It seems to me that often this question is asked by someone who really wants to write something that will enable them to become a game developer- not necessarily the next Doom or Final Fantasy, but something that can show gaming companies they have the skills to make it. In that case whether or not to use Java is more of a case of what area you want to get into- if you want to show you can write the fastest low-level 3D code then it is not really the way to go- you will probably want to play with DirectX or OpenGL.
If you want to show you can write something really playable, or design amazing environments and fill them with interesting characters and exciting events then using Java actually strikes me as a good path to doing that. There is a difference betweent the most graphically impressive games and the ones that are most fun to play- I think the Final Fantasy compendiums of 6 year old+ games are doing well on the back of the fact they are really good fun whereas I don't know anyone who completed Unreal even though it was one of the most visually impressive games of its time because it was beautiful but boring. The focus on Technology, especially graphical technology over gameplay is slightly misguided imho. That's not to say great graphics don't add to a game- I am completely addicted to Morrowind at the moment, and Black and White I just found to be beautiful, but those are both brilliant games underneath the gloss, and that is what counts. I would say that for someone without a team of full-time programmers trying to get good results relatively easily or put together something totally original for their portfolio, Java is a very good choice. If they are looking to show off their design skills then the best route may be to put together a really good mod for something that already exists (worked for the Gunman Chronicles guy and the Counterstrike team) and if they want to show they can write a superfast low level bunch of 3D stuff then they probably want to play in openGL. Now I think about it, that was probably just agreeing with Jason, actually, but in more words. -ben > -----Original Message----- > From: Jason Taylor [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: 12 June 2002 11:11 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [JAVA3D] is java good for game development? > > > I'm no games programmer (least not since my Acorn Electron days or Mud > wizording :) but I think the basic problem with the question is the > context. > > Here's some simple answers that are in my limited opinion; > > Q1) You want to learn skills to become a pro game programmer for a > major label? > A1) No java is not for you, look at C++, OpenGl, DirectX (may take you > 2-5 years if you work real hard!). > > Q2) You want to write your own game engine equivalent to Quake3, > Unreal, Doom3 etc? > A2) See A1 > > Q3) You want to write a game that looks like those in Q2? > A3) Why not just use the many level editors and SDK for those, you'll > get for better/faster results (may take you 3-18 months). > > Q4) You want to see what programming a game is like, you have a simple > idea but don't know much programming yet? > A4) Java could be for you, it's a nice language to start from and > certainly has all the major features you'll need to produce a game. > You'll get faster results (may take you 0.5-2 years), it may not look > like Doom3 but heh how many of us have the skills and resources needed > to complete a project of that scale! > > Jason. > > ============================================================== > ============= > To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and > include in the body > of the message "signoff JAVA3D-INTEREST". For general help, > send email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "help". > ==========================================================================To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "signoff JAVA3D-INTEREST". For general help, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "help".
