you. If you're overwhelmed by the scope of integrating game, video and audio logic... game programming specifically will give you problems.

Basically... there isn't a good beginners' RPG programming tutorial because programming RPG's isn't something a beginner can really do. By the time you can... you're no longer a beginner. If what you want is just to create something you can play, try rpgmaker or something similar. If your goal is to learn to program... get ready for a long (but rewarding) road and a lot of hard (but enjoyable) work. ;)
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Rainer Deyke
Demon Hunter


Joined: 05 Jun 2002
Posts: 672

PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2008 11:59 pm    Post subject: [quote]

My recommendation would be to start with a third party engine like RPG Maker XP. Because
  • You will get results faster that way.
  • You can learn a lot about game engine design by studying other people's engines.
  • Writing the engine is the easy part. Writing the game is the hard part. In any project, it's best to start with the hard part so you don't get stuck later.
  • RPG Maker XP is actually quite capable if you use its scripting system to replace its crappy combat system with something decent.
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RedSlash
Mage


Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 331

PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2008 12:07 am    Post subject: [quote]

There's also free RPG engines like VERGE, Sphere, ika,... quite a handful of them out there. Worthy to check out.
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DeveloperX
202192397


Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 1626
Location: Decatur, IL, USA

PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2008 1:29 am    Post subject: [quote]

RedSlash wrote:
There's also free RPG engines like VERGE, Sphere, ika,... quite a handful of them out there. Worthy to check out.

Verge is more than likely out of this guy's league.
I think someone needs to show the guy the ropes so to speak.

*raises his hand in offering*
GothicMuslim: If you'd like I'd be willing to teach you some basics to get you started. Let me know. Drop me an email at ccpsceo@gmail.com
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Heretic
Lowly Slime


Joined: 06 Jun 2008
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:07 pm    Post subject: [quote]

cowgod wrote:
There was one book about RPG programming for DirectX, but it's no good. I actually threw the darn thing in the trash.


That book is titled "Programming Role Playing Games with Direct X". The original edition was published in 2002, and the revised edition in 2004. Whether you'd find the book useful or not depends on where your current skills are, and what you're familiar with.

http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Playing-DirectX-Second-Development/dp/159200315X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213387449&sr=1-2
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cowgod
Wandering Minstrel


Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 114
Location: Pittsburgh, USA

PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:32 am    Post subject: [quote]

Heretic wrote:
cowgod wrote:
There was one book about RPG programming for DirectX, but it's no good. I actually threw the darn thing in the trash.


That book is titled "Programming Role Playing Games with Direct X". The original edition was published in 2002, and the revised edition in 2004. Whether you'd find the book useful or not depends on where your current skills are, and what you're familiar with.

http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Playing-DirectX-Second-Development/dp/159200315X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213387449&sr=1-2

That's the book I was talking about. Half the book is about using DirectX, and the other half is second-rate information about RPGs. It does have a pretty good chapter about tile-based maps or something like that. By the end of the book, they've created some kind of 3d walkaround demo with some inventory windows to make it into an "RPG".
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