Game Development Questions...

[Tweaker]

Hey all,

I'm got plenty of web development knowledge and know some coding languages pretty well, but i need some insight on some game development and incorporating 3D renders into Visual Basics (not even sure if that is the correct terminology).

I have no 3D skills, but do have someone that can do the 3D modelling part for me.

So let's say for example he creates a 3D model of a man. I then want to use that 3D man in an application and be able to control this man and his movement with the keyboard.

I'm going to be building this application in Visual Basics which leads me to Question 1 - which language would be best suited for this kind of thing or would C++, C# and VB all work well enough?

Then, what kind of files would i get for this 3D man and how do i go about inserting this 3D man into my application?

I think these are my main questions for now, which would start to push me in the right direction of where i need to go from here.

If anyone could help, would be much appriciated.

Thanks

 

[bin3]

http://nehe.gamedev.net/

Learn it, love it, use it ...

 

[Ancalagon]

Hey all,

I'm got plenty of web development knowledge and know some coding languages pretty well, but i need some insight on some game development and incorporating 3D renders into Visual Basics (not even sure if that is the correct terminology).

I have no 3D skills, but do have someone that can do the 3D modelling part for me.

So let's say for example he creates a 3D model of a man. I then want to use that 3D man in an application and be able to control this man and his movement with the keyboard.

I'm going to be building this application in Visual Basics which leads me to Question 1 - which language would be best suited for this kind of thing or would C++, C# and VB all work well enough?

Then, what kind of files would i get for this 3D man and how do i go about inserting this 3D man into my application?

I think these are my main questions for now, which would start to push me in the right direction of where i need to go from here.

If anyone could help, would be much appriciated.

Thanks

Before you even start writing code, I'd look into whether you want to write 2d or 3d code. That extra dimension introduces a lot of complexity.

If you want to write a 3d game, then I'd look into how 3d game engines work. There is a LOT to cover, and you need to understand it before you can program for a 3D game engine.

I'd recommend using a third party open source 3D game engine, which will make your life much easier. All of the hard work is already done, you just need to use the libraries to get what you want. I'd recommend having a look at Python-Ogre, Panda3D, or jMonkeyEngine3 (my game engine of choice). jMonkeyEngine has some pretty good tutorials that will teach you the basics.

It will be a steep learning curve for you - by the sounds of things, you are very inexperienced - but well worth it.

Also, I recommend throwing Visual Basic in the bin and never touching it again. Programmers dont let programmers use Visual Basic.

 

[Deenem]

Hey all,

I'm got plenty of web development knowledge and know some coding languages pretty well, but i need some insight on some game development and incorporating 3D renders into Visual Basics (not even sure if that is the correct terminology).

...

If anyone could help, would be much appriciated.

Thanks

If you're coming from a Microsoft development background then definitely look at the XNA Game Studio. It lets you create 2D & 3D games using c#. There are plenty of samples and a forum where you can find a lot of help.

Start here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/aa937791

 

[HavocXphere]

For hardcore game dev *everything* is C++. Performance (fps) matters and the main loop has to be c++/c/ASM for best results.

Actually that wrong. Not everything is c++. They often use python etc for scripting & triggers etc. You'll find that most of the good tutorials from game dev related topics are in c++ though.

If its a casual 2D or platform game etc, then its not that crucial. VB could work for that.

Also, +1 on nehe.

 

[Tweaker]

http://nehe.gamedev.net/

Learn it, love it, use it ...

Thanks bin3, haven't come across that site yet, will check it out.

Before you even start writing code, I'd look into whether you want to write 2d or 3d code. That extra dimension introduces a lot of complexity.

If you want to write a 3d game, then I'd look into how 3d game engines work. There is a LOT to cover, and you need to understand it before you can program for a 3D game engine.

I'd recommend using a third party open source 3D game engine, which will make your life much easier. All of the hard work is already done, you just need to use the libraries to get what you want. I'd recommend having a look at Python-Ogre, Panda3D, or jMonkeyEngine3 (my game engine of choice). jMonkeyEngine has some pretty good tutorials that will teach you the basics.

It will be a steep learning curve for you - by the sounds of things, you are very inexperienced - but well worth it.

Also, I recommend throwing Visual Basic in the bin and never touching it again. Programmers dont let programmers use Visual Basic.

From the research i've done so far, i think starting off with 2D might be the best option for now, just to get the hang of things.

I think we've decided to use Torque 3D - http://www.garagegames.com/products/torque-3d is that also a good option?

if not using visual basic what would you recommend using to code my application?

If you're coming from a Microsoft development background then definitely look at the XNA Game Studio. It lets you create 2D & 3D games using c#. There are plenty of samples and a forum where you can find a lot of help.

Start here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/aa937791

Yes I briefly had a look at XNA Game Studio - it's one of the things i highlighted while researching all this. Thanks

Eventually i hope to incorporate my application with the Microsoft Kinect SDK - which i've been playing around with lately.

For hardcore game dev *everything* is C++. Performance (fps) matters and the main loop has to be c++/c/ASM for best results.

Actually that wrong. Not everything is c++. They often use python etc for scripting & triggers etc. You'll find that most of the good tutorials from game dev related topics are in c++ though.

If its a casual 2D or platform game etc, then its not that crucial. VB could work for that.

Also, +1 on nehe.

Thanks - I'll keep that in mind.

 

[Ancalagon]

From the research i've done so far, i think starting off with 2D might be the best option for now, just to get the hang of things.

I think we've decided to use Torque 3D - http://www.garagegames.com/products/torque-3d is that also a good option?

You're contradicting yourself there. You say you think 2D is best, and then leap right into Torque 3D.

Look some people could cope with the strain of writing a 3D game, having never done it before, and do well. John Carmack, for instance, wrote his games from scratch at a time when no one had done anything similar. But he also had to read a LOT of mathematical papers to understand the theory behind what he needed to do.

My point is, if you're a Carmack, you can start coding right away and it will probably turn out okay. If you were a Carmack however, I doubt you would have posted here, you would be doing a lot more of your own research before asking us anything. No offense meant at all.

So, given that, I'd recommend a smaller, simpler project. It doesnt have to be 2D only - some third party engines make 3D simple enough. However, choose a small project, otherwise you will get bored long before you finish it. 2D is probably better though.

I'd avoid C++, since performance at this point will be the last of your concerns. Yes, all or nearly all commercial games use it, but you arent writing a commercial game, yet. An interpreted, scripted or managed language will provide good enough performance, and much improved flexibility and ease of development. Ease of development should be more important to you right now.

I'd avoid Torque 3D because you have to pay for it. Dont use anything not free, for the simple reason that you dont know whether you enjoy writing games yet. If you love it, then it might be worth it. Not to say that not free is better than free. At least for your purposes anyway.

 

[Tweaker]

You're contradicting yourself there. You say you think 2D is best, and then leap right into Torque 3D.

Look some people could cope with the strain of writing a 3D game, having never done it before, and do well. John Carmack, for instance, wrote his games from scratch at a time when no one had done anything similar. But he also had to read a LOT of mathematical papers to understand the theory behind what he needed to do.

My point is, if you're a Carmack, you can start coding right away and it will probably turn out okay. If you were a Carmack however, I doubt you would have posted here, you would be doing a lot more of your own research before asking us anything. No offense meant at all.

So, given that, I'd recommend a smaller, simpler project. It doesnt have to be 2D only - some third party engines make 3D simple enough. However, choose a small project, otherwise you will get bored long before you finish it. 2D is probably better though.

I'd avoid C++, since performance at this point will be the last of your concerns. Yes, all or nearly all commercial games use it, but you arent writing a commercial game, yet. An interpreted, scripted or managed language will provide good enough performance, and much improved flexibility and ease of development. Ease of development should be more important to you right now.

I'd avoid Torque 3D because you have to pay for it. Dont use anything not free, for the simple reason that you dont know whether you enjoy writing games yet. If you love it, then it might be worth it. Not to say that not free is better than free. At least for your purposes anyway.

Yes i can see how u understood that as contradicting myself. Sorry. What i meant was that i'm going to start off with something simple in 2D to get into it. The company i work for wants me to start getting into this kind of thing, and i'm pretty sure they have already purchased Torque 3D - so i have that to work with anyway. Thanks for the advice tho, been much appriciated.

 

[shogun]

+1 to XNA if you are in the MS world already.

Not too difficult to use... although I haven't done much more than loading a custom 3D terrain, and animated a few fly throughs. There seems to be quite a few samples out there.

Good luck.

 

[Bobbin]

By the way - sorry to hijack - has anyone ever experimented with the Unity 3D engine and scripting? Is it easy to learn?

 

[foozball3000]

From the top... Easy "Game" development - www.blender.org , you don't need to be a hardcore programmer to use that. It has a built-in game engine for precisely what you need to do. And there's a lot of help out there. (Handy if it's a one man job). And being free is also a bonus.
Moderate - http://unity3d.com , One of SA's gaming studio uses this, I've never worked with it. So, can't comment much on that.
Modetate/Hard - Microsoft's XNA , you really need to know your stuff to use this. It's basicly building from scratch and there's a lot more to game development than code and 3d.
Hard (But awesome), C++ ... I don't know much about it, other than you'll need to budget on years for development if you're doing it alone.

 

[HideInLight]

UDK if your up for a challenge. SA's Runestorm is using it atm to make a chess game, but those 3 guys have been building up experience via modding since DOOM2. What's great about it you have a core to build up from with a lot of example code, tutorials, documentation, video instructions spread around the internet.

Depends on how far you willing to go though, creating levels with good lighting and a bit of kismet is the easy part.