how do you learn to program a game?

Question

i want to learn to program /make games and i was wondering if anyone could instruct me
i know its hard and takes lotsa time and learning but i think i could do it i just have no idea where to start or how its done, any tips would be a great help
1. where can i learn to make a game from scratch (not using a website to make the game for me)
2. what websites can help me learn
3. what programs are needed when making a game
4. should i learn how to program with things like visual basic/c+/c++ ect before making a game or can i learn it along the way
5. do games use the same code as normal programming or is something different needed
6. is there a step by step tutorial to do this
i dont mean a flash game i mean like a game game
multiplayer type stuff for example things like game of empires/mythology or starcraft type game

Answer 1

Programming is the easy part of making games (although it is the highest entry barrier for most people), the real hard part is designing a game that is enjoyable and fun.



1. where can i learn to make a game from scratch (not using a website to make the game for me)

If you want to take it the hard way (i.e. not using existing game engines), you must take your time to learn programming. Any languages will do, pick your own poison.



2. what websites can help me learn

It depends on what language you choose. There are game oriented forums, you might want to get into one of these.



3. what programs are needed when making a game

in no particular order:

- an image editor

- 3D modeller (for 3D games)

- pixel art image editor (a specialized image editor for creating sprites)

- a piece of paper or book (to store your ideas, game design, story, etc) - or a program that do similar thing

- a good programmer's text editor (or an IDE)

- a compiler/interpreter for your program



4. should i learn how to program with things like visual basic/c+/c++ ect before making a game or can i learn it along the way

You can learn it along the way, though if you do this, you should start small. Start by making a console/text-based games first. Get used to the syntax, the idioms, the logics, how things are done by the language. Then you can start making simple 2D games, learn how computers graphics works. Learn how animation is not actually a moving image, but just a sequence of still images played very fast. Only after that would you stand a chance with 3D games (personally, I thought most 3D games sucks, but it may be I'm just a retro).



5. do games use the same code as normal programming or is something different needed

Mostly the same. The libraries are slightly different. Game programming uses DirectX or OpenGL graphic library to use the Graphic Card to render sprites or shapes, regular applications uses a windowing system like GTK+, Qt to draw buttons and textboxes. These windowing system uses graphic libraries in the background, but that's not the point.



6. is there a step by step tutorial to do this

Google's a friendly mate.



> multiplayer type stuff for example things like game of empires/mythology or starcraft type game



You have a way too inflated expectation. A 3D games requires a lot of work (by a lot of work, I mean like 3-4 years with a TEAM of at least ~20 fellow designer/programmers/artists)

Answer 2

It really depends what you want to make, games range from simple 2D flash games to complex 3D physical simulations.



At the least, you'd need a development environment (compiler) and some type of art tool for 2D and / or 3D graphics.



Decent knowledge of the language you are using will be required before you can get involved in programming an actual game. You can try to learn along the way, but you'll miss things (I did).



There's actual a very small number of distinct things that programming languages do, it's just that the combination of these small things can yield very complex results. Games that simulate physics are just adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying numbers, but they are doing this to millions and billions of numbers.

Answer 3

Flash games ar easy to make the hard thing about making a game is the art and the coding for the game.You cant make a game outa scratch neither you have to have attended some type of class but the class you should be looking torwards is computer programing and theres a graphic design class that whould be nice.availble at almost every collage.