210
votes
16answers
10k views
How can I effectively manage a hobby game project?
What are your tips and tricks to successfully finish a hobby game project in your freetime?
How do you motivate yourself to keep it up and drive right through to the finish without losing interest or ...
202
votes
57answers
30k views
Game development Blogs [closed]
What are good game development/design blogs to follow?
Please one blog per answer (make sure to provide a link) and give a brief summary as to the content of the blog posts.
If you can, pick a ...
175
votes
25answers
63k views
Where can I find free sprites and images? [closed]
I need sprites and images, such as characters, landscapes and others. Where can I find them?
169
votes
28answers
22k views
What are good games to “earn your wings” with? [closed]
I believe that in order to become a good game developer, you need to make games.
From a programmer's perspective, what are some good entry level games to get your hands dirty? What skills and ...
156
votes
12answers
5k views
Is there an optimum set of colors for 10 players?
I need to identify 10 players with a unique color for each on the map. Is there an optimum set of 10 colors to use in this case? Every set I come up with has some colors too similar.
Update: I was ...
124
votes
32answers
8k views
How to prevent the “Too awesome to use” syndrome
When you give the player a rare but powerful item which can only be used once but is never really required to proceed, most players will not use it at all, because they are waiting for the perfect ...
123
votes
30answers
8k views
How do you prevent inflation in a virtual economy?
With your typical MMORPG, players can usually farm the world for raw materials essentially forever. Monsters/mineral veins/etc are usually on some sort of respawn timer, so other than time there ...
123
votes
18answers
15k views
How does a single programmer make a game?
I have always been a software developer, but lately I've been wanting to get into games. The only thing stopping me is the fact that I'm a programmer, not an artist. I've made some simple stuff, ...
120
votes
8answers
23k views
Fixed time step vs Variable time step
What is better for games when developing game loops, fixed time steps or variable time steps? What type of games are better with one or the other?
Variable time steps:
With variable time step, I ...
114
votes
18answers
18k views
What things should an indie game developer never do? [closed]
What are some of the biggest - and better yet: insidious and unexpected - mistakes that indie game developers make? Especially when making the transition from hobbyist to full-time indie?
99
votes
6answers
15k views
How was collision detection handled in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past?
I would like to know how the collision detection was done in The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past.
The game is 16x16 tile based, so how did they do the tiles where only a quarter or half of the ...
93
votes
17answers
26k views
What math should all game programmers know? [closed]
Simple enough question: What math should all game programmers have a firm grasp of in order to be successful?
I'm not specifically talking about rendering math or anything in the niche areas of game ...
87
votes
8answers
13k views
Why are MVC & TDD not employed more in game architecture?
I will preface this by saying I haven't looked a huge amount of game source, nor built much in the way of games.
But coming from trying to employ 'enterprise' coding practices in web apps, looking at ...
85
votes
12answers
6k views
Has piracy ever resulted in a developer getting shut down?
Has piracy EVER resulted in a developer getting shut down? That is, has piracy ever been so detrimental that it brought about the downfall of a game studio? If I were to release a game, should I be ...
82
votes
22answers
12k views
STL for games, yea or nay?
Every programming language has its standard library of containers, algorithms, and other helpful stuff. With languages like C#, Java, and Python, it's practically inconceivable to use the language ...
80
votes
7answers
9k views
Free ebooks about game development [closed]
Are there good free ebooks on game development? I don't care if they are theoretical or technology specific, I want to start reading one free book that worth it.
79
votes
9answers
3k views
What makes a computer opponent feel alive?
Are there any recommended blogs or whitepapers that talk about making the AI in an RPG game feel more real? (Specifically in turn based combat.)
I know something must be out there, but I am only ...
78
votes
23answers
23k views
Why is it so hard to develop a MMO? [closed]
I want to develop a MMO like World of Warcraft, but some basic research says that is going to take months (if not years) and cost a lot of money. I'd like to know why.
78
votes
11answers
9k views
Good resources for learning about game architecture?
Are there any good resources for learning about game architectures? I am looking for high level overviews of different architectures. I tend to find information about the various pieces of a game such ...
75
votes
9answers
6k views
Entity communication: Message queue vs Publish/Subscribe vs Signal/Slots
How do game engine entities communicate?
Two use cases:
How would entity_A send a take-damage message to entity_B?
How would entity_A query entity_B's HP?
Here's what I've encountered so far:
...
73
votes
5answers
7k views
Version control for game development - issues and solutions?
There are a lot of Version Control systems available, including open-source ones such as Subversion, Git, and Mercurial, plus commercial ones such as Perforce. How well do they support the process of ...
71
votes
31answers
25k views
Must read game development books [closed]
Let's make a list of the best books that every game developer should read.
Each answer should have a single book (by title and optionally author), a link to buy the book, and a short synopsis of what ...
70
votes
11answers
3k views
Float or int for currency?
In a simple business simulation game (built in Java + Slick2D), which is more suitable to store the player's current amount of money: a float or an int? Some information:
Most of the transactions ...
67
votes
8answers
86k views
How do I get started making Android games? [closed]
I am new to game development. I am interested in developing 2D games for the Android platform. What is the best place to start with (i.e) What are the basics and how to proceed? I already have ...
65
votes
15answers
8k views
How are bullets simulated in video games?
I have been playing games like MW2 recently and, as a programmer, I tend to ask myself how do they make the game so immersive. For example, how to they simulate bullet speed.
When an NPC fires a ...
65
votes
8answers
13k views
How do you generate tileable Perlin noise?
Related:
Simple noise generation
Understanding Perlin Noise
I'd like to generate tileable Perlin noise. I'm working from Paul Bourke's PerlinNoise*() functions, which are like this:
// alpha is ...
65
votes
12answers
12k views
What are some good podcasts for game developers to listen to? [closed]
This could include specific game dev, general dev or general game podcasts.
Please provide a brief description along with links.
64
votes
7answers
28k views
What is the future of XNA in Windows 8 or how will manged games be developed in Windows 8?
I know this is a potential dupe of this question, but the last answer there was 18 months ago and a lot has happened since.
There seems to be some uncertainty about XNA in Windows 8. Specifically, ...
64
votes
3answers
14k views
Tips for writing the main game loop?
Can anyone recommend some good tips, articles, sites, etc. for writing the main game loop? What are some things that you should do in the game loop, and what are some things that you shouldn't do in ...
62
votes
9answers
17k views
What are some programming design patterns that are useful in game development? [closed]
I have a few books on Design Patterns, and have read some articles, but cannot intuitively figure out which programming design patterns would be useful in game development.
For example, I have a book ...
61
votes
10answers
3k views
What can I do to make sure that I have the energy to work on my game while working full-time?
I work as a software engineer 40+ hours a week and I find that between balancing my personal life and family responsibilities that I have literally no energy to work on game development.
What can I ...
60
votes
16answers
17k views
Good game design books? [closed]
I have some experience in creating, however I like to have some well written reference material to help me produce better products. Are there any game design books that are not aimed at a particular ...
57
votes
6answers
2k views
How to deal with (bad?) player suggestions
Every game which builds a community while still being in active development will soon be confronted with players who post suggestions for new features on its forum. Most of these suggestions, however:
...
57
votes
8answers
2k views
What is the purpose of having lives?
I think in game design it is incredibly important to ask the question why about everything, especially something that has become so standard as lives. So I am asking, what is the purpose of a game ...
56
votes
26answers
38k views
Recommended 2D Game Engine for prototyping [closed]
What high-level game engine would you recommend to develop a 2D game prototype on windows? (or mac/linux if you wish)
The kind of things I mean by "high-level" includes (but is definitely not limited ...
55
votes
19answers
7k views
Level Design Tips [closed]
What are some pitfalls or pieces of good advice when designing levels or maps for a (presumeably 3D but not necessarily) game?
55
votes
11answers
4k views
How to design a replay system
So how would I design a replay system?
You may know it from certain games like Warcraft 3 or Starcraft where you can watch the game again after it has been played already.
You end up with a ...
54
votes
12answers
3k views
Why do most 2D platformers start off in the left and progress in the right direction?
In almost all 2D platformers I've played, your avatar always starts off on the left side of the world, and continues on to the right. Is there something designers gain by doing this?
54
votes
15answers
12k views
What are some good learning resources for OpenGL? [closed]
I have been using the OpenGL ES on the iPhone for a while now and basically I feel pretty lost outside to the small set of commands I've seen in examples and adopted as my own. I would love to use ...
54
votes
7answers
3k views
What are typical pitfalls when writing games with a managed Language like C#? [closed]
What pitfalls did you encounter when writing games for the PC with a managed Language like C# and how did you solve them?
54
votes
6answers
7k views
How to write a network game? [closed]
Based on Why is so hard to develop a MMO?:
Networked game development is not trivial; there are large obstacles to overcome in not only latency, but cheat prevention, state management and load ...
53
votes
26answers
19k views
Game Development Degree vs Computer Science Degree
I'm at the point in my life where I'm starting to look at schools, and was hearing a lot of mixed things about schools such as Digipen or Fullsail that target game development specifically. As someone ...
53
votes
4answers
6k views
What are the typical day-to-day tasks of an entry level games programmer? [closed]
What I would like to know is: What are the daily duties of a graduate programmer in the games industry workplace? Is it mostly coding, analysing, designing, or what?
Thank you.
P.S. I am in my ...
53
votes
1answer
6k views
Role of systems in entity systems architecture
I've been reading a lot about entity components and systems and have thought that the idea of an entity just being an ID is quite interesting.
However I don't know how this completely works with the ...
52
votes
10answers
12k views
Where can I find free sounds for my game? [closed]
I need some sound effects for my game. Where can I find some? Or any programs that can easily generate them?
52
votes
13answers
20k views
Where can I find free music for my game? [closed]
I'm in need of some tunes for my game. Where can I procure some, preferably for free?
50
votes
8answers
5k views
2D graphics - why use spritesheets?
I have seen many examples of how to render sprites from a spritesheet but I havent grasped why it is the most common way of dealing with sprites in 2d games.
I have started out with 2d sprite ...
50
votes
9answers
3k views
Are there any benefits for using the CPU instead of the GPU?
I've been researching processors and graphics cards, and I discovered that GPUs are way faster than CPUs. I read in this one article, a 2-year-old Nvidia GPU outperformed a 3.2GHz Core I7 Intel ...
50
votes
8answers
3k views
How to avoid circular dependencies between Player and World?
I'm working on a 2D game where you can move up, down, left and right. I have essentially two game logic objects:
Player: Has a position relative to the world
World: Draws the map and the player
So ...
49
votes
15answers
17k views
Cross Platform 2D Graphics Engines [closed]
I'm looking for a 2D graphics engine that would allow me to release to Windows, Mac and the iPhone, much the way Unity does for 3D.
Is there a good engine that does this and is specific to 2D?
