I'm afraid that not many people here have much development experience.
The easiest way to gain a lot of flexibility for game design that I've found is:
1) Learn a bit of the C++ programming language. Google is your friend. I can try to help you with any questions you may have.
2) This package
http://gdk.thegamecreators.com/is a set of C++ code designed specifically for making games in C++. It's the easiest way I know to have complete flexibility without getting confused by having to code *everything* manually.
Other options, if C++ is too complex to pick up and learn, are to use the BASIC language versions of game development software. The problem is that they cost more and are trickier to use in the long run (when you can't as easily organize your code).
http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com/If you can read the code below, you're on your way to learning C++!
- Code: on
//Text next to the "//" are comments.
//This text doesn't run as part of the code.
//They just make your code easier to read.
//Everything between this line and public void main()
// is the initialization of the program, any necessary libraries
//and the declaration of global variables
//include any necessary code libraries.
//these are stored in .h files (header files) included with your C++ compiler.
//You may also downloaded other .h files or make your own.
//DarkGDK.h is the library file for the Dark GDK I mentioned earlier.
#include <iostream.h>
#include <cstdlib>
//this makes cin and cout work properly. That's all I know.
using namespace std;
int num; //stores the number inputted by the user
//The code inside the { } braces is inside a "Function"
//the function "main" is where the actual program starts.
public void main()
{
cout << "Enter a number (no decimals please): ";
cin >> num; //input a number here.
cout << "You entered the number " << num << "." << endl; //display the number
System("PAUSE"); //pause the program until a key is pressed
return (0); //exit the program
}
And below is the same program without any of the comments. It's probably easier to read.
- Code: on
#include <iostream.h>
#include <cstdlib>
using namespace std;
int num;
public void main()
{
cout << "Enter a number (no decimals please): ";
cin >> num;
cout << "You entered the number " << num << "." << endl;
System("PAUSE");
return (0);
}
As for the game development with regard to code:
Think about literally what the game needs to do, each step along the way. This will help you sequence your code and write your code in a way that makes logical sense.
All this being said, C++ is only one of many languages to program a game in. I like it because it has the power to develop basically anything you can think of. The language you want will depend on the complexity of the program you want to create, the learning curve you want with your programming language and how much programming experience you have.
