On to the Good Stuff

Now it's time to discuss actually making games. For simplicity, I'm going to assume that you have chosen to program in C/C++ for Windows, although most of what I say will apply if you chose otherwise.

First of all, before you even think about starting to make games, you should have a good command of C and C++. You should understand pointers, arrays, structures, functions, and probably classes, and you should be proficient in using them. If so, you are ready to start making games.

This article can't possibly teach you everything you need to know about making games. Fortunately, it doesn't have to. There are many books on the subject, and hundreds of tutorials on the web. GameDev.net should have everything you need right here. Here's how I suggest you start:

• Get one or more books. For beginning game programmers in Windows, Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus is the perfect place to start. Besides that, there are a number of other good books in our Books section. Read through the books, trying all the examples, and rereading parts you don't understand.
• Supplement what you read with online tutorials. Besides clarifying things you read, they also cover topics not covered in books.
• Ask the experts for help. If you cannot find answers to your questions in books or tutorials, take advantage of our message board and chat room. There are a lot of people out there willing to help out.

This should not be looked at as a sequential process, but as a silmultaneous process that is repeated continually.

It is not enough to just learn, though, you must apply what you learn. Start off with a simple game, and work up from there. See Geoff Howland's article, How do I Make Games? A Path to Game Development.

At first, plan on working on your own. Don't rush to join a team, because it will only slow down the learning process. Once you have several games under your belt, you can make a much larger contribution to a team anyway.

One thing I'd like to mention about books: You will need to read more than just game programming books. To be able to create the kinds of games you see on store shelves, you are going to have to delve into topics more advanced than those covered in most game programming books. Some of what you need can be found in tutorials, but you are also going to need to pick up some books on graphics, artificial intelligence, networking, physics, and so on. This is where pursuing a degree in Computer Science comes in handy, because you will be required to take classes that you may think don't apply to game programming, but they do.

Wrapping Up

Here's a few more tips that can make a huge difference:

• Don't just accumulate knowledge, apply it. You will never really know or understand something until you use it. Make little demo programs that use the things you are learning. Actually do the exercises at the end of the chapters in the books.
• Play a lot of games. Doing so will give you ideas and help you make better games. It will also provide a welcome relief from programming.
• Help others. You will get to the point where you can help others out, and you will learn more yourself through the teaching process.
• Finish what you start. Don't fall into the trap of thinking "I know I can finish this game, but I have an idea for a better one, so I'll move on to it instead." You will learn so much more if you finish the games you start, and you will have something to prove that you are not all talk. To make this a little easier, don't try to make really big or complex games until you are more experienced.

There you go! You should now be well on your way to making Quake 4. Well, not quite, but at least you can start on that path and know where to look for more information, and with years of hard work, it can happen.

Dave Astle has been making computer games since 1984. By day he is a Software Engineer for ROI Systems, Inc., and by night he heads up the development team of Myopic Rhino Games. Somewhere in there he finds time to help make GameDev.net the best resource of its kind. Occasionally he sleeps.