So i really want to learn to code and write games and such. Thats the kind of field i want to go into. Right now i am teaching myself C++ and i can say im probably a 3 out of 10 in C++. But alot of the games require you to use DirectX, Java, HTML and all of this other jibber jabber that i know nothing about.
I was working on an app for the windows phone so i could get some extra money but i dont know how to get my program (with no form factor) to an app
Where should i go to further enhance my knowledge of programming and learn what i need to know about things like directx or opengl.
Do any of you fellows know where i could go to learn these things. I googled it but i dont know which sites are reliable or not. I want to learn it right.
Thanks a bunch for reading and taking to the time to help
I'm going to go on a limb and say you're practically a complete beginner to C++; a 3/10, to me, would already understand pointers, dynamic memory structures, etc., if 10/10 is a complete understanding of the language. I was in your boat not too long ago; you should work on learning more of C++, first. Once you have reached a solid understanding of the language (not a 5/10, or anything, just a solid base and understanding of all/a majority of the more standard functions and their applications.
Once you do have a solid base in C++, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself; what is your target platform (OS), what perspective is the game going to be (2D, 3D?), and how large is the project going to be? I recommend developing on Linux for anything; it needs more developers. Steam has come over, so you have the audience, but not enough content. Linux will be taking over the gaming industry, eventually, and it would be great to speed up the process (I'm tired of Windows 7 for gaming). If you do decide to use Windows, then you will have less resources at your disposal for the actual development; Visual Studio is crap.
For both Linux and Windows, however, I recommend OpenGL/SDL. When used together, it is rather easy to use both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional graphics. I am in the process of developing a 3D game with C++/GL/SDL, and I find it to be a great combination; I won't be releasing any more information about the game until the development progresses further.
I would highly recommend these tutorials; they are very informative, and very iseful. Keep in mind that the code is Linux-based, but should work fine in most Windows instances.
Hey, I am working on a game as well, not a beginner to programming, but a beginner to game making.
My advice choose an SDK that feels right for you (doesn't have to be open source) and stick with it. You'll learn a lot more 'right' things from a mature SDK/community than you will from trying to piece together scattered information on the web. The latter will be easier as you mature as a programmer.
There is NOTHING wrong with doing it in Visual Studio. I recently finished an OpenGL/Cocos2d app for iOS in C++, where a prototype was done entirely in VS2012 and then moved to xcode painlessly in one evening.
I in fact recommend Visual Studio for C++ as it provides really good static analysis / assist tools and has awesome intellisense.
I'm currently working on a physics engine using C++ and SDL. SDL is a great way to get into graphics and making games, because it's so simple. Head over to LazyFoo tutorials on SDL, they are great.
Visual Studio is a good IDE, I use codeblocks and Dev-C++ myself, but that's only because they're portable. If you're not switching computers all the time then there's nothing wrong with Visual Studio.
You cant really go wring with C# for learning how to develop games. There is lots of great stuff out there. If you want to use C++ you can try out allegro. Its pretty good and leaves most of the control in your hands.