Game programming--my $0.02

Isaac C. wyrder42 at yahoo.com
Tue Nov 30 10:10:02 CST 2004


--- kclug-request at kclug.org wrote:
> Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 12:20:26 -0600 (CST)
> From: rsobba at kcnet.com
> Subject: Game programming
> To: kclug at kclug.org
> Message-ID:
> <55888.144.73.71.1.1101752426.squirrel at 144.73.71.1>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> I am not a gamer but an on again off again home OOP
> programmer. I need
> something to keep my interest up while I am
> learning. Have any of you done
> any game programming? I am wanting to program in C++
> and Open GL but am
> curious about the graphics end of it. Will I need to
> create images using a
> package like Adobe Illustrator first or is this all
> done somehow within
> Open GL.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> Rick
> 
> 

There are, of course, many types of games in the
world. Whether or not yours would require something
like Open GL, Adobe Illustrator and/or a knowledge of
differential calculus, linear algebra, fast forier
(sp) transforms, bits of assembly language, and (not
mentioned yet) collections of models, textures, and
sounds depends entirely upon what sort of game you
eventually decide to attempt to create.  May I suggest
starting simply?  and starting small?

After all, you say your primary goal is merely to keep
your skills as a programmer up.  You could, for
example, spend some time and effort making a version
of checkers or Othello or something, and there'd still
be some 2D graphics work to be done and, optionally,
some sound work.  

If you chose to allow single player play, there'd be
plenty more to be done in working on the AI, and the
neat part is it wouldn't require calculus to get the
job done.  (But it would still probably be helpful one
way or another.)

Although, I suppose if you were going to try and come
up with a really nifty AI, you'd want a thorough
knowledge of various logic puzzle solving hueristics
often used in such games--like min-max and all that.

But a neat part here is, if you don't mind
re-inventing a poor imitation of a wheel, you could
just bang out a long series of
if-elseif-elseif-...-else statements to try and get
the computer playing in a not-pathetic manner and, in
the process, you'd be learning a whole lot about what
works for your AI and what doesn't.

Then afterwards, you could open up some books on AI
and Linear Programming to try to help shed more light
on how to make the AI work better.  (This would
probably involve reinventing it from the ground up--at
least it always seems to for some reason.)


=====
-- 
Furry cows moo and decompress.


		
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