Elysian Shadows

I was just wondering, when did you experienced programmers get to the point where you could program without the help of tutorials, or books? How long after you started learning did you code a simple game by yourself? In what language did you develop your first significant application?

Just some questions to make people think

I just finished my first serious project and I'd say I started learning C++ about 2 years ago.

Bakkon wrote:I just finished my first serious project and I'd say I started learning C++ about 2 years ago.

What was the project?

I'd say it took me about half a year to get comfortable with C++ and SDL to the point where I didn't need books or tutorials.

Just start with smaller games and work upwards. A standard beginner's game would be Pong, so see if you can pull that off well.

I first started in C++ which took me about 4 months to learn most of the basics. i'm always trying to learn new library's so I guess you could say I've never stopped using books/tutorials.

fingerfry wrote:What was the project?

http://elysianshadows.com/phpBB3/viewto ... =13&t=3975

Bakkon wrote:

fingerfry wrote:What was the project?

http://elysianshadows.com/phpBB3/viewto ... =13&t=3975

That is really awesome :D

Wow, I had no idea SDL could look that smooth... it's probably just my aging laptop (3 years old and growing..)

That game is incredible for your first official release, you do awesome work!

Lezsee; I started with C++ from being in a class when I was 14, but didn't really get into game programming with it until I was 16, when I learned about Allegro. I made a bunch of small incomplete games... I guess my first decent game was Quix Attax Deux, I did when I was 18.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUYgyskQojI

Actually, it looks like Pickin' Sticks came first by a month.

Original Quix Attax: http://kadotuksen-lusikka.deviantart.co ... e-43932359 Nov 2006
Original Pickin' Sticks: http://kadotuksen-lusikka.deviantart.co ... e-45474337 Dec 2006
Original Quix Attax Deux: http://kadotuksen-lusikka.deviantart.co ... e-46756411 Jan 2007

Damn. :P

I did have games I made as far back as 2001, but they were made with Visual Basic :P Which I really wouldn't suggest anyone learn for game programming.
http://kadotuksen-lusikka.deviantart.co ... d-45475693

I've been programming off and on since I was about 8. First code was Z80 assembly from a TRS-80 Model III manual. I made letters bounce around the screen. When you're eight in 1981, that's cool shit! From there I went a typical route: BASIC, Logo, Pascal, C. I haven't touched BASIC, Logo, or Pascal since I picked up C. I've been programming C since '92. In college I picked up C++ (Java wasn't an option, thankfully). I'm not too shabby, but I won't win any prizes for my tight tidy code, as it's neither tight nor tiny. Some would argue that it isn't efficient either, but who's counting if the frame rate is decent?

I still refer to texts. It's easy enough to remember all the stuff one uses daily, but for those odd function calls that come up every once in awhile I'll grab a reference. I'm not one to memorize every nook and cranny of a language - I don't since in an ISO committee so could care less about the technical hocus pocus. I want to write code - I'll let the smart people write my compiler and expect them to know the standards.

There was a student in college who was arrogant enough to say that he knew everything about C++. It's been fifteen or so years since I first compiled "Hello World" in C++. Even with that much water under the bridge, I'm humble enough to know when to ask for help.

-capt jack

captjack wrote:I've been programming off and on since I was about 8. First code was Z80 assembly from a TRS-80 Model III manual. I made letters bounce around the screen. When you're eight in 1981, that's cool shit!

Hot damn, I was born in '81, so that means I'm officially no longer the old fart around here!

/me passes the torch. (kidding, nothin' but love capt. )

I started programming in C++ when I was 14, got onto SDL when I was 16 and now i'm 18 and i'm going to be studying
BSc Computer Science at university in one week

I still need to refer to texts/websites all the time, sometimes you know what function you need to use in SDL but gosh dangit you can't bring what parameters it takes to mind, I suffer from this kind of block with functions like SDL_BlitSurface and SDL_FillRect, there are many other examples.

As for C++ (and I guess java since the uni wants me to know it), i'm still learning, I dont know half as much about templates as I probably should, and i'm quite weak when it comes to debugging and exception handling (I actually read the exception handling chapter in my Java book, and ended up feeling droawsy after about 4 pages or so, it's an excellent bedtime sedative ) and i'm just fooling around with polymorphism (it's incredibly prominent in my latest project, an absolute timesaver too) yet i'm not completely clued up on it, it just goes to show we're always learning, even these self-proclaimed 'expert' make mistakes they can learn from.

trufun202 wrote:

captjack wrote:I've been programming off and on since I was about 8. First code was Z80 assembly from a TRS-80 Model III manual. I made letters bounce around the screen. When you're eight in 1981, that's cool shit!

Hot damn, I was born in '81, so that means I'm officially no longer the old fart around here!

/me passes the torch. (kidding, nothin' but love capt. )

I'll take the torch. As anyone who's played Zork knows, it keeps one from being eaten by a grue.

Well my first language was Flash. I got Flash MX after being inspired by Joseph Blanchette, and after maybe 2 months I learned you could make games in Flash and I was like "OMG NOE WAAEE!" then I figured out programming was hard, and found that Game Maker was easier. It was probably 2.5 months until I didn't need tutorials anymore. :D

I started HTML at 10, also game maker LOL then moved onto C++ at 12, not really serious until 14 now Im 15, I can write alot of the console c++ without a book, just a lil help here and there when theres some easier way to do somehting