Another consideration is that much of programming is logic and creativity. Math can come into this in the form of simpler work with variables as Thomas has said but important concepts are the logic of how a program will function and what you need to do creatively to make that happen. Once you learn the tools you are offered by a language, you can then use those tools in a creative way, putting them together in an order so that your program logically does what you would like it to do.
Sometimes you may not need any math at all, depending of course, on what you are trying to do. In other words, you may find that the tools you need are already given to you in the language you are working with to save you doing the math yourself. A quick example of this is generating random numbers and testing them. Most languages have a function which already just gives you a random number for free. You can then use a skill you already have, to tell whether or not that number is less than or greater than another number so you can tell your program to do something randomly. Does that make sense? Thanks, Cara :) --- iOS design and development - LookTel.com --- View my Online Portfolio at: http://www.onemodelplace.com/CaraQuinn Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/ModelCara On Feb 27, 2014, at 9:59 AM, Thomas Ward <thomasward1...@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Josh, Well, let me reiterate that the math skills you do have such as basic adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing, etc is sufficient for very simple and basic games. You do however have to understand the basics of how Algebra works such as assigning and using variables in formulas like a = b+c as that is just how programming works. Although, you do not have to worry about more complex aspects of Algebra such as factoring. I can't think of any specific cases where you would need to do factoring in games. If we are talking a fairly simplistic side-scroller, for instance, you can do something like x = x+1 to move one coordinate to the right or x = x-1 to move one coordinate to the left. That is very simple stuff to do using very basic Algebra, and I think is well within your stated math skills. As far as pi if you aren't dealing with angles and so on then you don't need to know what pi is and how to do calculations with it unless you are writing something that really requires geometry. In that instance most languages have a built in variable specifically for doing pi calculations which is far more accurate than 3.14159. As far as chemistry goes that has absolutely no bearing on games so I wouldn't worry about it. As far as physics goes as I have mentioned before that depends on the type of game and the complexity you are aiming for. Since you are not dealing with 3d graphics and such you can mostly skip trig, geometry,, calculus, etc unless you are doing some more advanced type of audio game such as an aircraft or racing simulation. If you stick to simple text adventures, card/board games, and fairly simplistic side-scrollers then you will be able to get by on your math skills. To summarize my thoughts I know that programming for a lot of people seems very complex, and to a certain degree it is. However, the general rule of thumb is the more math skills you have the more realistic and more complex stuff you can program. If you are not very good at math that does not mean you can not program games and other stuff it just means your games and such will be a bit more simplistic and limited to what you can do. Just do what you can with the skills you do have, know your strengths and weaknesses, and do the best you can. If it turns out all you can write is basic games like Blackjack, Poker, Football, or something slightly more complex like Awesome Homer there is nothing wrong in that. At least you can do something even if it is not as complex as say Tank Commander or 3D Velocity. HTH On 2/26/14, Josh <joshknnd1...@gmail.com> wrote: > let me help you further by telling you what my math skills are in a list > here... > good skills > 1. adding > 2. subtracting > 3. multiplying > 4. division. > 5. decimals. > 6. I know pi is 3.14159. > 7. percents. > 8. less than and greater than. > > things I am bad at or don't want to touch. > bad skills. > 1. algebra. > 2. factoring. > 3. trigonometry. > 4. calculus > 5. physics > 6. chemistry. > > the above things the stuff I'm not good at list is interesting to learn > about in documentaries or on itunes-u. but in reality I'm just not good > at those kinds of advanced maths. so.. what could I do with the list of > things I am good at. and if numbers are big I use the calculator to help > me out. > > Josh > > > using windows7 laptop --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. 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