The stigma tht games ar childsh and somthg to b outgrown is also a hinderg fctr also.
Even in western countries too. Many game dev retire from it in decades earlier thn other typical professions. Though games are now created to appeal to adults this stgma is over whelmgly strong.
What dyu do for a livg?
- i'm an investment banker
- nod.

Wat dyu do for a livg?
I'm an attorney
- nod.

Wat dyu do for a livg?
I'm a game programmer.
- *confused look*
- y dont you get a real job?

asalimpo: The stigma tht games ar childsh and somthg to b outgrown is also a hinderg fctr also.
Even in western countries too. Many game dev retire from it in decades earlier thn other typical professions. Though games are now created to appeal to adults this stgma is over whelmgly strong.
What dyu do for a livg?
- i'm an investment banker
- nod.

Wat dyu do for a livg?
I'm an attorney
- nod.

Wat dyu do for a livg?
I'm a game programmer.
- *confused look*
- y dont you get a real job?

exactly

game progamming or development in nigeria can be translated as a jobless,useless,unmatured,outdated career one can engage in because majority of Nigerians don't play games nor have interest in gaming,if one can successed in such field then there must be a general acceptance or recognition before building a team,as for me am in

AmazingZeus: game progamming or development in nigeria can be translated as a jobless,useless,unmatured,outdated career one can engage in because majority of Nigerians don't play games nor have interest in gaming,if one can successed in such field then there must be a general acceptance or recognition before building a team,as for me am in

Zeus in the programing section? #now that's a shocker.

I beg to disagree on "majority of Nigerians don't play games"... every guy between the age of 12 - 25 plays HD games (PS & XBOX), while every gal between the age of 16 - 20 can run down a 10000mah powerbank playing temple run/subway surfers.
I don't think anyone targets adults when producing games, so if your game is good, majority of Nigerians (teenagers/youths) would play.
~i may be wrong tho

Preboy:
Zeus in the programing section? #now that's a shocker.

I beg to disagree on "majority of Nigerians don't play games"... every guy between the age of 12 - 25 plays HD games (PS & XBOX), while every gal between the age of 16 - 20 can run down a 10000mah powerbank playing temple run/subway surfers.
I don't think anyone targets adults when producing games, so if your game is good, majority of Nigerians (teenagers/youths) would play.
~i may be wrong tho

Nah, you're right. Nigerians play games a lot so many nigerian destinies have been wasted because of games.

Interesting Topic
Idamiebi here.
Lead Developer Sonbim Games, Creators of titi Tilapia and the already mentioned Valentine Rush.
Am actually on the road at the moment but will be back in a bit to talk more on this

@OP, Everyone; I read a post on Gamasutra about a developer who eventually released a game he had been working on for,--wait for the cracker-- 13 years!!! Me in person certainly believe that we, Nigerians, can make a decent 3D game if we are willing. My dream is and has always been working with talented, passionate, and creative Nigerians. The materials are there and there are some sophisticated game engines out there that are free(you can get Unreal Engine 4 for free now). I mean, it's fun working in teams. The game doesnt have to contain 50hours of gameplay, it doesn't have to boast of killer graphics like Crytek's Crysis. How bout building and polishing 1 or 2 levels first? See if Nigerians wont appreciate it - afterall no be we dey listen to pple like wizkid and ice prince dey sing appreciate? The goal is complex, okay, break it down. First, be good at what you know how to do. Then, when the situation demands, you contribute ur skills and blah, blah. We'll get there. And I know that before 2020, we'll be on the map. No be naija we be again!!? We no dey carry last na!!
Nice post @OP

nice contributions @ y'all, I'm really loving the way everyone is responding to the above topic.
@kazukilto, you're right, creating a demo first would/should be the safest route for any Nigerian game developer

I'd really appreciate it if I could get some good advice here...I'm a computer science student who wants to develop games and apps for pcs and mobile devices.I would like to know the best way to start these projects...to elaborate,I'd like to start with simple 2d games..but not something mediocre,like SNES or Mario level...just action/adventure 2d side scrolling games where there's an objective and enemies,and fairly decent graphics,something like Gba Sp level...i believe I can advance after that to better engines like unity and stuff like that,then create apps..the point here is to gain experience and enjoy doing it..im reading actionscript 3.0 tuts and ebooks and I know how to use flash to animate...somehow...I animated a 7 second walkcycle for a character..I'm saving up for a 4th gen pc cos my current 1 is really crappy..i just want to know the best languages to start with,good engines for newbies..any help is appreciated...thanks

datopdlink:
I'd really appreciate it if I could get some good advice here...I'm a computer science student who wants to develop games and apps for pcs and mobile devices.I would like to know the best way to start these projects...to elaborate,I'd like to start with simple 2d games..but not something mediocre,like SNES or Mario level...just action/adventure 2d side scrolling games where there's an objective and enemies,and fairly decent graphics,something like Gba Sp level...i believe I can advance after that to better engines like unity and stuff like that,then create apps..the point here is to gain experience and enjoy doing it..im reading actionscript 3.0 tuts and ebooks and I know how to use flash to animate...somehow...I animated a 7 second walkcycle for a character..I'm saving up for a 4th gen pc cos my current 1 is really crappy..i just want to know the best languages to start with,good engines for newbies..any help is appreciated...thanks

The language is C++. But since you'll be rocking with Unity, I think then you should learn C#...

preboy, this is AMMY of programmers group on Whatsapp. kindly mail me your mobile number ahmmyrealnet@gmail.com

KazukiIto:

The language is C++. But since you'll be rocking with Unity, I think then you should learn C#...

Thanks a lot bro...in terms of difficulty and friendliness to newbies,how would u rate this?and what's the best ide to use?thanks..ill look for tuts and ebooks

datopdlink:

Thanks a lot bro...in terms of difficulty and friendliness to newbies,how would u rate this?and what's the best ide to use?thanks..ill look for tuts and ebooks

C++ in my research is the industry standard due to its efficiency and all that, but the learning curve is very steep... C# is okay for a beginner and it's the language of implementation for unity game engine. So if you need a friendly language, go C#. IDE? Microsoft Visual Studio should do.

PS: If you need more info, you can always google, ya know

KazukiIto:

C++ in my research is the industry standard due to its efficiency and all that, but the learning curve is very steep... C# is okay for a beginner and it's the language of implementation for unity game engine. So if you need a friendly language, go C#. IDE? Microsoft Visual Studio should do.
PS: If you need more info, you can always google, ya know

Thanks bro

Slowpois0n:
preboy, this is AMMY of programmers group on Whatsapp. kindly mail me your mobile number ahmmyrealnet@gmail.com

Can't really remember the name, bt If I remember correctly, you're a java programmer.

The group is still alive ryt?

datopdlink:
I'd really appreciate it if I could get some good advice here...I'm a computer science student who wants to develop games and apps for pcs and mobile devices.I would like to know the best way to start these projects...to elaborate,I'd like to start with simple 2d games..but not something mediocre,like SNES or Mario level...just action/adventure 2d side scrolling games where there's an objective and enemies,and fairly decent graphics,something like Gba Sp level...i believe I can advance after that to better engines like unity and stuff like that,then create apps..the point here is to gain experience and enjoy doing it..im reading actionscript 3.0 tuts and ebooks and I know how to use flash to animate...somehow...I animated a 7 second walkcycle for a character..I'm saving up for a 4th gen pc cos my current 1 is really crappy..i just want to know the best languages to start with,good engines for newbies..any help is appreciated...thanks

I've seen your post bt forgot to reply. Anyway unity is good start bt it focuses more on 3D AAA games, since you wanna go in 2D game dev, a game engine that takes up 5gb of storage is way to big. I'd say you check out construst 2 and cocos2D, you can Google for more... And 2D games hardly require any programming skills, so you'd do fine with any little programming knowledge you've got.

Preboy:

I've seen your post bt forgot to reply. Anyway unity is good start bt it focuses more on 3D AAA games, since you wanna go in 2D game dev, a game engine that takes up 5gb of storage is way to big. I'd say you check out construst 2 and cocos2D, you can Google for more... And 2D games hardly require any programming skills, so you'd do fine with any little programming knowledge you've got.

Thanks a lot bro...i appreciate it

Preboy:

I've seen your post bt forgot to reply. Anyway unity is good start bt it focuses more on 3D AAA games, since you wanna go in 2D game dev, a game engine that takes up 5gb of storage is way to big. I'd say you check out construst 2 and cocos2D, you can Google for more... And 2D games hardly require any programming skills, so you'd do fine with any little programming knowledge you've got.

I'm feeling the cocos 2d joint for its coding capabilities...the construct joint is aimed at non programmers..since I want to gain experience,I think ill supplement my actionscript training with the cocos 2d...ill also start getting tuts for c++,since it seems to be the holy grail of programming..thanks again for ur help

datopdlink:

Thanks a lot bro...i appreciate it

datopdlink:

I'm feeling the cocos 2d joint for its coding capabilities...the construct joint is aimed at non programmers..since I want to gain experience,I think ill supplement my actionscript training with the cocos 2d...ill also start getting tuts for c++,since it seems to be the holy grail of programming..thanks again for ur help

Glad I could help

Preboy:

Can't really remember the name, bt If I remember correctly, you're a java programmer.

The group is still alive ryt?

dead. I left

Hey guys,

It's nice to see fellow game devs/aspiring game devs on the site. I recently released a game exclusively on Android called Touch Combat. It took me about a year to develop and publish. I had to take care of all the art, animation, programming, design, etc. This is my 2 cents:

- Focus on mobile. Mobile is where the money is at right now. Every one and their grandmother in Africa has a phone.

- Play the best games on mobile. Study their game design. Why do they have 1 million downloads? What are their monetization strategies? ads? in-app purchases?

- Set a time frame and a budget for your game This is very important. Before you even begin to write one line of code. You should try and envision the entire game and design and plan your time, resources, and money accordingly. Stick to the plan!

- Create awareness. This, at least for me, is the hardest part, and one I haven't fully figured out yet. If your app is featured on the front page on the app store, you have struck gold. I have created a Facebook page and a twitter page for Touch Combat, but it is difficult to get those downloads. Perhaps the price point is too prohibitive ($2 right now). Perhaps I need someone like Wizkid to mention the game on his twitter feed or something...I don't know. Perhaps I'm not marketing it to the right audience (Africans). Again, I don't know.

In essence, if you focus on good design for mobile, a fun, accessible, highly polished and addictive game, good monetization, proper development planning, and a solid marketing campaign, you will be good. I'm taking a break from developing games for now to focus on writing a novel, but I'm thinking of porting Touch Combat to PC sometime in the future. Keep it up guys, I see something good here!

Oh and btw, here's a link to the game if you're interested : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.recursionsystems.touchcombat&hl=en

LXStudio:
Hey guys,

It's nice to see fellow game devs/aspiring game devs on the site. I recently released a game exclusively on Android called Touch Combat. It took me about a year to develop and publish. I had to take care of all the art, animation, programming, design, etc. This is my 2 cents:

- Focus on mobile. Mobile is where the money is at right now. Every one and their grandmother in Africa has a phone.

- Play the best games on mobile. Study their game design. Why do they have 1 million downloads? What are their monetization strategies? ads? in-app purchases?

- Set a time frame and a budget for your game This is very important. Before you even begin to write one line of code. You should try and envision the entire game and design and plan your time, resources, and money accordingly. Stick to the plan!

- Create awareness. This, at least for me, is the hardest part, and one I haven't fully figured out yet. If your app is featured on the front page on the app store, you have struck gold. I have created a Facebook page and a twitter page for Touch Combat, but it is difficult to get those downloads. Perhaps the price point is too prohibitive ($2 right now). Perhaps I need someone like Wizkid to mention the game on his twitter feed or something...I don't know. Perhaps I'm not marketing it to the right audience (Africans). Again, I don't know.

In essence, if you focus on good design for mobile, a fun, accessible, highly polished and addictive game, good monetization, proper development planning, and a solid marketing campaign, you will be good. I'm taking a break from developing games for now to focus on writing a novel, but I'm thinking of porting Touch Combat to PC sometime in the future. Keep it up guys, I see something good here!

Oh and btw, here's a link to the game if you're interested : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.recursionsystems.touchcombat&hl=en

Oh Boy!

asalimpo:
Game programmg is not as accessible as mainstream programmg. I've been interested in it since i got strted in programmg but resources and comprehensve guides just are too lackg or scantg even with almighty google.
Only with d rise of mobile platforms and android has 3d engines bcome mor wide spread. I got books on java game dev,books tht had rave reviews on amazon, and they were just poo.
There's one exception, BEGINNING GAME PROGRAMMING IN JAVA by Jonathan Harbour (Prentce Hall).
It's okay and quite code -ful.
2. Game mathematcs is anoda issue . Again books in this area ar abysmally poor. If u dont hav a scientfc /math background u'll grope. Reviews rave tht these books will get u up to speed but frget it.
There's only 1 accessible book i saw in this area but the code was in c++.
This raises d bar for non-game programmers to enter d field.

The swalli team dont publicise enuff and their game and its in android ,heard of civil war game hear, never heard of valentine rush though until now. Not evrybody is toting and android phone soon.
How abt a pc version of these games?

Do you mind to send me the book? Only Amazon seem to have it.... my mail is stunner_noni@computer4u.com

just in case there is gonna b a new project or game idea... i am available