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Video Game Programming Software |
What video game programming software do you need?If you are going to do something it is always helpful to have quality tools at your disposal. I remember the time when I used paint brush for my graphics and a really old version of Visual Basic. I got by with these but I'm glad I have my quality programs...I could never go back. Good video game programming software is what Word is to Notepad, it makes things a whole lot nicer. You will need to choose a language which you will program
in. Video game programming has a few options and will lead to your first
major software choice. CompilerThe first piece of software you will need, before doing anything, is a compiler. You will use this the most so it is wise to make a good investment here. There are many out there for our use, ranging from free to about $100. You will get what you pay for. Decisions such as popularity and industry trends are my prime factors. Also compatability with resources on the web is another that should not be over looked. Follow this link to learn more about various languages and
compilers for video game programming here. Graphics2D Your other likely purchase in relation to video game programming software will be a graphic editor. For the majority of your work you will make use of a 2D editor. The poor man can make use of something similar to Window's Paint Brush and your graphics will be as useless as the features of that program. Unless you are extremely talented (in which case you probally wouldn't use it), I'd forget it. There are many mid range products that you may find as shareware, or even some useful freeware ones. But as with compilers, you will lack the resources to allow you to learn them effectively. Visit a site such as download.com to check them out. Then there are
the high-end products such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, both of
these are exceptional
quality
and will
serve
you
well.
The features of these programs is amazing. After you figure out a few of
the zillion functions they have, creating something decent will be a snap. Photoshop,
however, has a hefty price tag over $550! I use Paint
Shop Pro which is very similar to Photoshop but is priced alot more
reasonably at under $100. 3D Well the technology band wagon has definately changed a few things, and it looks as if 3D graphics are the way to go. 3D graphics, though nice to look at, have a big disadvantage for the budding video game programmer....they are tough to create. Don't let this put you off though, there are many books and resources available to help you out if you want to get into it. For the average programmer I recommend a piece of software named Milkshape 3D. It has quite a reasonable price for the power and features. There is a 30 day trial and is only $20. There are quite a few articles for this software since it is frequently used to create models for Quake, Unreal and those types of games. For the serious people, there is of course products that give
you everything you could everything you could ever want, but these seemed
to be aimed at the commercial
venture
and for
creating
movies.
Priced well over $500, they are out of range for most people. SoundThe last piece of software that you may need for video game programming
is a sound editor. This tends to be a more neglected area when working on
games. Obviously game play and graphics should take a bit more priority,
but it is still an important aspect. At the beginning you can use sound
effects that you can download freely off the web, then as you progress
sound
editign software
may
come
in handy.
There
are many shareware/freeware ones around. For a quality editor I'd go
for Sonic Foundary's Sound Forge, an academic version will set you back
around $150. |