Java Game

[S1ght]

Hey all,

So our final practical is to make a multiplayer game. Now I could just do something lame and get the marks but I wanna try do something different and am thinking along the lines of a Stickman fighting game

I just would like to hear your opinions on the different ways I could go around doing this? Issues I have atm are things like what I would use to make the stickman (sprites/vectors/Java2D/Java3D) and then how I can get it to move about smoothly?

If you have any suggests I'm open to all ideas

Thanx in advance
S1ght

 

[guest2013-1]

Hi, no idea about suggestions or what to do but first (And I'm not sure if you did this before) is to actually plan the different aspects before delving into actually deciding what to use to create your stickman for best performance and what not.

For example, is it going to be a side scroller or Mortal kombat style fighting game? Maybe a top down view like Gauntlet?

Whats the theme of my game?
What is going to make it unique and/or addictive to play? (I played a top down view game the other day killing zombies while keeping normal citizens alive... for 3 ****ing hours... and it wasn't a 148392847 gig install)

How many players does it support?
Would you want to have network capabilities to support more than 2 players?
Do I want to save highscores?
Do I know which "moves" my character will do, how do I unlock these moves?


etc
etc
etc
etc

Once you get a clear picture of how your game will work and what you'd like the end product to be like, then you can go into the nitty gritty. Deciding which to use for your stickman and all the other things.

There's a couple of gaming related dev sites (specifically in SA) that you can google (names escape me now) which could help you even more in deciding that once you get the concept of what you want to do out there and on paper.

I've seen most people not plan out what they want to do and just delved into the thing and it frustrated them endlessly because they had to re-do work or coded themselves into a corner and had to start from scratch etc.

Just my 2c. Good luck

 

[Kaufies]

I would use Java2d for the following reasons. It would be hard to make a 3d stickman that doesn't look a bit weird and sprites could be difficult when it comes to collision detection. Either you'd need some funky maths- all that analytical geometry- or sprites for individual components of one character.

If you keep it OO, it won't be hard to use Java2d.

Oh, btw, I'm probably not the best guy to be giving advice here. I'm more familiar/comfortable with Java EE so this isn't my area of expertise!

 

[S1ght]

Hi, no idea about suggestions or what to do but first (And I'm not sure if you did this before) is to actually plan the different aspects before delving into actually deciding what to use to create your stickman for best performance and what not.

For example, is it going to be a side scroller or Mortal kombat style fighting game? Maybe a top down view like Gauntlet?

Whats the theme of my game?
What is going to make it unique and/or addictive to play? (I played a top down view game the other day killing zombies while keeping normal citizens alive... for 3 ****ing hours... and it wasn't a 148392847 gig install)

How many players does it support?
Would you want to have network capabilities to support more than 2 players?
Do I want to save highscores?
Do I know which "moves" my character will do, how do I unlock these moves?


etc
etc
etc
etc

Once you get a clear picture of how your game will work and what you'd like the end product to be like, then you can go into the nitty gritty. Deciding which to use for your stickman and all the other things.

There's a couple of gaming related dev sites (specifically in SA) that you can google (names escape me now) which could help you even more in deciding that once you get the concept of what you want to do out there and on paper.

I've seen most people not plan out what they want to do and just delved into the thing and it frustrated them endlessly because they had to re-do work or coded themselves into a corner and had to start from scratch etc.

Just my 2c. Good luck

I see your point but my reason of thinking this way is purely that if I can't get the basics of a moving stickman then there is no rest of the game for me to think of

 

[guest2013-1]

I see your point but my reason of thinking this way is purely that if I can't get the basics of a moving stickman then there is no rest of the game for me to think of

It's okay, a lot of people have your reasoning, but let me let you in to a little secret:

you're a programmer, you tell the pc what to do... my point? Anything is possible. You just need to have a clear idea of what you want to do and what the end result should be, and then break that **** up into different components and THEN start with "the basics"

Sometimes I sit and scribble on my notepad (pen and paper) of how I want my idea to flow. I write down "logic" and I draw up a flowchart of sorts (nothing you'd see those wussy project managers do or whatever) but something basic that gives me the idea of where I want to go and what I want to achieve. After that I start from the bottom up... database (if any) first and go from there.

The reason (as with the other reply to your OP) is to define which technology is best suited for your game. We don't know if you're thinking of a 2D game or a 3D game and if you're not even decided that yet, why waste time putting together sprites and what not for a stickman you're not sure what he will be doing in the first place.

Once you've decided what you'd want to do, your Google Searches are also more clearer...

This **** they don't teach you, but in fact HAVE to, as I've seen a lot of guys just jump into the programming aspect of what they'd like to do but don't plan it, so you'll be wasting 2 or 3 days on the stickman making him move with sprites or whatever to see if it's possible, but then try to apply it to a 4D world (haha) and only then realize you cant because of some limitation.

If you feel you'd like to try and create him first, go ahead, but just get an idea of how you want to incorporate whatever you're creating into your game first, because it doesn't help if you sit for hours/days/weeks creating something that will be useless in the end.

 

[S1ght]

Ok I'm gonna try it your way and do this whole "planning" thing I'll post again once thats all done and I can see what I want to do

 

[guest2013-1]

lol @ "planning" thing

Try and put as much detail in as you can. Normally while I plan things out like that I can apply the correct technology to the issue at hand. I've seen a lot of programmers learn AJAX (for example) and then push EVERYTHING into AJAX and make EVERYTHING AJAX. That's because they don't plan. They don't apply the correct tech to the correct "problem" mainly because they don't know the most efficient route.

But anyway, planning shouldn't take you longer than a couple of hours

 

[Kaufies]

+1 For planning, I learned the hard way. But I think his first post was a good place to start, planning wise. He asked about which fundamental technology he should use. I prefer to do that first and then start adding on 'cause if you go the other way round, your (well, mine at least) programs become too bloated and unnecessary. This works for me, I think everyone should find a planning style that works.
PS, let my advice count as much as my experience- very little, I'm still learning myself!

@AcidRaZor, what line of work are you in?

 

[FarligOpptreden]

@AcidRaZor, what line of work are you in?

Oh, I can answer that! He's a self-employed WEB DEVELOPER.

Can I have a cookie now?

 

[guest2013-1]

Oh, I can answer that! He's a self-employed WEB DEVELOPER.

Can I have a cookie now?

$.cookie('farlig');

I also do application development. My expertise is integration between financial systems and delivery mechanisms (like the web). I've been through from designing the database to putting the christmas lights on the site to make it look pretty. So pretty well-versed in the aspects of web (or desktop) applications.

 

[FarligOpptreden]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Windows apps. Where else would you have use for the Background Worker, i.e. thread manager?