Game Design Megathread

[Blockzillahead]

depends on those conditions. id say there are more people who know c++ inside out than people who know any other language inside out. thus its easy to hire a lot of workers that work with one of the very if not the best language out there. you dont see games like gta v being made in java or c# or god knows what else now do you

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[Kingdaro]

Blockzillahead, how of curiosity, how many games have you made and/or worked on, and using what?

[Blockzillahead]

i made console games as an amateur
cheap adventure games that never had purposes. projects for programming classes
then i moved on with opengl and did a basic breaker game. one of those bounce ball off pallet and break bricks.
then i moved on with directx and tried to make a clone of re-volt (grown tried and in attempt to revive the project a month ago i doomed it as failure because the code was now turning into a puzzle and just didnt have the motivation to go through everything again)
all c++

now here i am adding from everything ive learned to what is going to be my game engine. direct3d, openal, sdl and barely touched the surface. still thinking of what i need to do
im also not a game dev but a software dev. there are no software dev threads so i roam in this one. im more of the guy behind the gears of the game rather than the game itself

[otto-san]

well there are plenty of engines that you can use that require you to program in c++

there are also plenty of engines that allow you to use much higher-level and easier languages

i'm not trying to argue that C++ is a bad choice for game design but i think it's a bit excessive to suggest that it's a superior choice

depends on those conditions. id say there are more people who know c++ inside out than people who know any other language inside out. thus its easy to hire a lot of workers that work with one of the very if not the best language out there. you dont see games like gta v being made in java or c# or god knows what else now do you

ya C++ is a rly good language for the base of big engines. eventually, a bigger dev would want to end up with a lower language like C++ but if you're starting out or you're not necessarily skilled programmer, you don't need to throw yourself in if you don't need to. i think that's an effective way to learn, but rly it's still all down to the specific intention

[Alphadin]

It pretty much all boils down to situation and knowing when to use one over the other.

[otto-san]

It pretty much all boils down to situation and knowing when to use one over the other.

eggzactly

it's fairly brown townogous to painting. there's not really any particular superior brush or similar tool to use, but each variety will have its own benefits and make its own unique mark. but in the end, it all comes together to a completed work and it doesn't matter to the average viewer what kind of brush was used to complete it. they just see the work for what it is and what it means. work within your parameters and expand them, and dats da tikket rite dere i think

[ZSNO]

Use Assembly, make a great game like Roller Coaster Tycoon.

[Demian]

I've been thinking of making a browser based text adventure. What options do I have for the language apart from Javascript? I've been thinking it would be a useful language to learn for future web development as well.

[Foxscotch]

I've been thinking of making a browser based text adventure. What options do I have for the language apart from Javascript? I've been thinking it would be a useful language to learn for future web development as well.

PHP
or I guess you could use Ruby or Python or ASP or Perl or ColdFusion but some of those aren't cheap
probably the most accessible one will be PHP. I honestly can't imagine a webserver not having PHP

but speaking strictly client-sided, JavaScript is basically gonna be your only option. I guess you could use Flash or Java but that would be terrible and you shouldn't

also you could avoid having to learn a whole second language if you use Node.js for the server side stuff, which I forgot to mention

[Demian]

PHP
--
but speaking strictly client-sided, JavaScript is basically gonna be your only option.

What do you mean by client-sided?

also you could avoid having to learn a whole second language if you use Node.js for the server side stuff, which I forgot to mention

That's kind of the point here. To familiarize myself with the basics of a new language.

[Foxscotch]

What do you mean by client-sided?

like... you don't know what client-sided means, or you're asking what I mean by it in this specific context?

That's kind of the point here. To familiarize myself with the basics of a new language.

right, but do you want to learn two?

[Demian]

like... you don't know what client-sided means, or you're asking what I mean by it in this specific context?

The way I see it if you have a web game everything is done client-sidedly unless it's a multiplayer game in which case some server sided stuff is needed for synching and preventing cheating.

right, but do you want to learn two?

You can't make a simple text game with just JS or PHP?

[Foxscotch]

The way I see it if you have a web game everything is done client-sidedly unless it's a multiplayer game in which case some server sided stuff is needed for synching and preventing cheating.

well, if it's a web game, then you gotta have a server. I guess you could still make it without using any server-sided scripting, but I mean, you've already got a server, so why not add some server-sided functionality, like high scores or statistics or whatever

You can't make a simple text game with just JS or PHP?

well, PHP is server-sided
but yeah, you probably could just make it in JS alone. what kinda game are you talking about though? like a choose-your-own adventure kinda thing? or what? cus knowing the specifics of what you'll need depends on knowing that

[Demian]

well, if it's a web game, then you gotta have a server. I guess you could still make it without using any server-sided scripting, but I mean, you've already got a server, so why not add some server-sided functionality, like high scores or statistics or whatever

Well of course but those can be added later if needed. It wouldn't affect the development of the game at all.

well, PHP is server-sided
but yeah, you probably could just make it in JS alone. what kinda game are you talking about though? like a choose-your-own adventure kinda thing? or what? cus knowing the specifics of what you'll need depends on knowing that

Here's an example: http://play.textadventures.co.uk/Play.aspx?id=yga06kzqtku8cn8vfgjt2a
That but with no GUI, just text. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is also a classic example but that game is also difficult and not easy to pick up if you have no idea what interactive fiction is. (I mean it took me a while to figure out that I had to turn on the light and I never actually got out of the first room.)

[Foxscotch]

Well of course but those can be added later if needed. It wouldn't affect the development of the game at all.

I don't think that's good practice. if you're going to add that stuff, I'm pretty sure it'll be a lot easier if you prepare for it to begin with

anyway, the H2G2 thing can definitely be entirely JavaScript
the first one looks like it could be, too

also, what did your initial question mean exactly? I thought you were asking if there was anything you could use in addition to JS. but looking back on it, maybe you were actually asking if there was any language you could use instead of it