lordZOUGA: @2buff, just pointing out that you should stop posting wrong information. game developers do make alot of money

This is not entirely true. If you ara talking of console games, remember that they cost a lot to produce and so you have to sell lots of copies before you break even..

All these game programming talk sef. How many games have been created by 9ja programmers? My own aim is to launch a groundbreaking app into google play, sell a million copies and move on to bigger things... Mobile tech is the future.

Not sure about you guys but programming is programming, but is the game programming the same as desktop, hell no its not i have tried Flash Away3d and some games and game programming is far more harder,currently in school here(MiddleSex), we are to create a game and use the camera to move the object (Processing + reactivision), the sheer code is by far higher than most CRUD apps people in Nigeria create.

pc guru: Not sure about you guys but programming is programming, but is the game programming the same as desktop, hell no its not i have tried Flash Away3d and some games and game programming is far more harder,currently in school here(MiddleSex), we are to create a game and use the camera to move the object (Processing + reactivision), the sheer code is by far higher than most CRUD apps people in Nigeria create.

are you studying game development?

jimtosam: Game programming is more of Mathematics. Also, I won't agree that one area of Programming is more difficult than other area. It's about passion. For example, a typical American love game. So, most of them find any Graphics subject so easy. Not that they are better than a network script programmer or a database programmer but they love it so much and want to really know how it's working. I just understood that cos I'm taking a Graphics course in my Masters Program this semester. You have to think outside the box. Images seen in game are computer codes. They are made from simple triangles, quads and co. Game Programming is more of Mathematics. Cos, you do lot of Image Matrix Transformations to get an image animated.

OpenGL and DirectX are good for game programming.

I don't quite agree with the part in bold. In terms of difficulty, you can't compare programming games or operating systems with working with databases.

crossfire: Game programming is simply out of this world, look at the minimax algol. Try developing a simple chess program. Or simply look at the source of "stockfish". (Stockfish is an open source chess program).I've looked at an early version of LINUX called MINIX ( i'm talking of hundreds of thousands of lines of code) and my little lazy brain could wrap around some of the concepts and data structures (I'm a software developer, and a chess enthusiast), but anytime i look at the internals of "stockfish" i feel like a child playing with sand. It looks like this program was written by aliens . There is another one called "Robbolito" that's simply crazy inside and except for a few "anonymous" comments on one russian blog nobody really knows who wrote this program .
Now stockfish is a console app that runs through an already developed UI like "arena" so it doesn't touch on graphics. You need an advanced level understanding of maths and physics before you can develop game apps that manipulate the graphics card masterly like as soccer or even car racing games do.
Desktop apps are developed with C++, C# java, python, but games are predominantly created with c. Now unrestricted c is simply mind bending and very unforgiving. I always tell my students that c is the latin of programming languages
Lets not over flog this : game programming != computer programming.

Kindly provide a response to my response on your beautiful reply ^^^ here:https://www.nairaland.com/1203855/developing-operating-system-what-prerequisites#14441934 Tnx

A-ZeD:

are you studying game development?

No i am not, i am studying Novel; Tangible User Interface

Javanian:

Programming is NOT programming. Most of the 'programmers' i see here only know how to create database applications...

I'm not the type that knows how to argue much...Talk is cheap!..., take a crash course on game programming, graph theories, game trees, or try implementing something as simple as minimax algorithm with Alpha-beta prunning for a simple game like X and O's or even chess. Even try laying your hands on something like dijkstra's algorithm. Try creating an A.I. For any of these games, only then would you understand what i mean...Talk more of creating a more complex games like the Pro Evolution soccer you see. This isn't PHP my brother, this is basically C++ and less of JAVA.

Please which computer program will I study to be able to write a program for animation and a cartoon dat wil just run for 2-3 minutes

..

sarutobi: its funny that people argue so much on this programming section and dont get to do the actual coding. Where on earth did u guyz get so much time to talk when there are bunch of codes out there to be hacked? many things to be created.

Now i beleive when pple say many programmers on this section of the forum are just show-offs. #JustMyThoughtSHA

please see this threads https://www.nairaland.com/471237/game-development-join-team

https://www.nairaland.com/1203855/developing-operating-system-what-prerequisites

lets get to work pple.

fool

lol

ghostofsparta:

Kindly provide a response to my response on your beautiful reply ^^^ here:https://www.nairaland.com/1203855/developing-operating-system-what-prerequisites#14441934 Tnx

I am not a game programmer, neither do i develop GUI for any gaming software company, so my response to your question is only an educated guess based on my experience in other less tedious areas of programming.
Game programming has to comprise of at least 2 core areas namely: the engine and the GUI. The engine, just as the kernel in an OS is that aspect of the software that handles the core logic.Programming the engine is not easy, but neither is it nearly as difficult as brain surgery.Let me give an overly simplistic explanation of how the logic might be expressed. Lets say we're programming a soccer game, how do i score a goal? The soccer pitch might be expressed as an array of scalars that is mapped into by a function that takes in the co ordinates of the field as inputs. let's call this function "F". So the middle of the field might be represented as F(0,0), the left goal line F(-99,-99) and the right goal line (F99,99). F returns a scalar that represents the exact spot that a player, or the ball is at any given time. Now the reason we need this mapping function is simply to be able to do comparisms in an if statement. So how do i express to the user that a goal has been scored? The ball is a vector,( just as each player is a vector) now once this vector is greater than(or less than, as the case may be) the scalar that is represented by the functions F(99,99) or F(-99,-99) i flash a neon sign that screams "GOAL!!!" That's the engine. The engine also handles things like the color of jeysey, and statistics like bookings (red card, yellow card, warnings), it stores this in a database and refers to them as needed. Programming the engine is not rocket science.
The spectre of complexity begins to rear it's head when you start dabbling with the GUI, the reason is simple : you have to manipulate the graphics card. In my opinion a GUI designer for a gaming software like soccer has to have a firm graps of mathematical concepts like topological spaces, vector spaces, group theory, ODEs and PDEs. I have taken a shot at the ball, how does it move? What's the angle of elevation? What's the speed? what was the speed of the player before the ball was hit? If there was a deflection, what's the angle? What's the distance of the ball to the goal post? You have to take all these things into consideration before explaining how the ball will move to the graphics card (fair lady). Now you have to do this in such a way that it looks pleasing and perfect to the user punching his game pad and trying to score a goal. In short the effect has to be natural. (Have u noticed any real difference between a soccer game on PS 3 and any live game between arsenal and chelsea?).
Now you have to explain these programatically through the "professor" sorry processor. You don't speak directly to the fair lady, God forbid. But it often happens that the professor communicates to the lady things you never intended. "c" is unforgiving like satan and will dis own you when that happens and when the lady gets angry, they simply team up and come back for your life!
Now despite it's sinister reputation "c" is the language of choice for such masochistic programming endeavor for the simple reason that it's very difficult to explain difficult mathematical concepts to the "professor" with a language like c++ or c# or even java. Try explaining everything i wrote above to your grand mother in your native vernacular, my guess is you can't.

2buff: Like many irregularities in the Software field in general, easiest = better paid. That's because it all depends on how the skill serves a BUSINESS need.

I'm sure you know that an Oracle DBA will in the long run earn much higher than a skilled programmer in the common market.
Even though he has no respect in the coder underworld and is most likely "just a guy who was too unl33t to be a programmer and so finally took an Oracle certification", the guy will end up making more money than you.

Business intelligence and SAP type stuff as well. These guys make business solutions with drag and drop and configs and they make all the big(ger) bucks.

In the same way it is with a game programmer and a normal programmer. Game programming is much more intellectually involving, requiring a lot more math and a much higher algorithmic optimization awareness than a normal programmer typically requires. Yet prospects aren't good for game programmers, unless you are just doing your own thing.

Game developers are more likely to get burnt out due to certain factors. It's one of those jobs you can never do good in unless you're passionate about it because the output result is so variant vs the typical programming work.

You could be very wrong with ur abv justification! (Sowi if its offending).

Being a Game programmer 'll nt make u b poorer or earn less dan a certification programmer.!
A game programmer is an entrepreneur who has d ability 2make as much as he wishes income!. It all lies in his palm. The better his games and ads, d more he earns.

Also, he has all chances a certification programmer has!

It only takes little time and money to get certification,bt take more dan dat 2get game programming skill and applications!

I know lots of CCNA cert.holders who can't crimp a cross-over or rollover cable 4a network!. Bt still get well paid in d industry.

If it takes a game programmer 2-3years to create a game nd perfect it, I can't imagine hw much he'll make of it, in fact, 'll pay d salary of d certificate holder all through his or her career!

Though, I'm nt a game programmer bt I hail dos in it!.
I'm "just a programmer" as we are referred to.

@javarian, u r on point!

Kudos 2all programmers in general.!

I have a question for both sides of this argument, would you call someone that wrote a two player Knots and Crosses game a 'games developer' or a 'computer programmer'

AMEN!!!!!

De-law:





@javarian, u r on point!

Lmao @ javarian