Game programming help?
Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 10:01 pm
Hi. I am going to make a game, as you should be able to tell by the title. Thanks to the people on the forums I have been informed the kind of game I want to make is a tile-based 2D game. I have the story for the game about 80% done(basic story is done), I have my coders all ready, my friends that want to test(not that it's relevant), my music designers and my graphics people all ready to go! All we really need to do is wait for the summer exams to finish, get the coders to finish love2d and get the story done. That's what should happen in an ideal world, but life is what happens when you make plans. I was thinking, how would I get the mechanics of the game setup?? I don't want jumping in the game, and I don't think jumping would suit the camera angle. I thought for a few hours and I thought of a few things I didn't know how to do. Here is a list of what I don't know how to do:
• Camera movement
• Adding maps
• How would it work if we used a map editor like Tiled?
• How to add character animation movement
• Do I have enough math(s) skills to do this?
• Was I stupid for ever wanting to make a game
These might seem VERY stupid, but I am a first time games developer. I am working on a few open source games right now and I will make a thread right after this one asking for help on it because I am running into issues with it. Lets address the issues one by one:
1) Camera movement
Camera movement is something I think I know how to do, but I am really not sure and can't seem to find any help on it online. So, how would I do it? I was thinking maybe just update the X/Y position of the map and objects on it, but how do I detect when the map is at it's end? I will address the issue of maps later on in the thread. So help on this would be appreciated.
2) Adding maps
Ok, this is something that I can't find a solution to. So if I had a map and it was a .png/.jpg/.jpeg, and it was bigger than the screen, would it adjust to the screen size or would it be bigger than the screen and would I use camera movement to move the map?
3) How would it work if we used a map editor like Tiled?
So, if I used a map editor like Tiled, would it add collision, etc for me or would it just make it easier for my graphics people to make the map? Another thing is how would I load it in? If I used Tiled, it saves as a .tmx file, so would I load that in as an image or what?
4) How to add character animation movement
I know how to add movement in an image, but how would I add it so what the character turns to a different position and his legs move, etc?
5) Do I have strong enough Math(s) skills?
This might seem like a strange and pointless question, but I'm only 13 and know basic math. The reason I did the (s) is because where I am we say maths and not math and I didn't want people complaining and saying I had bad grammar. There are things called math.sin() and math.cos() which I don't understand. There are probably others too. If you are from the UK and happen to know the UK curriculum for the Year 9's/Second Year's(maybe on the off-chance you are a teacher) maybe you would have a better idea as to what I would know and don't know. I am very good at maths, as any Maths test I have got I always get 100% and I never study(even though I should, don't lecture me about it). So what exactly would I need to know about math(s), apart from the obvious(basic maths, co-ordinates, algebra, etc)? This might be imposible to answer but give me an idea as to what I would need to know. My maths teacher offered to help me with anything I'd need help with, so that would be good. All I would need would be a rough idea of what I would need to know.
6) Was I stupid for ever wanting to make a game
After thinking about all these things and coming up with at least 5 things I didn't know how to do in game development, was it a stupid idea? Am I stupid for wanting to do it? Am I too young? Maybe it's just me being a teen and stuff(I wont go into detail
), but I think I am just being too hard on myself. I do worry a lot over stupid things like 'what if I had homework and I didn't take note of it?', even though it's never happened and I have never forgotten a homework/gotten a bad report. I think it has something to do with that. Really, what it all boils down to in regards to that is that I need to wise up 
Any help with these questions would be appreciated! Thanks!
• Camera movement
• Adding maps
• How would it work if we used a map editor like Tiled?
• How to add character animation movement
• Do I have enough math(s) skills to do this?
• Was I stupid for ever wanting to make a game
These might seem VERY stupid, but I am a first time games developer. I am working on a few open source games right now and I will make a thread right after this one asking for help on it because I am running into issues with it. Lets address the issues one by one:
1) Camera movement
Camera movement is something I think I know how to do, but I am really not sure and can't seem to find any help on it online. So, how would I do it? I was thinking maybe just update the X/Y position of the map and objects on it, but how do I detect when the map is at it's end? I will address the issue of maps later on in the thread. So help on this would be appreciated.
2) Adding maps
Ok, this is something that I can't find a solution to. So if I had a map and it was a .png/.jpg/.jpeg, and it was bigger than the screen, would it adjust to the screen size or would it be bigger than the screen and would I use camera movement to move the map?
3) How would it work if we used a map editor like Tiled?
So, if I used a map editor like Tiled, would it add collision, etc for me or would it just make it easier for my graphics people to make the map? Another thing is how would I load it in? If I used Tiled, it saves as a .tmx file, so would I load that in as an image or what?
4) How to add character animation movement
I know how to add movement in an image, but how would I add it so what the character turns to a different position and his legs move, etc?
5) Do I have strong enough Math(s) skills?
This might seem like a strange and pointless question, but I'm only 13 and know basic math. The reason I did the (s) is because where I am we say maths and not math and I didn't want people complaining and saying I had bad grammar. There are things called math.sin() and math.cos() which I don't understand. There are probably others too. If you are from the UK and happen to know the UK curriculum for the Year 9's/Second Year's(maybe on the off-chance you are a teacher) maybe you would have a better idea as to what I would know and don't know. I am very good at maths, as any Maths test I have got I always get 100% and I never study(even though I should, don't lecture me about it). So what exactly would I need to know about math(s), apart from the obvious(basic maths, co-ordinates, algebra, etc)? This might be imposible to answer but give me an idea as to what I would need to know. My maths teacher offered to help me with anything I'd need help with, so that would be good. All I would need would be a rough idea of what I would need to know.
6) Was I stupid for ever wanting to make a game
After thinking about all these things and coming up with at least 5 things I didn't know how to do in game development, was it a stupid idea? Am I stupid for wanting to do it? Am I too young? Maybe it's just me being a teen and stuff(I wont go into detail
), but I think I am just being too hard on myself. I do worry a lot over stupid things like 'what if I had homework and I didn't take note of it?', even though it's never happened and I have never forgotten a homework/gotten a bad report. I think it has something to do with that. Really, what it all boils down to in regards to that is that I need to wise up Any help with these questions would be appreciated! Thanks!
