Gimme, Gimme Gimme!

[alibee]

Damn, I've only just paid for this thing and I want it now!

I'm a professional programmer... I should be inured to the desire for these things... but I'll be shuffling from one foot to the other until it arrives!

Mmm... now where did I leave the source code for 'Minotaur' (1982)?


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...this post may be meaningless... or is it a secret code?

 

[Epsilon]

Haha you and me same, i create and maintain unix/linux and some windows programs as my daily bread, mostly database handling programs and a special program for dentists my company has created
I also feel like a child again simply cannot wait to get my filthy hands on this little jewel.

 

[gp2brew]

Damn, I've only just paid for this thing and I want it now!

I'm a professional programmer... I should be inured to the desire for these things... but I'll be shuffling from one foot to the other until it arrives!

Mmm... now where did I leave the source code for 'Minotaur' (1982)?


------------------------------------------------------------------
...this post may be meaningless... or is it a secret code?

​

Google tells me that Minotaur from 1982 is an Intellivision game, and you're still coding eh grandpa? hehe

Seriously, is that the one, are you a professional game programmer from that far back?

 

[alibee]

Hmm... this is going to sound odd... but it could be!

I wrote Minotaur originally when I was 16/17 for the TRS80 and the Sharp MZ80K. I sold it to a company called 'Knights Computers' for a wad of cash and then saw it or things very similar to it popping up for a few years after that.

So, yes, I have been writing programmes for that long... although not many games (a few for the BBC and the Archimedes)... but otherwise a mixture of things from robotics & automation software to CNC firmware to CAD/CAM systems to embedded systems.

OK... I admit it... I'm a code whore! Anything that turns a buck!

 

[Jarska333]

But I wrote the DaVinci code!

This be the "ADD: Treasure of Tarmin"?

 

[ZodiacfreaK]

Holy crap alibee!!!! I want to be just like you!! I'm 15 and learning programming. I'm a little behind but at least I am getting there.

 

[nickspoon]

*wants to be like alibee too*

I'm 13, been coding for six years, but admittedly not all the time

And up until recently I haven't learnt a letter of C.

I can't wait to get my hands on this thing!

 

[MiniMoose]

Holy crap alibee!!!! I want to be just like you!! I'm 15 and learning programming. I'm a little behind but at least I am getting there.

​

The times have changed from Alibee's early years. The best way to stay employed as a programmer for as long as Alibee has been is to learn math really well and get at least a college degree in engineering and probably a masters/PhD in engineering, international business, or economics.

You have an amazing opportunity, being as young as you are. I'm 28, a professional game programmer (PS2, XB, PS3, XB360, PC), and I wish I had studied harder. I'm continually upgrading my education and skills in order to stay employed.

 

[alibee]

Coding from 7... well you've got me beat!

But in my defense... there were no personal computers available until I was 16... first one I ever saw/got-my-mitts-on was a Commodore Pet... first one I ever borrowed was a TRS80 knock off called a VideoGenie... first one I ever owned was a Sinclair ZX80... but funnily it was a better time to be a budding programmer... especially of games... than now

I'll explain... back then there were very few commercially available games for the machines and they were expensive... mostly if you wanted to play something you needed to borrow a magazine and type the code in yourself... the code was usually riddled with bugs so you had to fix it to run it... so you were basically forced to learn to programme. The hardware was also much simpler so it was not only possible but almost required to understand the whole of the hardware of the machine and to programme in assembler (although usually using 'poke' to get it into the machine) to get the most out of it.

Also it was a pretty level playing field... games depended more on the playability and the basic game concept whereas now it is all about content creation and the platform that they are on... fundamentally the latest block-busters like Doom 3, Quake 2, Halo and Half-life are all derivates of Doom (or whatever was before that)... the player mode and activities are the same it's just increases in graphic quality and content that differentiate them (and ditto for driving games and god-mode games... all variations on a theme... very little new in the way of play-mode or concepts)... it's hard to bring anything new out or to get a look in on the mainstream platforms without a massive investment in content creation... far beyond the capabilities or budget of any budding games designers and developers.

I think my principal interest in the GP2X is that it will be interesting to concentrate on the basic ideas and gaming concepts again... and there would seem to be a willing audience for whatever is created

Oh, that's not to say that I might not produce a knock off of one of the current favourites!

 

[MiniMoose]

I think my principal interest in the GP2X is that it will be interesting to concentrate on the basic ideas and gaming concepts again... and there would seem to be a willing audience for whatever is created

​

My interest is very similar to yours. I have a few ideas for new gameplay mechanics that I've tried to sell to the decision makers in the game industry but without a prototype, they haven't received much interest.

I'm hoping to build my games and try to build an audience so that I can push for commercial publishing of them or games based on the ideas. I want to be able to put my GP2X in their hands and say, "see, this is fun."

 

[alibee]

The times have changed from Alibee's early years. The best way to stay employed as a programmer for as long as Alibee has been is to learn math really well and get at least a college degree in engineering and probably a masters/PhD in engineering, international business, or economics.

I second that... I don't think you can overstate the importance of mathematics to a programmer... my 'early years' set me in good stead... especially the familiarity with hardware *and* software... but, although the games paid for treats in college they would not have paid all the bills over the years... my steady work as a software engineer does that.

 

[AireTamStorm]

This device will be a pleasure to code on. You can do almost anything 2D you would ever want to on this hardware. You could more than likely handle a hundred or so animating objects on the screen at once. I can't wait to get started ^_^

 

[nickspoon]

And not only that, it is very much possible to do 3d without fancy hardware.

 

[deadlychicken22]

I second that... I don't think you can overstate the importance of mathematics to a programmer... my 'early years' set me in good stead... especially the familiarity with hardware *and* software... but, although the games paid for treats in college they would not have paid all the bills over the years... my steady work as a software engineer does that.

Thats great new for me! I'm very good at math, and also very interested in programming. I'm 15 and i have been programming in VB (if that counts ) since I was 10. I'm in 10th grade and i'm already in Honors Pre-calculus, a class with mostly 11th and 12th graders. I will be taking AP calculus next year and AP statistics in my senior year. I have a c++ compiler (dev c++, using gcc) and book to get me started programming in it, i just need to get a large chunk of time (possibly summer break) to sink my teeth into the language as it is MUCH more complicated than VB (which i wish i hadn't learned, whish i'd jumped straight into c...). I'm taking a programming class this year but its complete crap. The teacher never teaches anything, and everyone else in the class is constantly confused and i'm constantly bored. We've been covering chapter 6 (manipulating strings, website HERE) for 3 class periods (a total of 4 hours 30 minutes) and I finished all of the excercises in the first 20 minutes of the first class period. The rest of the time i did a little of my own programming (currently working on a study tool for myself) and browsed the internet. I started playing some flash games, but the teacher turned my computer off with netop (god how i hate it) because we're not supposed to play flash games. I was considering deleting netop student on my computer so he couldn't anymore, but he told us that that would result in suspension It would be very easy, as the administrator accounts on the individual computers (not the network) have no password (and i use them quite frequently ).

 

[MiniMoose]

I was considering deleting netop student on my computer so he couldn't anymore, but he told us that that would result in suspension It would be very easy, as the administrator accounts on the individual computers (not the network) have no password (and i use them quite frequently ).

​

Don't do anything stupid and get suspended. That kind of stuff shows up on transcripts that you have to send to universities. Use your boredom creatively...after class you could ask your teacher if you could work on an independent study project where you complete the programming tasks in C++. Tell them that you are already proficient in VB and that you want to expand your knowledge by learning C++.

You have to remember that non-tech-savvy people, teachers included, are generally afraid of kids like you. They won't hesitate to ruin your future when their ego/authority is challenged. Don't give them the opportunity.

Keep going with your math! Calculus is where real math starts ;-) It only gets cooler

 

[Minkoff]

Use your boredom creatively...

Seconded. I only learned to program because of a medical problem that had me in bed almost 24/7 for quite a while. Naturally, I was out of school because of it, so I had alot of time to myself. More time than I ever want to have again.

Somehow I ended up teaching myself PHP, Ruby, and a few other languages, and now I can acually make games. One of the most useful medical problems ever.

 

[deadlychicken22]

thanks for the advice, i might try that. I definitely don't want to get suspended, so i'm not going to delete netop, don't worry i'm not that stupid.

 

[MiniMoose]

thanks for the advice, i might try that. I definitely don't want to get suspended, so i'm not going to delete netop, don't worry i'm not that stupid.

​

I don't think you're stupid, I just know how tempting it is to make it obvious to others how stupid some teachers really are. The unions have *not* done good things for the quality of American teachers. :angry:

 

[nickspoon]

thanks for the advice, i might try that. I definitely don't want to get suspended, so i'm not going to delete netop, don't worry i'm not that stupid.

I don't think you're stupid, I just know how tempting it is to make it obvious to others how stupid some teachers really are. The unions have *not* done good things for the quality of American teachers. :angry:

Amen to that.
Our new head of IT knows barely anything about computers, and spends barely any time in the computer rooms. UK, btw. The old guy was better, but admittedly not much. And they both seem to be afraid of installing any new software, especially non-Microsoft.

 

[Digitalrat]

My IT-teacher doesn't really know anything. She gave me a worse mark than I expected in the last test because I wrote about things she don't know. As a example I mentioned Ogg Vorbis as a compressed format and she says that it doesn't even exist.