Eriond

First, an introduction

What is a programming language?

Programming languages are a way to write a set of instructions which your computer can follow. However, you can't just type the code in a text file, and expect the computer to run and understand your commands. Most languages used for heavy-duty games these days are what are called compiled languages, meaning that in order for the computer to understand the code you've just written, you have to get a program, called a compiler to turn your text into binary commands, that the computer can understand. Essentially, everything on your computer was written in one programming language or another. Windows was written mainly in C, an early compiled language, with some of the more low-level functions coded in ASM (which is essentially hand-written binary). Most games these days are written in C++, C# or Java. (Games that don't need to be so fast are also written in Visual Basic)

What is C++?

C++ is a programming language, revered as the mother of all compiled languages (this is figurative. It's not actually the first compiled language, it's just viewed as the one that's best for game programming), and looked at as the perfect language for writing games, though this is now changing, as C# rises in popularity. I'm not going to go into that, since I don't know C#, and this tutorial is about C++.

IDE Installation

And here's the link to a C(++) compiler, along with a nice IDE (a nice text editor with a bunch of functions added into it) : http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/d....9.2_setup.exe
(Some people say that Dev-C++ isn't that great an IDE, and they prefer the MSVC++, and I know that it's compiler does a better job of optimizing, and it has a better debugger, I'm just so damn used to Dev-C++, that's why I'm reccomending it. Check out the MSVC++)

Okay. That's pretty easy to install, you just double-click the exe, and follow through with the installation. Don't worry about any specifics that pop up. Just install as much as you can. Once it's installed, run it.

Coding

Now, if you're looking to write games, I'm afraid it's going to be a while before you can do that. You have to learn the basics of the language and whole bunch of other stuff before you can go on to write your perfect dream MMORPG. This is not exaclty a task for the faint of heart. To write an MMORPG, you need to master a graphics library, a networking library, a windowing library, or several wrappers which encompass one or more of those libraries.

However, this is not to say you can't write simple games like tic-tac-toe relatively fast. But you still need to know the basics. So, with that in mind, let's get started with coding.

Inside Dev-C++, go to

File --> New --> Project

Click console application, then click okay. Save the file where you want to save it, by default, it's in the Dev-Cpp folder, but you can save it anywhere.

Once that's done, you can start coding.

The place I learned to code from was:
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial/lesson1.html

That should get you started. You should be able to put stuff out into a command prompt after the first lesson. While that might not sound like much, it's a great step forward. Read through the tutorials on the cprogramming site. By the time you get to the... oh, I don't know, the inheritance tutorial, and you can do all the other stuff pretty much off the top of your head, you should be ready for the next step (which was in my case, Win32 programming, though it varies depending on what you want to do, or who you ask).

Anywho, if you can master the tutorials on that site, you'll be one step closer to writing your very own graphical game. And remember, even if you can't see how an aspect of the tutorial could possibly relate to gaming, trust me, it probably does. Just stick with it.

If you have any questions, just post here, and I'll be glad to answer to the best of my ability.

Important
I cannot stress enough that if you want to make a 3D RPG, MATH is required. Yes, math. I know. We all hate it. Math is stupid. It's never used, like, anywhere. Unfortunately this is like the one field where it's necessary. If you want to make a 3D or even 2D RPG, you should know the following:

• Basic Trigonometry
• Shape and Patterns of all the Basic Functions (x,sinx, absx, x^2, x^3, etc..)
• Vectors
• Basic Algebra
• Matrix Math (3D Only)

Don't worry if you don't know some of these, just follow the link to the math site at the bottom of this post and it has a bunch of tutorials regarding the subjects.

Useful Links:

C++ Language Tutorials: http://www.cprogramming.com/
Very Nice Win32 API Tutorial by TheForger: http://www.winprog.org/tutorial/
Totally complete OpenGL tutorials, explaining all the basics behind the API : http://nehe.gamedev.net/
SDL Library, and Tutorial Index: http://www.libsdl.org/index.php
Networking Tutorials (on windows): http://www.madwizard.org/view.php?pa...tents&lang=cpp
Math Tutorials: http://www.math.com/

Oh, and here's a nice tip from Elegy:

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Kevinboyz

I think i would mess up my brain trying to learn those. It takes way too long >_< (8yrs) and double for me

MisterPoppet

Nah.. Depending on how hard you worked on it, it would only take 2-3 years to get enough know-how to start doing games and such (especially if you focused on games).

-Bryan-

HopeDagger

Sure; this works as sticky material for me.

I'm hoping to get a guide/tutorial system up soon, which Gabe has mentioned that this new forum is capable of doing. So this can remain stickified until we reach that point.

Thanks for the contribution, Eriond!

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shemer77

This is great thx.Does anybody have other tutorials? Link dosent work.

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Eriond

Odd that it doesn't work... just checked and it works fine for me. Oh well.

http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

There's another site. I'm not sure how good the tutorials are, but they look ok.

PowerGamer

I tried learning C++.. got bored
if I choose to make games later in life, ill come back to C++
im only 14 now

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shemer77

lol not tutorial link.The other one to download it.Lucky i searched the thing on google and found it.Forgot link though sry:mad:

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Eriond

Ah yeah. Fixed that now The board decided to actually turn the URL into a string with ellipses in it... anyway. Yeah. Fixed.

shemer77

Thanks.This really helped.

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