The all purpose help thread - Look here before asking "how i make a game?"

[Azu]

If want to learn coding, I suggest C. It's easy to learn (from what I hear).

[Satoh]

It's different for everyone. I personally started my coding hobbies with C but found it to be somewhat similar to a root canal with flaming instruments and a white-hot vice attached to my 'sensitives'...

I will point out that "coding" and "scripting" are very similar, but are different. Code requires a compiler (meaning they must be processed through an external program every time you wish to run a modified version or your code), while scripts only require an interpreter (meaning they can be run as soon as they are typed.)

All evidence I've seen points to C# with XNA as being the simplest mainstream videogame coding language, requiring only a week or so to turn out a simple platformer. However, with that said, it only runs on XBox products and PCs... SO, if you're not a big fan of those, C++ is your best, and from what I've seen, only, other bet for console videogames.

PSP seems to be rather flexible in terms of supported languages, however you do need a custom firmware to run any homebrew applications, ripped games(which are illegal aside from backup purposes), and anything else not coming packaged on a Sony PSP disc...

I've hear that Python is just about the "greatest language in existence" from all of the programmers I know...

I personally prefer scripting languages just for ease of use.

GBA games are programmed exclusively in C++ and there are actually tutorials on how to make them...

[Snap]

Originally Posted by Azu

If want to learn coding, I suggest C. It's easy to learn (from what I hear).

I disagree and definitely if you want to make games. Seen enough of that in college, even though it was with C++. 9 out of 10 people who never programmed before failed, it's overwhelming and just too much to take in for beginners. First you should be familiar with the basics of programming, the things that come back in every language in some shape or form, types, variables and constants, functions and methods, ifs, loops, classes and objects in an OO environment, etc
Personally I find VB to be a perfect language for beginners, the syntax is basic English and won't confuse the user with weird looking symbols like the C bases syntax, quick results so the user immediately gets a sense of accomplishment. After understanding the basics it'll be much easier to move on to a more advanced language. From VB to C# is a small step and C# is currently booming, not to mention it's quickly becoming a respected platform for small to medium sized games thanks to XNA.
I can't help it, I've become a fan of XNA, for a college project I worked on a 2.5D platformer and played around with XNA for about 6 months and I like it. You get very quick results and the memory management is only slightly slower than C++.
Ofcourse almost every current day game is written in C++ which poses an extra obstacle which beginners have a hard time understanding, pointers. But it's the best language for games since it runs the fastest and you have complete access to the system's memory.

Anyway, I'd say start with a simple language first to learn the basics, then work your way up. You don't just put someone who is just learning how to drive in a F1 car either.

[En-Zan]

Err... i know this is a necro-posting... but i urgently need a help. I'm trying to make a Megaman-styled platformer game. And i use Game Maker 8 for that...

And since i can't make my own engine and i kinda confused with drag and dropping, i use this engine as the base. And my problem is...



See the picture? I think it explains my problem already. So, the red guy is supposed to stand on the top of the obstacle like megaman did, but he's stuck... D:

anyone can help me with this?

[Nomzilla]

I'm sure none of you know, but if I have ground, then it goes up, how do i make it where the object will land on it on not go to the level that the object jumped from in "Scratch"?

[tomsaram]

Originally Posted by En-Zan

Err... i know this is a necro-posting... but i urgently need a help. I'm trying to make a Megaman-styled platformer game. And i use Game Maker 8 for that...

And since i can't make my own engine and i kinda confused with drag and dropping, i use this engine as the base. And my problem is...



See the picture? I think it explains my problem already. So, the red guy is supposed to stand on the top of the obstacle like megaman did, but he's stuck... D:

anyone can help me with this?

From what you have told I cannot tell what EXACTLY is your problem, but I guess your problem is that you fogot to make another spr_player_mask.

Simply put, the red guy is taller than megaman, so they cannot share one mask. make another mask for him.

[Nightshade Axl]

how do you make it so you can have a character select?

[tomsaram]

How do I create new sections or new keys in an ini.file with GM?
I find no such functions in GMHelp.