Never programmed a game before, Where do I start, GDI?

Question

Hey all
I am an intermediate VB, C++, Java programmer, but I have never programmed a game. I dont want to do anything complicated yet like a 3D engine, but I did want to do a side scroller. Can someone point me in the right direction. Things I should read, websites, advise, etc....
Thanks in advance
Ruko Kahn

Answer 1

The first thing to do is plan out how you want everything to look, then throw some test graphics together. Once you have the game planned/mapped out, the engine is the first thing to start. There are actually some good 3D engines out there to use (such as TegoSoft's), but for a 2D engine, you need to make the graphic area, sprite routine (double-buffering to make it smooth!), and a series of functions to make it easy to place sprites on the graphic area. If this is your first game, I'd start with something a little easier, say, a board game like Othello or Ataxx. That will give you the basics of placing pictures on screen and intercepting the key presses/mouse clicks without near the frustrations that starting out with an action sidescroller would :) Once you have that mastered, then move on :). Good luck to you! Once you have the game done, maybe you'd want to think about connecting it to the internet and making it multiplayer. We need more interplatform multiplayer games =)
MagiTom