[Delicieuxz]

Does anyone know of any good video tutorials that teach programming starting with the basics? Non video tutorials are cool too, but video sticks with me a lot better than reading does. I'm interested in learning it as a hobby. Same goes for 3d modeling and creating textures, know of any good tutorials?

[TerminX]

You aren't going to find good videos that show you how to program... lol, what is it going to be, a video of someone typing? Anyway, you didn't say what language you're interested in. This is good for learning C, which is still the best all-around language IMO: http://www.eskimo.co.../notes/top.html

There are so many different languages and libraries and whatnot though that you should really be more specific.

[Delicieuxz]

Lol, that just shows how green I am. I would want to learn whatever would be the best for me to eventually make simple side-scrolling games with. I'm thinking C++, just because it appears to me to be the standard for games. Thanks for the link!

Ooh, I found this:

http://www.programmi...otutorials.com/

[Reaper_Man]

Yeah lol @ "programming video".

What is your background in terms of your knowledge? Any maths or anything like that?

That site looks like a rip off. First of all, you have to pay for the videos that aren't the introductions. Secondly, I watched SQL and PHP - two things I am pretty knowledgeable about - and it seriously looks like they just made a video out of a powerpoint presentation. You just can't learn to program from a video. If you're going to spend money on learning, buy yourself a decent "beginners" book - make sure you do some research to make sure you get the best one you can - and I guess start there.

If you have zero background in any type of programming then C++ might be a bit much to tackle.

[Delicieuxz]

Well, I failed math 10 three times... but I think attendance record is more to blame than competency. I took some ib programming class in high school, but that was 9 or 10 years ago, and I barely squeezed my way through it (but did thanks to a lenient and retiring prof). In this case, I think that the drugs were more to blame than competency. The furthest I took things in that class was programming an animated picture, though some other students created polygonal games.

Now that I've made myself sound all-around stoopid (though I'm actually really a genius, really really), I'll state that the supreme goal here, or at least the most relevant milestone, is that I would be able to create my own tacky 2d side-scroller, with art and all. I figure I'll start with the programming aspect and that it'd be most efficient to learn the language that I will likely be using later on.

I'd already signed up for that site which you think may be a rip-off before reading your reply, so I'll milk it for what it's worth. It seems to have a lot of information, perhaps more than I'll be able to swallow in month, but I'll see. Any good books you can recommend?

Too bad I can't just plug a usb device containing all relevant information into my skull.

[Reaper_Man]

Funny you mention plugging a thumb drive into your skull. Data is less about storage and more about interpretation, which is what programming is all about.

Since you already spent the $10, upload the C++ ones. I'm curious.

I lost all of my books in a move a few years ago, I'm sure there somewhere but I've long since forgot what they were called or who wrote them. I did have a copy of that Duke 3D mapping book though, I'm still pretty pissed to this day I lost that! Anyway, like I said just pick a topic (C or C++ or whatever) and look on Amazon or Barnes and Noble and read the reviews, find ones that seem to be highly rated. Google the book name and the authors and see if they've actually done anything beside write books. Just do your homework.

[Delicieuxz]

The C++ tutorials are in this rar. Let me know when you have them and I'll take them down.

---

[peoplessi]

http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Through-Ga.../ref=pd_sim_b_7

This book of C++, it's easy to read, and everything is represented in a way so that it ties for game programming. Will give you the very basics.

[Spooger]

I'm not really sure if you need or even want to go in the direction of C/C++ to learn how to build side-scrolling games.

Don't get me wrong: I think those languages are crucial for anyone interested in game development (on an industry scale) -- and, as a general purpose language that offers a lot of flexibility, it's been my go-to language for the majority of my work in College thus far. But it's also fairly complicated, and can be tough to learn without some guidance. If you have friends who're good at programming, or are taking classes, C/C++ might be a good choice. However, if you're purely a hobbyist who's interests lie fundamentally in 2D games, then maybe consider something like C# with XNA -- there's a large and seemingly friendly community out there to help new-to-programming enthusiast game designers get started, and a lot of the nitty gritties are abstracted away from you.

I hate giving out advice when it comes to this kind of thing, because when I made my first 2D game I used C++ and the SDL, and so it seems like my advice is completely backwards to what I did -- but the primary difference is, I'm in CS in school, and I like having to deal with things that most people simply interested in getting their game on the screen don't.

As for tutorials/reference material, first pick a language (but again, don't pick one arbitrarily -- do a little research) and then buy a book to get you started. Don't overestimate your abilities; just because a programming book says "beginner" on it doesn't necessarily make it easy on one. Don't buy a book on "game programming" -- they're not for beginners, and -- from what I've seen of some of them -- they really don't tackle the science or languages sufficiently.

I started with Dietel and Dietel books. Look them up -- they're available for just about any generic programming language out there, and they're actually very comprehensive. The latest editions, if I recall, do get into game programming -- but that's a little down the road. These books are good because they start off assuming you know very little or absolutely nothing about programming; you work through just about everything, though don't expect an exaustive treatment about data structures/algorithms, as the book is designed to introduce these things. My edition is older and as such doesn't go into how to write games, but I definately assure you that if you went through an entire C# or C++ book by Dietel and then downloaded something like XNA or SDL, you could get started writing 2D games right away with a *little* research.

It can't be said enough, but if you really want to "learn to program", as books will claim they can do for you (or any material which has a price tag), you absolutely have to program. It takes time, nomatter what language or reference material you will use, and it requires you to work towards it slowly. If you're a hobbyist, I recommend against languages which will take you a long time to reach your goal, but if you plan to continue forth with it and make more and more complicated games, then perhaps that recommendation would indeed be something that gets you closer to the bits.

Good luck.

Links:
C# How To Program: Here

C++ How To Program: Here

Also, note that these books are very expensive. They're big. Very big. And very good -- but they're never "too much information"; work chapter by chapter, do some of the assignments at the end of each chapter, write code, and you will learn. Nobody said hobbies weren't expensive.

[Delicieuxz]

Thanks, people, for the information and book recommendations/links. I also have a copy of this book, which my brother gave to me a couple years ago. I find some of the structure of its examples slightly different than other examples I've seen online, maybe because this book is from 2002, but it's still breaking me in to the language.

[Delicieuxz]

Has the C++ language changed much in the past 10 years?

[Delicieuxz]

Is there a way I can open up the source code for Monkey Island 1 or 2? I'd like to review it for stuff I've learned so far and look at how it was put together.