--- gareth gwyther <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > btw Apps are easy to create. > Games are evil in comparison. > They're both hard, but in different ways. Apps have a low, almost linear learning curve, but the time axis is huge.
Games have a steep curve, but once you have the math down, you can kick out almost anything relatively quickly. I've done both, and what it comes down to is that I'd rather do applications/websites for a living, and occasional games for a hobby. That way, I'm constantly challenged (in a fun, moderately challenging way) by all the new things one has to learn in an application/business context, and I don't get burned out by having to do dead-simple games all the time. Plus, when I do want to do a hyper-complex game that would cost a team of professionals thousands of thousands of dollars to do and a lot of time, I can do it on my own time, and when the game fails to materialize for whatever reason, there's no client to tell that you spent their money on beer and comics. Anyway, the most dead-simple game I can think of to learn some game programming basics if probably Asteroids. There's practically no physics beyond simple inertia to worry about, since you dont have to worry about rock/rock collisions, just ship/rock, and bullet/rock collisions, and there's no AI. The next most simple might be Pang, or Buster Bros: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buster_Bros It has similar mechanics to Asteroids, but you add gravity, and bouncing. Plus, if you want to get more complicated, you add swept-circle collisions, (google it) and some of what it takes to make a platform game. Lastly, since you (the original poster) is 15, you definitely want to make sure you've got a lot of math experience, since modern and professional game programming requires a lot. Trig's important, calculus is good for physics and whatnot, and check linear algebra for 3D stuff. ____________________________________________________________________________________Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php _______________________________________________ [email protected] To change your subscription options or search the archive: http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders Brought to you by Fig Leaf Software Premier Authorized Adobe Consulting and Training http://www.figleaf.com http://training.figleaf.com
