GE programming days are over for me...
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 5:25 amYes, the title tells the truth unfortunately... This DOES NOT mean I won't be around! I will be on the forum regularly to provide help to those in need and give advice. I check posts everyday and intend to continue doing so for a LONG time, trust me on that.
As a kid, playing my favorite SNES games, I devellopped a dream, one that most of us here in the forum have. This dream was to someday be able to create and design my very own videogame(s). I used to sketch my idea in a drawing pad and get my friends advice and thoughts on those ideas. At the time, I had no programming, no graphic, and no musical experience at all.
From that point on I started my search for knowledge and tools that I required to accomplish this dream of mine. I stubbled on a variety of tools across the internet through my searchs, but could never find something which allowed me to understand what I was doing. I then came across Game Maker. At first it seemed very good; I could drag and drop things and add events in that fashion too. It allowed me to gain a base feel of a very simple game structure. But unfortunately, I eventually found myself stranded... GM couldn't allow me to pass beyond that base level... It required me to research about things I had no knowledge of at that time.
Because of this problem, I searched to see if I could find a tool that would be better for me to evolve. I pretty much though it was impossible at that time, but went along anyway. That's when I stumbled upon Game Editor. Back then GE worked on a 30 day free trial version and Bronze, Silver, Gold packages. At first I have to admit the interface confused me slighly, there was just so many options exposed! But then I figured out little by little how to work with GE, and I was enjoying it! I was building a small project and then my free trial expired. I was faced with 2 options, the first was to buy GE, the second was to revert back to GM. After a week, I decided I would buy GE, and see if could improve my use of it...
And this brings me back to today my friends, after 2.5 years of using GE on a regular basis, I have come to learn it like the back of my hand. GE practically "made" me a programmer and game creator. I consider GE to have been my true "stepping stone" into this wonderful domain. I am truly grateful for it and I would like to formally thank Makslane for providing the world such a wonderful tool.
Unfortunately, this brings me back to the original purpose of this post; my GE programming days are over... Although I have yet to produce a truly completed game, I feel as if I have "outgrown" my need for using GE, kinda like becoming an adult and moving away from home. GE has though me the use of the C programming language to high extents! There are things I want to do in my game that, simply put, GE cannot allow me to do anymore. After long considerations, I sent myself out on the internet once more in the search for the next level of learning. Since I know for a fact that I can program a game engine from scratch now, I was search for a C devellopment tool (Dev C++). I have finally found one I like. I also needed a library of graphical/typical game functions since C does not natively support graphics or sound. I have found one of these too (allegro.h). I shall now code entirely code from scratch so I can allow myself to be truly independant.
Of course I will not abandon this place though, like I previously mentioned. Going back to the "becoming an adult" analogy, moving away from your former home and your parents doesn't mean you won't go visit them on a regular basis and give them news about yourself! And that is exactly how I feel about this place, therefore I shall send news and visit once in a while!
This all I really have to say... I hope you guys understand, I'm not stopping using GE because I want to, its more like I have to in order to improve...
Thank you very much to all of you!
ttyl! --pyro
As a kid, playing my favorite SNES games, I devellopped a dream, one that most of us here in the forum have. This dream was to someday be able to create and design my very own videogame(s). I used to sketch my idea in a drawing pad and get my friends advice and thoughts on those ideas. At the time, I had no programming, no graphic, and no musical experience at all.
From that point on I started my search for knowledge and tools that I required to accomplish this dream of mine. I stubbled on a variety of tools across the internet through my searchs, but could never find something which allowed me to understand what I was doing. I then came across Game Maker. At first it seemed very good; I could drag and drop things and add events in that fashion too. It allowed me to gain a base feel of a very simple game structure. But unfortunately, I eventually found myself stranded... GM couldn't allow me to pass beyond that base level... It required me to research about things I had no knowledge of at that time.
Because of this problem, I searched to see if I could find a tool that would be better for me to evolve. I pretty much though it was impossible at that time, but went along anyway. That's when I stumbled upon Game Editor. Back then GE worked on a 30 day free trial version and Bronze, Silver, Gold packages. At first I have to admit the interface confused me slighly, there was just so many options exposed! But then I figured out little by little how to work with GE, and I was enjoying it! I was building a small project and then my free trial expired. I was faced with 2 options, the first was to buy GE, the second was to revert back to GM. After a week, I decided I would buy GE, and see if could improve my use of it...
And this brings me back to today my friends, after 2.5 years of using GE on a regular basis, I have come to learn it like the back of my hand. GE practically "made" me a programmer and game creator. I consider GE to have been my true "stepping stone" into this wonderful domain. I am truly grateful for it and I would like to formally thank Makslane for providing the world such a wonderful tool.
Unfortunately, this brings me back to the original purpose of this post; my GE programming days are over... Although I have yet to produce a truly completed game, I feel as if I have "outgrown" my need for using GE, kinda like becoming an adult and moving away from home. GE has though me the use of the C programming language to high extents! There are things I want to do in my game that, simply put, GE cannot allow me to do anymore. After long considerations, I sent myself out on the internet once more in the search for the next level of learning. Since I know for a fact that I can program a game engine from scratch now, I was search for a C devellopment tool (Dev C++). I have finally found one I like. I also needed a library of graphical/typical game functions since C does not natively support graphics or sound. I have found one of these too (allegro.h). I shall now code entirely code from scratch so I can allow myself to be truly independant.
Of course I will not abandon this place though, like I previously mentioned. Going back to the "becoming an adult" analogy, moving away from your former home and your parents doesn't mean you won't go visit them on a regular basis and give them news about yourself! And that is exactly how I feel about this place, therefore I shall send news and visit once in a while!
This all I really have to say... I hope you guys understand, I'm not stopping using GE because I want to, its more like I have to in order to improve...
Thank you very much to all of you!
ttyl! --pyro
