Games Design

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I have a question.

 

In really complex games such as Halo or whatever, how do they program it to do what it does?

I mean, how do you get the computer to manipulate the 3D objects and such, with lighting and all that? What language do they use? Etc.

 

The only games I can make are on my calculator in BASIC. I only know a bit of C++ as well.

[Fellowes]

I wanna learn some programming like that, where would you recommend i go. as for your question, notta clue, just lots of years of being around the stuff i guess

[Sayonara]

There are many different software solutions; some are modular, some are all-in-world.

 

You will have to be more specific.

[fuhrerkeebs]

 

In really complex games such as Halo or whatever, how do they program it to do what it does?

I mean, how do you get the computer to manipulate the 3D objects and such, with lighting and all that? What language do they use? Etc.

 

Personally, I'd go with Sayonara's suggestion and use a dev. tool, like Direct X. However, if you wanna do it yourself there are multiple ways of manipulating 3d objects, one of the most popular being matrices and spherical coordinates. And you can do it in any language, but alot of them won't give you the results you want, as alot of them are way to slow to handle all of the information.

[Sayonara]

There are a couple of free 3D packages that include some excellent game engine generation capabilities. It's been ages since I've used them though, so I don't know which ones are still being developed/supported.

 

Darkbasic is probably the best known beginner/amateur-end package.

[Deified]

DarkBasic=Bleeeeeecgggghhh! Maybe its ok for beginners but I have deep-rooted prejudices against it. Halo 2 was almost surely made with Direct X, which you probably already have on your computer. It was also probably written using C++. I myself use OpenGL which is better for small scale projects. It doesn't have quite the graphical ability of Direct X, but it's easier to learn. As to manipulating 3d environments, don't attempt it 'til you have a solid grounding in C or C++. A BASIC language with 3d capabilities is a good place to start. Don't be surprised when your games don't look like Halo 2 though, 'cause it is the cutting edge in graphics.

[timo]

http://www.gamedev.net would be your place to go for such questions.

[Deified]

Be prepared tho', they don't take kindly to newbs. Make sure to post in the right forum and preface your post with "I'm a stupid insignificant human being" Just kidding.

[Silencer]

Yeah, getting the look of games like halo and far cry requires talented texture artists, time, money, and rows upon rows of computers to do the rendering and compiling.

[boka-fett]

A BASIC language with 3d capabilities is a good place to start. Don't be surprised when your games don't look like Halo 2 though, 'cause it is the cutting edge in graphics.

 

Hehe, wouldnt that be pretty cool if he managed to program an exact equivilant on a graphing calculator somehow? Market it as,"Ti-89 Halo!" You could play live during lunch break at school! Anyway, fantacies aside, how do you think a handheld Halo would roll in the wide world of gaming?

[Silencer]

^To answer that question, just look at the success of the N-Gage.

[Deified]

Yeah, getting the look of games like halo and far cry requires talented texture artists, time, money, and rows upon rows of computers to do the rendering and compiling.

 

What about the talented modelers, level designers and programmers?

[boka-fett]

^To answer that question, just look at the success of the N-Gage.

 

Yeah, but that would not be nearly as geeky as opposed to having it on your calculator.

[Silencer]

What about the talented modelers, level designers and programmers?

 

A level can suck but still look good. The game play can also suck whilst still looking good. You don't even need to be able to move.

[Deified]

The level needs to have structure to look good. It also needs to have models or else its just a bunch of flat images. Granted, the programmers dont need to be top-tier for a game to look good, but they need to know what they are doing.

 

Why are we even arguing about this?