12 replies to this topic

[Ram3o]

Hi I know basic C++ and I can make basic script game, but I was wondering how I can make 2D or 3D games. Do I need to know Maya or 3DMax or can I just use a game engine? And then how do I go about making simple games, like roam around a room or make a 2D fighting game?

[WannaDev]

Ram3o said:

Hi I know basic C++ and I can make basic script game, but I was wondering how I can make 2D or 3D games. Do I need to know Maya or 3DMax or can I just use a game engine? And then how do I go about making simple games, like roam around a room or make a 2D fighting game?

Well , why you don't start with SDL? thats how i started , and haven't regret it!

http://libsdl.org/
Tutorials:
http://libsdl.org/tutorials.php

Dev Library:
Mingw32 version:
http://libsdl.org/re...-mingw32.tar.gz

Runtime packages:
http://libsdl.org/re....2.12-win32.zip

Download Code blocks ide:
www.codeblocks.org/

Code blocks & sdl setup guide:
wiki.codeblocks.org/index.php?title=Using_SDL_with_Code::Blocks

[Ram3o]

Thanks for the information

[Berndr]

To be honest, to make a decent looking 3d game answer is yes you need to know how to use one of the modelling packages.
also creating a nice model and good animation is not that easy it might take you years, and don’t start with 3d max its the hardest one to learn ,

when i graduated with BA in animation, sadly out of 100 students in my year at the end of our course only very few of us could actually animate


its 100 times easier to learn how to program then how to animate ... trust me

Ps. If you really want to learn 3d software get yourself training DVD course from gnomon it’s the best crash course available http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/

[SamuraiCrow]

There is a free 3D modeller program around called Blender that, while difficult to learn, will generate professional-looking results. There is a plugin for the Ogre graphics engine based on Blender.

Also, if you're looking to develop software with SDL you should seriously consider learning some programming for the OpenGL library since SDL works very closely with it.

[Skaldi]

First I have to say i don't like blender much. The controls of this software are way too complicated for me (or I just didn't take enough time to get into it).

My favorite 3d Modelling Software is Wings 3d.
Wings Homepage

Although you cannot make animations with it. For animations (skeletar animations) is Milkshape a very good choice (just google for it). Milkshape isn't free like wings3d but very cheap to achieve what I remember my licenece costed me < 20$, so peanuts. And Milkshape can Import and Export Models to really many formats. So you can export it for your favorite format to read (I suggest the .obj here too its the easiest 1 to read).
But to have your models with animations you should make your own 3d Model format anyway which fits best to your application.

You can take a look at my website Skaldi Games what you can do with wings3d. Take a lookt at projects -> Raptor reloaded.

[NightRage]

Wings 3d is Awesome.
http://www.forumsigs...mg.cfm?img=7369

I use 3D Studio MAX, been using it since Animation School.

Just a Question, what Engine are gonna use for the Game? Every Engine has different specifications and limits. Not every Engine will handle a certain Animation Type. Look at the Engine and find one that'll suit your needs.

NeoAxis Engine is cool. I tested it out the other day. Check it out. Based on the Ogre Engine.

[.oisyn]

Berndr said:

its 100 times easier to learn how to program then how to animate ... trust me

That's a bogus statement, for both you need some kind of natural feeling, and for both you need tons of experience. The difference between the two is that everybody can see it when you've done a bad job at animating, but only good programmers can see it when you've done a bad job at programming.

If you're implying that learning how to program is something you can do at school, then that is essentially the same as saying that learning how to animate is like learning the interface of the modeling package and use that to move a cube along a path (for example). But in reality, learning how to animate has more to do with getting a feeling with actual natural physiology than with learning how to use the interface of a particular program, just as learning how to program has more to do with learning how to design structurally sound applications and algorithms than with actually learning the syntax of a programming language.

Your statement does apply to me personally, however, but that's because I am a programmer with no artistic skills whatsoever. It would definitely not apply for the average professional animator.

[rouncer]

What about programming an art package, wouldnt that mean
youd need a bit of skill in both areas?

[Reedbeta]

Sure. There are lots of good reasons for a programmer to pick up a little bit of art skill, or at least to spend some time sitting with artists and getting a feel for how the art process works. It doesn't require the programmer become an expert artist themselves, though (fortunately for those like .oisyn and myself to whom art doesn't come very naturally).

[Skaldi]

Now I have a big question.

I'm a programmer too and not a modeller. Can anybody link me some pages with good tutorials about animations for 3dsMax for example.
I know the princips how it works to get live into my 3d Models, but they all look like robots and the movements are everything else than smooth and natural.

[.oisyn]

rouncer said:

What about programming an art package, wouldnt that mean
youd need a bit of skill in both areas?

What do you mean with skill? I know my way around Max and Maya and I know a thing or two about modeling techniques, but does that mean I have modeling skills? If someone would ask me to model a scary creature, I couldn't do a very good job at that. So no, I'd say I have no modeling skills, but I know enough to aid modelers by creating plugins using their input.

[rouncer]

Id class what you just said you could do as skill.

But im sure you could code a quick normal mapping plugin and I guess you
are right you needent have to have modelling skills to do it.

If you wanted to make the actual interface the artist actually uses to make
the art, then talking to artists (or perhaps being one yourself) is needed
more.

Btw, If your an indi , Art skills are not a crap thing to have with your
programming.