So far I've only actually posted my introduction so this is my first real post.
Jumping right in, I recently decided to try my luck at game programming. I haven't really tried anything with game programming before, however, as I was learning to program, whenever I learned a new concept I almost immediately tried to tie it into how it was used in one video game or another.
I made the decision to write in C++ because I never get to write in C++ any more and, if I ever wanted to sell my game on steam (a fairly lofty goal for an amateur game programmer... I know) I read that the steam sdk works well with C++.
I just started on my project and am really trying to get some of the underlying architecture down before committing to any real game design decisions (that may have sounded backwards but basically, I'm just trying to create a template for my game loop, going through main game states, bringing in audio/graphics services before I get too committed to specific content). Maybe once I have this set, I can use it to get prototypes up faster whenever I get a "That would be a cool game to make" moment.
Before writing the project, I read over "Game Programming Patterns" by Robert Nystrom. I felt super well prepared until I actually tried to design out my template. The book does an excellent job going over patterns but doesn't give a good template on how to piece them together (although, in his defense, thats not the goal of the book.)
I will say that I thought getting back to pointers/de-referencers was going to be my biggest challenge when going back to C++ but it turns out its dealing with dependency declaration.... I don't remember ever having to use forward declarations in school so I'm eating a little bit of humble pie right now.
I will keep writing posts as I get further along in the development process. I'll probably force myself to work on it at least a little bit a week, even if I don't feel inspired but thats pretty slow moving (so don't get too glued to the screen hitting refresh.)
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