[solved]Getting into c++ game dev

suicideducky · 2010-04-29 11:22:47

Hey all, haven't posted here in a while but I have a question and this seems like a pretty good place to park it.

I have been interested in getting into game development for a while now, I am very comfortable with c++ and its standard library and am wondering where to look for some good c++ game programming info/resources.

I would love a book / series of tutorials that I can follow through, but the only things I can find are either dedicated to directX or seem to be 99% about learning c++.

Anything I do needs to be cross platform, I've looked at using opengl directly but it's not very pretty and seems almost 'too c' (if that makes any sense).

Any recommendation or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
I'm keen to just write some basic 2d games and need a push in the right direction.
I have seen ClanLib, does anyone have experience with this? Any other recommendations?

Thanks again,
~Chris.

[edit]
One book that looks possibly promising is: http://www.amazon.com/Essential-3D-Game … 10&sr=1-12 but that isn't due out till 2010

Last edited by suicideducky (2010-05-03 08:41:17)

mrunion · 2010-04-29 13:12:24

Have you looked into using OGRE? It has some pretty good tutorials I think.

jdarnold · 2010-04-29 13:33:11

Here's my list so far (thanks for the OGRE pointer):

http://delicious.com/jdarnold/gamedev

drcouzelis · 2010-04-29 14:26:23

I have been using the Allegro game library for many years. It is free and open source, it is written in C, it works in many different environments (Windows, Linux, Haiku...), and I find it quite easy to use.

It is designed mainly for 2D games, but also includes wrappers for some OpenGL functionality. Allegro 5 is being developed, but I still recommend Allegro 4 at this time.

http://www.allegro.cc/

scio · 2010-04-29 14:28:07

Similar to OGRE, but with more of a DIY feel: http://www.openscenegraph.org/projects/osg

OpenSceneGraph gets you into creating EVERYTHING, with the help of plugins. We use it at work with http://www.osgearth.org/

It can help introduce you to some of the basic concepts, but might be too low level for starting out.

suicideducky · 2010-04-29 21:54:46

Thank you all for your replies

I was wondering, with OGRE, OSG and irrlicht is it possible to do 2d games aswell?

Is OpenGl able to handle both 2d and 3d?

Thanks again,
~Chris.

scio · 2010-04-29 22:15:04

suicideducky wrote:

Is OpenGl able to handle both 2d and 3d?

Yes it can, it is generally overkill to do pure 2d with OpenGl, but it is possible.

-Adam

bremarv · 2010-04-30 07:56:43

I would suggest you take a look at SDL. theres some pretty good tutorials at http://www.lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/index.php

Orm · 2010-04-30 23:22:36

Do yourself an immense favor and just learn opengl. Just, effing do it. You will gain so much from it. Take a look at my post "arch philosophy applied to a game engine" in this subforum. As for books, I personaqlly find allen sherrod's books good reads. There's another book I have, math for game development I think it's called, i 'll have to double check.

Last edited by Orm (2010-04-30 23:48:08)

Svenstaro · 2010-05-01 00:39:45

If you like C++ and want to keep it high-level, use SFML for 2D graphics and all other kinds of multimedia stuff and Ogre for all 3D graphics. I have tested quite a few libraries and I'm sticking with those mentioned. SFML is using OpenGL acceleration and as such is a lot faster than SDL.

Of course, you'll still be using Boost on top of either of those. Good luck, game development is fun.

Orm · 2010-05-01 02:18:40

SDL uses opengl as well Svenstaro. And pretty soon std::tr1 can replace many of the boost classes, at least the ones I use (shared_ptr and unordered_map). I love boost, but alot of people I have talked to about my work say that Boost is too big to download, so you might want to keep that in mind. Honestly though, anyone who flat out refuses to boost is either an idiot or a dinosaur. Another 3D lib to look at is Horde3D.

By the way, here's the post about the engine I mentioned earlier: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=96058

Last edited by Orm (2010-05-01 02:19:30)

Kiwi · 2010-05-01 03:32:44

http://nehe.gamedev.net/ has some good tutorials for OpenGL.

suicideducky · 2010-05-01 08:25:32

After looking at the OpenGL book at http://www.glprogramming.com/red/ I am thinking I might give it a go, a library is pretty much a front end for OpenGL/SDL anyway is it not?

Also the tutorials at http://www.lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/index.php are also proving to be helpful.

and I like the structure over at nehe.gamedev.net/ xD

Between them I hope to actually learn some of the theory and not just the library.
Although I think I am going to go with OpenGL for the time being,

@ORM:
You mentioned allan sherrod's book, which one particularly?
I am rather keen on the one I linked above, and I might actually get it....
I only just realised it is 2010, I was thinking it was a whole year away HAHHAA.

Thanks again all,
~Ducky.

[edit]
4 books that I am interested in are:
Beginning OpenGL Game Programming, Second Edition
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/159863528X

OpenGL Programming Guide: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL, Versions 3.0 and 3.1
http://www.amazon.com/OpenGL-Programmin … 0321552628

Essential 3D Game Programming: with C++ and OpenGL
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-3D-Game … 0123751039

Game Graphics Programming
http://www.amazon.com/Game-Graphics-Pro … 1584505168

Any other recommendations/comments on any of these books?
At this point I am hoping to focus more on 2d games rather than jump right into 3d.

Last edited by suicideducky (2010-05-01 09:06:17)

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#1 2010-04-29 11:22:47

[solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#2 2010-04-29 13:12:24

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#3 2010-04-29 13:33:11

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#4 2010-04-29 14:26:23

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#5 2010-04-29 14:28:07

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#6 2010-04-29 21:54:46

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#7 2010-04-29 22:15:04

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#8 2010-04-30 07:56:43

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#9 2010-04-30 23:22:36

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#10 2010-05-01 00:39:45

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#11 2010-05-01 02:18:40

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#12 2010-05-01 03:32:44

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

#13 2010-05-01 08:25:32

Re: [solved]Getting into c++ game dev

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