What Do I Do?

I've been learning C++ and java on my own for about three months and all the while loving it. It's difficult learning these languages at the same time so i create space sometimes and usually dedicate a few days of the week to a particular programming language. It has helped me a lot and i've sometimes been able to identify important differences that would surely be important when i decide to use any language for any task.

Now the real issue is that although i am getting a good grasp of both languages, i haven't been able to create anything yet except a few simple programs which are sometimes exercises from the textbooks i use. I would like someone to advise me on books to find simple examples, exercises and tutorials on this languages especially based on games to broaden my knowledge and skills. I would prefer text based games for now unless you can give me a good reason to dive into learning about any graphic library right now(note i'm not very good yet). 

I would also like to meet other programmers(both beginners and experts alike) especially those into game programming to gain knowledge and know the way forward in Nigeria. Although i am not learning this at school(i'm reading economics), i am  very determined and open to any suggestion and criticism. 

I aim to make the best Game ever with an expansive African storyline good enough to make Sony corp's jaws drop.  They are idiots, believe me and i may never forgive their "Nigerian millonaire" comment. expecting your replies. 

I am doing any serious game coding yet, so i dont do any graphic. The games i'm trying to create for now are text based adventures. I am doing this because i'm sure it will help me learn to control my programs better and give me a good grasp of the various topics because i'm trying to implement what i learn from every topic. Please help me get links to tutorials related to text based games to aid me. Thanks.

Nice Determination , 
Just keep on ! dont stop ! dont let anything/ anyone depress / discourage u in anyway !
keep looking at where u wanna be and keep working towards it , 
Discover yourself and discover your personal way of learning !
what works for u might not work for me and vice versa.
Good luck bro

gameaddict!
Seems you and I have many things in common!
Like you I went into programming because of games.
I wrote my first game in qbasic and perfected it much later with visual basic.
My latest game project is an online chess game for which I developed a website to download the game @ www.chessmate.tk
You can check it out some time.
Now,in my time,there was no google but I did what I had to do.
You dont need 100 text books to build a game. You need your ideas and good algorithms. .  . 

.  .  .

@ sweet_pawn
I'm sorry i did not reply earlier.
I just got into unilag's diploma programme and i'm currently being bombarded with lectures but thanks for the posts. Time isn't on my side right now as i'm yet to find accomodation and settle into the enviroment.
Anyway, my email is adamsibrahim@gmail.com. Please send me yours cuz i'd like to learn from you.
PS: A few weeks back, i was making a prototype battle function for the text based adventure i was making but when i used the c++ rand() in it, i notice the outcome was the same each time i ran the program. Is there any solution to it and how can i make the program sleep for a few secs before printing each output?
Thanks again.

To create random numbers every time you run:
#include< time.h >
srand(unsigned(time(NULL)))
//the above code and include will allow you to generate new random numbers when you use the rand function. . .

. . .

. . .

java is system independent language but is a little heavy because it uses
java virtual machine to run on
web applications are small and had to be supported on multiple OS
so java is used

c++ although platform dependent uses Little system resources
games run many programs at a time so they are made in c++
if they would be made in java they would have required a lot of ram and CPU resources

see it really depends on the platform you are using
for eg.if you are making a game for a console like PS3,XBOX 360 or Wii
memory is limited they have ram in range of 256-512 MB
so c/c++ is used and java is avoided

for computer games where ram is available in plenty say 2GB
many online games are java based (also consider they are focused on all browsers and operating systems)

java games are also common on mobiles because in this field there are many architectures many operating systems
so to have maximum profit application are made in java so it can be played on most models although these applications are terribly slow

here a nseries or s60 platform phones give an edge
because 25% of world phones are powered by s60 devices NOKIA provides s60 platform with carbide c++
making these devices run c++ applications based on arm processor architecture that perform faster than java applications
c++ applications are 60-80% faster and use 40-60% less ram!!




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@Poster, spend more time honing your algorithm skills. I happen to be working myself on creating more complex applications but figured out early that it is all about bettering one's ability to handle algorithms and I am not talking simple but very complex, mathematical cases. So, work on your math skills as you learn or you will find that all the simple chess games and ludo games no longer accepted as talent games in months to come.

Thanks guys.
This is the test version battle function. I added the class and the main function so anyone could test it. Its not well documented yet but i hope you understand it.
Note: attack and defence are not used.  health is the only integer i initialised and I use Dev c++.
         
          Also note: I used SorD to determine if the attack is parried or attack suceeds

Please  comment on the function and if you wish to suggest any modifications please do.



#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
#include "windows.h"

using namespace std;

class Character
{ public:
      Character(int h=100, int a=50, int d=50) { health = h; attack = a; defence = d;}
      int health, attack, defence;
};

Character me, enemy;

int battle(int &x, int &y){
    while(x !=0 || y !=0){
    Sleep(1000);
    cout <<"\n your health = "<<x<<", Enemy health = "<<y;
    int min = 1, max = 11, range = max - min + 1;
    int firstBlow = rand()/100%range + min; //first attack and subsequent attacks;
    int SorD = rand()/100%range+min; // if the attack suceeds or is defended;
    if(firstBlow <= 1 || firstBlow >= 5 ){
    Sleep(1000);
    cout<< "\n You attack!"<<endl;
       if(SorD <= 1 || SorD <= 6){
       Sleep(1000);
       cout << " You hit!"<<endl; y -= 20;
       Sleep(1000);
       cout<<" Enemy Health = " << y <<endl;
       Sleep(1000);
       cout<<" Your health = "<<x<<", Enemy health = "<<y<<endl;
          if(y <= 0) break;}
       else if(SorD <= 7 || SorD <= 11){ Sleep(1000); cout<<"\n Enemy parries!"<<endl; }}
    else if(firstBlow <=6  || firstBlow >= 11){Sleep(1000); cout<<"\n Enemy attacks!"<<endl;
      if(SorD >= 1 || SorD <= 6){
      Sleep(1000);
     cout << " Enemy hits"<<endl; x -= 20;
     Sleep(1000);
     cout<<" Your health = " <<x<<endl;
     Sleep(1000);
     cout<<" Your health = "<<x<<", CPU health = "<<y<<endl;
          if(x <= 0) break;}
      else if(SorD >= 7 || SorD <= 11){ Sleep(1000); cout<<"\n you parry the attack!"<<endl;}}
//while;
}
   if(y <= 0){
        cout<<"\n Enemy stamina = "<<y; return 1;}
   if(x <= 0){
        cout<<"\n Your Stamina = "<<x; return 2;}
}

   

int main()
{
    while(true){
    cout<< "\n Do you want to fight? (y or n)";
    char decision;
    cin>>decision;
    if(decision == 'y' || decision == 'Y'){
    cout<< "\n You decided to fight get ready!"<<endl;
    system("PAUSE");
    int outcome = battle(me.health, enemy.health);
    if(outcome == 1){cout<<"\n You win!";
    cout<<" enemy health = "<< enemy.health<<endl;}
    if(outcome == 2){cout<< " \n your stamina is finished , cpu wins!"<<endl;
    cout<<"\n Thanks for playing.";}
    char play;
    cout<<"\n continue? (y or n): ";
    cin>>play;
    if( play == 'y' or play == 'Y'){
    enemy.health = 100; me.health = 100;}
         else{cout<<"\n Goodbye!"<<endl;
                system("PAUSE");
                exit(0);}}
    if(decision == 'n'){
                cout<<"\n Goodbye!"<<endl;
                system("PAUSE");
                exit(0);}
    }
}