Ok I Am A Noob. How Can I Contribute To Development Games Software And

[s33k3rgr]

I mean i have a little experience with some programming language like java c c-sharp and some others. I also know about the linux operating system as i am a power-everyday-user. I am very excited about the prospects that openpandora release gives us. Is there any good starting point for starting to contribute to the community? Thanks.

 

[GreenDream]

I also really want to contribute somehow, though I have no programming knowledge at all (Though I did once make a browser with Visual Basic ) . If someone could point me towards some tutorials that would help me in development for the Pandora/Linux, it would be much appreciated.

What I can do however, if it is of any use, is photography...And that's all

 

[s33k3rgr]

@wade-newb I am sure that a lot more programming skill required. Maybe even some low-level programming like assembly or something similar.

 

[GreenDream]

@Wade-newb I am sure that a lot more programming skill required. Maybe even some low-level programming like assembly or something similar.

:huh: I'm not offering to help, I need help just like you

 

[s33k3rgr]

Got it man. Lets just hope we will find the right guidance around here

 

[s33k3rgr]

Ok maybe i wasnt carefull enough. I just found that wiki http://pandorawiki.org/Main_Page . Maybe that could help us.

 

[marshal]

Maybe helping create PND package of existing game / software. The PND spec are available and it isn't overly complicated. It's just a XML file with information and the software in a nice package.

I guess the difficulty here is compiling / porting exiting software and games.

Personnaly I though about taking a look at running openttd on the Pandora. It already work on numberous platform and should be portable. Then again I don't have any real C programming knowledge so I don't know if it's a good idea...

I am actually learning some python3 right now... I really need to put more time into it though. I am still really a novice.... I created a small snake clone using curse and I have done a few script to process csv file but that's about it. (and the exercice from the book I am using).

There are a number of python application / small game out there. Most of them should be fairly portable so I might look into created PND package for some of those apps once I have my Pandora

 

[marshal]

EDIT: Sorry I posted 2 times. The forum doesn't seem to handle the current load too well. It's doesn't seem to want to go down that easily though witch is a good thing

 

[s33k3rgr]

Thanks for the feedback marshal but since there are a lot of simple games available now (because of the emulators) i think the developers need to try to make some more advanced games. Maybe some console-sellers like in some other consoles (Halo for Xbox or MGS for ps3). Off course i know that it is difficult to gain resources (developers and time) to make such games. But has anyone try it? I mean Openpandora is such a challenge considering the hardware and the people that are interested in (most of them are familiar with the open-source concept). Maybe we could do something bigger.

 

[timbobsteve]

Hi Guys,

I'm probably a few steps ahead of where you are now. If you have some basic programming knowledge, then grab yourself a linux machines (or Virtual Machine)... or even Windows with Bloodshed DevC++ and SDL Packages and learn C++ and SDL programming:

www.libsdl.org
www.sdltutorials.com

The following really helped me a lot:

http://sol.gfxile.net/gp/
http://lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/index.php
http://jnrdev.72dpiarmy.com/

SDL is NOT a game engine, but it will provide you with the foundations for putting stuff on the screen, getting keyboard and controller input and making sounds. All of these are basics in programming games.

I think I've got the basics down now and I'm moving on to getting a basic 2D sprite-based engine together. Once done, I can use it to make some simple games (beyond Tic-Tac-Toe and Tetris ). The main thing I am struggling with is The Object-Oriented stuff, whereby you separate out the graphics/rendering, system functions, game functions, sounds, players and objects all into separate classes and handle them all through a central "Engine". It's a struggle to wrap my head around, but I'm making some progress.

Just start basic. Follow the Jump'n'Run tutorial (http://jnrdev.72piarmy.com/). Copy their code. Change bits. Break it.. fix it. Write it over and over until you know what is happening where and why. Get a pandora or GP2X and cross-compile it for those platforms. Run your little creations on other devices (Android phones and iPhones are great). Little milestones like this will keep you motivated to continue learning.

Making a game, or programming a whole project is a massive undertaking. Be prepared to fail the first few attempts... quit at least 5 times only to come back and give it another go... and even then you might have only programmed Mahjong. If, at the end of all this, you are still keen, you can step it up to 3D graphics and start working on "bigger projects".

Remember.. no one can learn to program in a day... and I wouldn't expect anyone who started programming tomorrow to be able to produce a Mario clone, let alone quake 4 in a month (or 6, in my case ).

Hope this helps someone start off.
Timbobsteve.

 

[GreenDream]

Oh wow...That is exactly what I needed
Thanks a million times over timbobsteve...All your link will prove to be very very useful to me

I'm bookmarking this for future reference.

 

[s33k3rgr]

@ timbobsteve Thanks for providing that info. Its just another thing that i want to ask. Is there a higher level game engine that could provide us with some "shortcuts" for games development on openpandora? I mean is it necessary to start from scratch and code those little games you refer to? Just asking. I am willing to start from anywhere...

 

[MarkoeZ]

@ timbobsteve Thanks for providing that info. Its just another thing that i want to ask. Is there a higher level game engine that could provide us with some "shortcuts" for games development on openpandora? I mean is it necessary to start from scratch and code those little games you refer to? Just asking. I am willing to start from anywhere...

Hello!

I second the LazyFoo tutorials. Also, i found the C++ video's at 3D buzz very usefull LINK(For the basic stuff, the more advanced ones cost money, dunno about them)

And if you are looking for a framework: Just about a year ago i was at the same point as you guys. Then PandoraPanic emerged with the Penjin Engine. After a couple of nights of breaking up a minigame, and building onto that, i made my first minigame (math calculating, very simple). Basically Penjin is a C++ framework that takes the hard/dull stuff away, and let's you concentrate on the game itself. But it's still c++, so yo can make it as complex as you want. Nowadays, im still no code guru, but i am having great fun developing PanJoust. (And that's most important for me, fun!)

Anyway, hope it helps in some way, there are links in my signature.

Cheers!
MarkoeZ

 

[timbobsteve]

@ timbobsteve Thanks for providing that info. Its just another thing that i want to ask. Is there a higher level game engine that could provide us with some "shortcuts" for games development on openpandora? I mean is it necessary to start from scratch and code those little games you refer to? Just asking. I am willing to start from anywhere...

RE: Higher-Level stuff

I asked myself the same question last week. I struggled to find any engines that I liked, maunly down to lack of documentatio (read: beginner tutorials), not being C++ which is my preferred language or not being linux-based (which the pandora is).

Having said that, there is a library that wraps around SDL to provide a higher level of abstraction, called Allegro. It's speciffically geared towards games (which is nice), but I wouldn't really call it a complete engine. Maybe try that if you need to get results quickly to keep motivated (some ppl do).

Also remember that even John Carmack started out knowing nothing. Patience and a will to learn new stuff is key.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific queries, I am happy to help.

Cheers,
Timbobsteve.

 

[Butterman]

Jumping into an engine isn't an amazing way to learn. It's much better to try yourself and make mistakes. Besides, you don't want to use an engine for a 2d game. That's... just lazy.

The best advice anybody can give you is to do Lazy Foo's tutorials. Every one of them. They're targetted at the absolute begginer. Take it step by step, you can't expect to do it all in a day. Programming takes time to learn. You can't just pick up any old engine and write a super amazing first person shooter. (Heh, from experience I know that one). You have to start smaller, build up, make mistakes, understand how to organise your code.

Good luck.

 

[alucart1984]

I would like to do voices for games. I don't have any experience other than sitting around and doing voices for no reason. I can send samples if lines are given to me to read. I can do two characters against each other and stuff like that. I can do multiple voices.

 

[darien]

Jumping into an engine isn't an amazing way to learn. It's much better to try yourself and make mistakes. Besides, you don't want to use an engine for a 2d game. That's... just lazy.

The best advice anybody can give you is to do Lazy Foo's tutorials. Every one of them. They're targetted at the absolute begginer. Take it step by step, you can't expect to do it all in a day. Programming takes time to learn. You can't just pick up any old engine and write a super amazing first person shooter. (Heh, from experience I know that one). You have to start smaller, build up, make mistakes, understand how to organise your code.

Good luck.

Pretty much this. Do some beginner tuts then get into a project. Define your requirements, figure out what you want/need to implement (SDL, OpenGL|ES), then start. Achieving bit by bit will help you in understanding general game architecture and solving limitations and problems along the way. It'll help you when you start the next game and so on.

Personally I'm on a Mac (using xcode) and hoping to contribute to an easy to follow set-up guide in compiling for the Pandora with plenty of tutorials after finishing a few projects.

 

[GreenDream]

(quote)

Pretty much this. Do some beginner tuts then get into a project. Define your requirements, figure out what you want/need to implement (SDL, OpenGL|ES), then start. Achieving bit by bit will help you in understanding general game architecture and solving limitations and problems along the way. It'll help you when you start the next game and so on.

Personally I'm on a Mac (using xcode) and hoping to contribute to an easy to follow set-up guide in compiling for the Pandora with plenty of tutorials after finishing a few projects.

Could you help me out? I've got now the SDL runtime libraries*, but now I don't exactly know what to do...
How would I actually begin writing the code and on what program?

I'm sorry if I'm missing the point completely :unsure:

EDIT: Aha, would I now be needing and IDE/Compiler?

 

[Mr.Confuzed]

Could you help me out? I've got now the SDL runtime libraries*, but now I don't exactly know what to do...
How would I actually begin writing the code and on what program?

I'm sorry if I'm missing the point completely :unsure:

EDIT: Aha, would I now be needing and IDE/Compiler?

You will definitely need a compiler, and an IDE is always nice to have. Although any old text editor will usually work.

Do you know which language you want to try?

 

[GreenDream]

Could you help me out? I've got now the SDL runtime libraries*, but now I don't exactly know what to do...
How would I actually begin writing the code and on what program?

I'm sorry if I'm missing the point completely :unsure:

EDIT: Aha, would I now be needing and IDE/Compiler?

You will definitely need a compiler, and an IDE is always nice to have. Although any old text editor will usually work.

Do you know which language you want to try?

I've got Code::Blocks and I'm following Lazy Foo's tutorial, and I'm stuck :angry:

I'm probably going towards C++ without even knowing it. Any recommendations?