Re: [Audyssey] question on game creation for game programmers
Hi Chastity, That is sort of a complicated and difficult question to answer directly because every programmer has his or her own opinion on what is considered the best programming language to use for game programming. Several accessible game developers here such as Jim Kitchen use Visual Basic because for one reason or another they have never learned more professional languages like C++ or the newer .NET languages. Some like 7-128 use Java for all of their games and software projects, and are quite happy with Java for game development. Philip's new game, Q9, is written in C++, and Philip would likely tell you C++ is the best language to use. As for myself both STFC and Mysteries of the Ancients are written in C# .NET, and therefore I think that is a great language for writing games in. So when you ask a question like yours you could get any number of different answers to your questions, and several reasons why or why not to use this or that programming language. Like religion it is more a matter of opinion which language is right or wrong, which is the best, whatever. For that reason I'll try and give you an indirect answer to your question that is more a general overview of the various options to you. First, we have the C++ programming language. It is widely regarded by developers all over the world as the best programming language because it allows you to write some very low level code, create native binaries for a specific platform/operating system, runs faster than any other programming language, is quite flexible, and almost all the game programming documentation out there is written for a C++ programmer, and your game APIs such as DirectX, SDL, XNA, and so on are primarily created for a C++ developer as well. However, many critics of the language say it is too hard to learn, that it is to advanced for them, and that it goes way over their head. Plus it places much of the responsibility of performance, memory management, etc on the shoulders of the developer who may or may not be very skilled in such things. Never-the-less some games like Q9 proves how good a language C++ is at creating a game in the right hands. Second, In 2002 Microsoft introduced a new development API for Windows called .NET. One of the new languages specifically created for this new API was called C# .NET, (C-Sharp,) as it looks a lot like C++ or Java, but is actually much similar to learn and use. Do to the fact it is easier to learn and use many non-professional programmers began to adopt the language for general programming uses and for game programming in particular. Microsoft's XNA Framework and XNA Studio actually uses C# instead of C++ to get more common people interested in game programming. So far that project has become pretty successful because C# is easier to learn, the .NET framework handles lower level stuff like memory management and garbage collection, and the .NET Framework itself his high level classes and interfaces to lower level Windows APIs allowing a newby to create fairly complex applications quickly and simply without all the overhead you would get with a language like C++. The problem with languages like C# though is that because it is a runtime language it will run a bit slower than a native C++ application. Plus the way .NET languages like C# are designed you never get to use APIs like DirectX directly. you have to depend on third-party managed interfaces like managed DirectX, SlimDX, whatever to get access to those APIs. Otherwise you can't access them without a very complex custom wrapper which is certainly no fun to create if you have to do that. However, since there are DirectX managed interfaces like SlimDX out there this really isn't a problem for a new game developer wishing to use C# for game development. Third, we have the Java programming language. It too has a C++ like look and feel, but is much easier to use than C++. Like C# the Java language is a runtime language and all of its power is the in the JRE, Java Runtime Environment, which is a collection of packages and classes that acts as an an intermediary between your Java application and the host operating system. In that way it is generally cross-platform, allows you to create games and other applications rather quickly, and is widely a good language to know. However, Java has lots of drawbacks when it comes to game programming. The first being that if you want to use an API other than those included in the JRE, such as DirectX or Sapi, you aren't really going to find any easy solutions. It will be up to you to write your own DirectX and Sapi wrapper packages unless you are lucky enough to find someone who has done the work for you already. That's not too cool for a totally new Java user and game programmer. Plus as we have seen with 7-128's games getting a Java based game accessible can be a serious pain. They've had to use something like the Java acces
Re: [Audyssey] question on game creation for game programmers
Hi, I useMicrosoft .NET C# (C Sharp) for my games. I prefer Windows over other operating systems for building games because it has a very powerful interface, called DirectX, that offers high-level programming options and pretty advanced sound and device manipulation. A good reference site for you would be www.gpwiki.org and www.gamedev.net. The forums are good on both sites (although, if will sign up for forums, I recommend you use gamedev.net since gpwiki.org's forums are not very active.) Both sites contain tons of materials for gaming, for the beginner to the advanced developer. Good luck, and feel free to Email me off list if you have any questions or need pointers. Munawar A. Bijani "Knowledge is of two types: absorbed and heard. The heard knowledge is only useful if it is absorbed." - Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib, Nahj Al-Balagha mailto:munaw...@gmail.com http://www.bpcprograms.com - Original Message - From: "Chastity MORSE" To: "Gamers Discussion list" Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 6:59 PM Subject: [Audyssey] question on game creation for game programmers Okay, since I'm learning computer code all ready, mainly for website development, I'm hoping someone can help me with a question. What is the best program to stuy for creating accessible games? Is there a template out there where the game engine is all ready there either for scroller games, shooter games or others? Are most games written in python and C++ or what is a good gaming language? Also where can I go to learn such things on making a game where the tutorials are fairly easy to understand? I'm blind and I use jaws 9.0 so I need a site to learn gaming code that's accessible to screen readers. If any of the programmers out there can give me any help, site addresses, and advice, I would appreciate it. Oh, the only coding I currently know is xhtml and css, but I am willing to learn if the site explains things and doesn't just put code up there without explaining what its for or what it does. Thanks: Chastity --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
Re: [Audyssey] question on game creation for game programmers
Hi Chastity, I believe that Thomas has said that most of the accessible games have been written in Visual Basic 6.0. I know that VB6 is the programming language that I like and use to write all of my games. I have a simple sample guess the number game with it's source code that I would be happy to send to you if you like. I wrote that code with comments explaining what each line of code is doing. The only problem with Visual Basic 6.0 is that Microsoft no longer sells or supports it. HTH BFN Jim I am using BASIC, because I don't want to be C-sick. j...@kitchensinc.net http://www.kitchensinc.net (440) 286-6920 Chardon Ohio USA --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
[Audyssey] question on game creation for game programmers
Okay, since I'm learning computer code all ready, mainly for website development, I'm hoping someone can help me with a question. What is the best program to stuy for creating accessible games? Is there a template out there where the game engine is all ready there either for scroller games, shooter games or others? Are most games written in python and C++ or what is a good gaming language? Also where can I go to learn such things on making a game where the tutorials are fairly easy to understand? I'm blind and I use jaws 9.0 so I need a site to learn gaming code that's accessible to screen readers. If any of the programmers out there can give me any help, site addresses, and advice, I would appreciate it. Oh, the only coding I currently know is xhtml and css, but I am willing to learn if the site explains things and doesn't just put code up there without explaining what its for or what it does. Thanks: Chastity --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.