The recent part of programming that catch my interest is game programming. Fellow programmers,have you ever thought of what we could achieve by creating african inovated games wit african cultures in them? If you have not,i have. We could compete with big companies like EA Sports and others if our games has our own flavour that d world has nt seen before. Right now,i developed a game militant that is african based but i dnt have reach to the gaming market if you have reach to d market,contact me through jossylala@gmail.com. Also, if you think am right,u could contact me 4 us to work together.

This has trigerred off some memories here. The reason why i took up interest in programming since primary school was because i wanted to learn how to build games. When i was in pri 5 my dad brought a programming book for me, i was later to find out that the book was just yarning algorithm, so after sec sch, i took up serious programming challenge and eventually found out the politics about games design "so i chickened out" - i eventually took up to web design. But as for games programming in Africa? with our kind of mentality? i dont believe it will work - i see doom in that area! But that is just me - however if you have a plan about how it will work - that the Otigba boys will not gba us? just lemme know.
I have some uncompleted algorithms - maybe we can talk.

Guy u make so much sense. I have also tried game programming, really kool. I have a team and we are the ones behind EPHOD SOFTWARE SYSTEMS www.ephodng.com. we are into application-software technologies, e-book vendoring and games development. You can visit our About Page to read more! We would really like if you could work with us! If u would like to work with us please send ur contact details to mailbox@ephodng.com

Sori @lordbenax,i do frilance cos programming is just my secondary tin.@dhtml,sure it would be great if we work sumtins out. But wat do u mean by otigba boys

I see, so you are a freelance programmer too (like me) - i seem to be more into web dev these days though.
Otigba boys are computer village boys nau (in Ikeja) - but in general i was talking about piracy.
I was even learning how to create mobile games at one time like that - but the question was - how am i going to make my money as a freelance programmer

Hello ppl, nice to meet you
i have used microsofts xna studio extension for visual studio. it's a breeze to use. ofcourse not for proffesional games, but a nice place to get up and going. although i don't have the time to do anything meaningfull with it. i don't think game programming is the kind of place fit for making cash, too much may be involved to make anything decent. hobbying is popular though

@halremawa, you hav hit the nail on the head. Games programming was wat brought me into the realm of programming in the first place.
But by the time i had finally learnt all it took to create a simple (but not decent) game several years ago - i realized that games programming was indeed an art (something u need to sit down with and master properly with all your time) - and i felt it was not worth it for earning cash - 'cos by my own calculation, before i can finish makin a proper game with testing on various platforms, processor glitches, video acceleration issues, and all those things, i would have cleared up several more meaning applications/websites. I wont go into games programming except i have a GUARANTEE that i will not be wasting my time.

GUys i know that game developement is the bomb in foreign countries but not in Nigeria, But is see money for it in Nigeria hidding somewhere, Dont forget that its the first people that always make the money,thats what i want to be.You remember the facebook guys and myspace? they never expected to get the money they got from social networking but they did eventually made it.Thats what i have in mind, we could make it if we start it first,

You remember the facebook guys and myspace? they never expected to get the money they got from social networking but they did eventually made it.

Myspace and Facebook would not have gotten any money from investors if they never expected to make money. And no one knows whether Facebook will make enough money to justify the current valuation. The lesson to learn from them is that advertisers may be able to pay for what your direct users are unwilling to pay for. I read something about Google Adsense for Games recently; look into it.

Sure they expect to make money with their work just like any game developer would. Bt they never knew they would make it the way they did(thats wat d myspace guys said).This also goes 2 u,did u knw nairaland would b did great at first? Am sure at first u felt discouraged just like any game developer would bt u kept going and made it at last(thats wat game developers should do). I still insist that there is a way out. I would check d adsense 4 games out bt am sure it would b an online tin while i would prefer an offline game development reward.

@josyisback, if you have any ideas, or already have a project you are working on post info pls

All i will tell you is: as u are makin ur games - i am supposin u hav the right programming skills - and everything is nice and all that - just make sure u hav a good marketting strategy. A friend of mine just paid $300 today to get the full version of a game that came with one hp laptop - i mean the game was really nice - i cant remember the name now - but even me sef will not mind payin for that game - and by way i play games regular ps2, xbox, but still some games will still beat ur immaginations and all that - it is a good idea - just make sure that somewhere in ur algorithm - u are able to fill ur pocket with some cash - that is the koko of the matter - if u are able to do that - i may even apply to be part of ur team - and blv me i hav great ideas about this game programming - just that it is a one-way traffick that will chop all of ur time - i will not even write something as simple as tetris if i am not sure i can make money from it

Thanks dhtml,the advertising strategy is wat am working on.Thats y i started 2 threads,1 here and the other on technology market. Hopefully,i mite find a game marketer. About cash,i dnt have oo, Thats y am making d game 2 make money rather than spend. Anyway,just wish me luck. And for people here on nl,do u know u could make money writing storyline 4 big gaming companies?

Keep it up - i wish you good luck - i can supply u wit some ideas on how to about it - if u wish to discuss u can alwayz pm me - somethings when "we" hav an inspiration - it is not easy to convince others - me, i dont even try, i just go right ahead and get it done - when ppl see results then that is it.

I actually thot u were jokin b4 - thot u just started the thread out of joblessness - i like ur spirit - and wat is more, i wish you luck - it is about time someone takes up that line - now that you hav mentioned it - i actually hav some ideas for you - but i can alwayz sell the ideas to you for =N= 0.00 NGN

thanks you very much dhtml, i would contact you to learn from you so that i add it to the game am making, see u later,thanks for the encouragement.cheers!!!

Pls i would really love to know the process of game development.Can someone shed more light on it?.Thanks.

First requirements for game programming:

1. You must be a good programmer.
2. You must not be in a quick rush to make money.
3. You must hav a strong spirit - it takes a very strong will.
4. You must be motivated even when u hav no money for pocket wit no food for stomach.
5. You must know how to handle frustrations when u are havin one crazy bug from somewhere.
6. You must be good with graphic design before u can even talk of animation.
7. In general, you must be ready for hard-work.

Notice i did not ask what kind of games we are talking about.

U can write games at different levels - only games are best written with macromedia flash.
Old school - u can use javascript to build some games as well - but i dont recommend it
ur codes can be copied all too easily - plus it is too browser oriented and unsuitable
except for simple games like tetris and tic-tac-toe,



Language Strengths Weaknesses
Assembly: Low overhead Error-prone, slow development, difficult for novices, not portable
C: Widely known, numerous tools. Not OO, no GC, prone to memory leaks.
C++: OO, widely used, numerous tools No GC, prone to memory leaks
C#: Very OO, RAD language, easy to use Must be just-in-time compiled when run, high memory usage
Java : Very OO, easy to use, portable Not suitable for console programming
Eiffel, Smalltalk Ada, etc.: Fringe game languages, few game development tools
Scripting languages like Lua, Python, etc.: Often used for gameplay scripting, but not for the bulk of the game code itself

Nice work here dhtml, ibro i sugest you learn game programming using flash, its handy you know?

I am almost a pro in using flexbuilder (at least i can use almost all the utilities available there efficiently) - with the effects library and all that - i started flash programming from flash 6.0 using the actionscript directly.
But later on migrated to flex builder and some other similar flash apps. I love flex builder because it is entirely oop and provides alot of in-built classes - it reminds me of VB .NET IDE - it provides all the controls, and allow you to create your own components and objects - in many ways similar to creating custom activeX controls/window libraries, and all that - i hav used it to create chat, forums but games - not yet - or let's say no motivation.

i was refering to Ibrahim07 aka ibro, but its nice knowing you aare that good and makes me have a shoulder to fall back to when i need debugging, any way, can you show me the forum you did?

That forum was on my former site - it was done completely with flex builder 3.0 - when i revamped my site.
It was not included in the new one - though the flash files and database are still there - lemme show u as a separate link.
It makes use of some external scripts which i am not sure if they are all in place - so i am not sure if it is well-behaved.
It is slow to load, but after loading, it handles all the transactions dynamically almost like ajax - it communicates with the database on
the site and all that - and it can communicate with the javascript on the page - so it can set sessions,

I just created it them for marketing purpose - http://mwebng.net/forum.php - seem to be working.

guy na wa ooo, ,i spent about 30 minute but nothing came up ooo, its too slow

at last the site opened,you design was ok,more grease to your elbow man,

The thing with flex builder is - it is quite effortless to design beautiful things - it is just that 9ja internet speed does not yet support heavy flash - so i reserved flex for intranet projects - i can use it quite easily with vb 6/vb.NET/VC6/VC#
But for now, i will still restrict my chat applications, to ajax

You can try Silverlight (Flex alternative) . It is under 3.0 WPF and you can write your code in C#/C++ or VB.NEt as well.


I want to get into gaming myself but hope to use complex algorithms as well. Now I am new to Silverlight as well. I can do some simple stuff with it but want to get into more complex works in Silverlight. I have been thinking of building a LUDO game in silverlight, and learning through that. Building a functional LUDO game in Silverlight and hosting it online so that users from around the world can log on and play. Problem is it's been a while and I can barely reminder how the game runs. Anyone have any idea on this?

@ DHTML,bros i lav nairaland die.B'cos dere r a lot of selfish pips around but 4 nairaland we lav sharing here.Big ups to ya al.But can you guyz help mi in giving me the appropriate links in becoming a good game programmer.I can use Java very well but i think its not a yardstick.

I think kobojunkie should be able to help you there - i only know some few things about game programming - i am light years away from being a game programmer - i have never written one before - not even snake and ladder or tetris

In my opinion, game development is just the same as web or software development, only that some games require a lot more strategizing and what nots. I believe Ludo should be as simple as a scrabble game. If you want, we can write it together to learn together. You never know, this may work out well enough to become an Iphone game and maybe even make it to google online.

Game programming can be interesting when you know what you are doing. I have written tetris in a few languages including C on the PSP http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1198.
Some other projects require complex headache inducing algorithms especially if the CPU has to play with human opponents. e.g. Scrabble. I think we should try innovating new web-based games similar to those on sites like Popcap games. www.popcap.com. Large console game type projects can become huge time and resource sinks that never yield complete results.

Ok, Since you have actually written a game before. What do you think it would take to write a game like the one I want to? Now, I am looking at making this available online. Where do I Start. Basically, what I need is information on what steps it takes to create one.

Now the real game programmers are showing up (me i am just o-lenu-pa) - only ideas and no game practicals - but aside of being a good programmer, i think games programming takes alot of resources, time and all that to get to perfection (at least to stand some chance against some of the regular games programmers),

Wow,am pleased to see this thread moving on.alteast we could use this to teach people more about gaming starting with writing a storyline,

I promise to post tutorials later, Cheers!!!!