How did all of you game developers begin making games?

[Jay_Fila]

I am trying to learn C# and it is very complicated for me because I am a complete beginner in writing code...I was just wondering if it gets easier and how all of you developers got started

[itsnotabigtruck]

I learned C# after I already had programming experience in other languages.

It gets a lot easier as you build your skill. Also, once you grasp the concepts of programming, everything else is easy.

[ShotgunSnipist]

^^ Agreed!
Do you know any languages?
I knew very little TrueBasic and even less Java but I knew enough to know how programs work.

If you know some languages, I suggest you just pick up a book. I'm currently reading
'Head First: C#' and it's a GREAT book.
Also, You will learn a LOT from looking at other peoples programs. That's how I learned 50% of what I know. Find A really simple program and try to figure out how it works.

Good Luck. =D

[Jay_Fila]

that actually sounds like a great idea about studying other people's programs...I will definitely do that but at the moment I just don't know enough about programming (I have no experience in any computor language - I'm only 17 and am taking my first visual basic class this year) so I am going to try a basic beginner book to get me started...but that is really good to know that once I get the hang of it it comes easier...thanks for the advice

[The Undead]

I had bought myself a psp, after awhile of owning it I got into the psp Homebrew scene. Taught myself lua coded for them psp, then when I got into highschool, I took java programming classes all the way to ap 2 so I was fluent in java. Then ms released xna so I started messing with it and it was very easy because I know java. But I must say I can code in java much better than I ever could in C#

[Jay_Fila]

Thats interesting...so how long did it take until you could program a simple 2D game

[mbills2]

i started on the c=64.

[Netrix]

I started programming on my TI-83 Plus with TI-Basic, then Visual Basic, then PocketC (a C-like programming language for Pocket PCs), then C++, then OpenGL, then C# with XNA.

[Jzune]

It would be cool if a couple of programmers held online classes thru zb, you know, give us small projects to do. That way more people join in on the development of games and apps.

[The Undead]

Originally Posted by Jzune

It would be cool if a couple of programmers held online classes thru zb, you know, give us small projects to do. That way more people join in on the development of games and apps.

That is kind of a good Idea, the only problem would be is that most of us developers(if not all) have a wife and kids, and stuff. Like im only 16 so I have school, a Job, my siblings/mom and stuff to deal with. So it would be hard to get time to do it.

[zunebro]

i actually started on an Apple II, then the C128, then went on a long hiatus until flash came along, took another hiatus while building a recording studio and diving into internet marketing, trying to get back into it again.

[Jzune]

Yeah thats true i know most of yous guys are very busy, but like how about an open class where each week tehy have to code something, it can start out small.

[Tiptup300]

I started with PHP learning the mechanics of how programming works. I then started taking a business programming 3-year course. Over this course at home, I started learning C# with windows forms to interact with my php websites. At school I learned COBOL, then RPG, then SQL (i'm certified in it), then more rpg. At the end I figured out vb, mostly everyone else had to read the book, I didn't feel like reading, so I just made games the rest of the year. Good times....

[Jay_Fila]

That would actually be really cool to have a simple class on this site, I would definitely be interested!

[Link9228]

as a hobby mainly. and i was always interested in programming. I started off learning c# back when it came out years ago, and worked on learning the logic behind coding. I started making simple windows apps... quit for a few years started up and then heard that i could make games for my zune, and here i am!

[rubenbest]

well i want to learn but i don't know how to get started and also my computer will not be able to support c#

[mr.handsomeman]

I would definitely be interested in learning about C#, I would sign up for those classes quick! Are there already tutorials though? some online that maybe I can even pay for? Hmm.

[yeloshu]

Got started making a simple card game on QBASIC in my youth(5-6ish) on a computer that literally took me maybe an hour to get through a single battle in Wizardry 7...ghetto ass thing! Then moved up to HTML and Javascript in middle school. Freshman year in high school I took Computer Apps 2 and expanded on my really weak VBasic foundation, albeit not much because we mostly copied off each other =/. Haven't taken a computer class since(now a senior), but I've been doing hobby-level programming ever since. Wrote a few weak Python things. Got Visual Studio Express. Got into playing Imperian(text based MMORPG aka MUD). Tried to make a clone of Whyte's Mapper(absolutely incredible program that runs in between the MUD Server and your MUD Client). Failed. Tried to make a clone of the MUD itself. Semi-failed. It had working network support, rooms with descriptions and inventories, items with descriptions, players with inventories, simple player interactions, and ANSI support. But I kinda gave up on it because school became more of a priority. I would look into it again, but I've nerfed the harddrive multiple times since then. I got pretty proficient with Visual Basic, but that is really a deadend language. Only so much to learn in it. Looked at C and C++ but they are still beyond me. Made an RPG on someone's TI-83 but they lost the calculator and I lost the 5+ pages of source code I had written down. Got into modding games like TES 3: Morrowind and Doom 3. Then got a Zune and picked up on C# when games became available.

Detailed enough? =P

Edit: Oh, and forgot to mention PHP somewhere in there. Making a Final Fantasy 1 rom editor in a language as static as PHP is a fun challenge.

[Netrix]

I also did some coding for a MUD. That is how I practiced C++.

[Epoc]

Well, a few months ago in my math class I started with TI basic, a was able to do alot of things, and right now I am trying to get into learning C#, and let me tell you, it is a HUGE jump from the ease a TI basic. but if you are really into it (i'm having trouble gettin into sitting down and learning) and it helps if you have programing in your future (again, something probably not in my future).