Getting into programming

One of my passions, besides drawing and animating, is to play videogames. I have been playing them since I cant remember. The thing is that I have this really cool idea that could translate well into a videogame instead of an animation. So, what's stopping me? Well, the thing is that I can't program shit.

I have no knowledge of programming, that's why I started to watch video tutorials of Actionscript 3. I have to say, I got really interested in the possibilities. It's pretty much like physics and how the knowledge of it can make you understand the world around you, but with programming, you can actually create that world at your will.

My goal is to make 2d stuff, not uber-complex stuff like Uncharted and Skyrim, just simple games like Angry Birds and Castle Crashers. If they can translate well into iPhone games then better.

So, looking at how thing are evolving and where the future is heading, what programming language should I learn? Should I stick with AS3 and make everything using Flash CS4 or should I climb to a more difficult one?

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MOC-Productions 2011-12-07 00:57:06

I'd start with AS3, although it's complicated as fuck. Best of luck. I'm sure whatever game you come up with would be kick ass.

But put out some new animations. I'm rather upset that you were unable to finish your Halloween project. Shame on you.

Pegosho 2011-12-07 00:57:06

Sorry MOC, I'm kind of going through many things right now, also, my laptop is stopped working. :(

Tyler 2011-12-07 02:50:45

I've been wanting to learn too. best of luck to you

Pegosho 2011-12-07 02:50:45

Good luck to you pal.

Sandremss128 2011-12-07 06:32:35

Good luck learning actionscript, if you have problems or questions about actionscript you can always visit the NG Flash forum

Pegosho 2011-12-07 06:32:35

Thanks Sand, I'll have that in mind.

molkman 2011-12-07 08:00:43

MOC, AS3 isn't complicated, but it's a bitch that whines about the slightest anomaly.

I heard, but am not sure, that AS3 and iOS programming, since iOS is Object Oriented too, are quite similiar. I'd love to get into iOS programming too in the near future.

Pegosho 2011-12-07 08:00:43

I thought you could develop for iOS using Flash CS5.

Sonucais 2011-12-07 08:41:43

Nice to hear, yo estoy intentando pegar el salto de AS2 a AS3 lentamente y lo mas claro posible. Domino muy bien AS2 y va siendo hora de cambiar por temas de rendimiento con la CPU. My objetivo es basicamente el mismo, estilo arcade viejuno. Angry Birds usa un motor de gravedad gratuito, 2DBox. Castle Crashers esta en C++ pero el concepto del codigo esta absado en Action Script.

Pegosho 2011-12-07 08:41:43

Ya veo. Yo habia escuchado acerca de BOX2D, creo que tambien pienso usar ese programa ya q es una buena base para crear juegos.

Eso es algo que no entiendo, Tom creo Castle Crashers usando AS3 pero tuvo que traducirlo a C++ para que funcionara en Xbox Live? Eso suena como mucho trabajo lol. :P

NeroGeist 2011-12-07 09:53:54

I've always wanted to make my own game, but I'm too afraid to try to learn programming. Glad that your trying it out! :D

Pegosho 2011-12-07 09:53:54

You should check some video tutorials and see if you understand and find i appealing. I, myself, found it really fascinating, but then again, I only saw the easiest stuff. ^_^

Joelasticot 2011-12-07 14:19:48

Learning AS3 will give you good programming fundamentals that you can apply to other languages. Also, AS3 is somewhat similar to other languages out there (such as Javascript or C#) so if you find out you'd rather do something else, your time learning AS won't have been lost. But really, you should choose a programming language based on what you want to do/where you want to publish. Have fun!

Pegosho 2011-12-07 14:19:48

Thanks Joel! I really like interactivity, that's why I wanna learn a language that helps me make iPhone and iPad games.

Mattster 2011-12-07 15:50:00

AS3 is definitely a good language to learn. It can get complicated at time, but then again, it depends on how far you want to go with programming.

If you want to learn basic programming and what not, Java is a fairly simple language to learn... however, since I'm sure you have experience with flash, you'd might as well learn AS3. It's a lot of fun! :D

Pegosho 2011-12-07 15:50:00

Indeed, Flash is where I make all my animations and I bet it would be easier for me to code and draw there, ya know, do everything in a single place. Thx Mattster. :)

RicePirate 2011-12-07 15:54:40

OMGWHAT hump!!!

Pegosho 2011-12-07 15:54:40

RAR! RAR! RAR! A New Pegosho has emerged from its cave. :D

Hulalaoo 2011-12-07 19:52:59

Fuck programing, i donot wanna think >:O

Pegosho 2011-12-07 19:52:59

lol, man, I'm watching a vid tutorial and there is quite a lot of geometry. Better dust-off the mathematical part of my brain. >_<

mikry 2011-12-09 20:09:59

Great to see someone getting interested. As a programmer, I personally dislike Action Script, but it is a pretty good place to start learning to program. I will level with you though, Object Orientation is extremely confusing at first. When searching for tutorials, remember that 80% of what you will learn is conceptual, meaning that what they teach you can also be applied to other languages.

For example:

class Bullet extends MovieClip { } // Actionscript

class Bullet : public MovieClip { } // C++, assuming we have a class called MovieClip as C++ does not provide one.

Both of those code snippets say the same thing. This is a demonstration of object inheritance, where the properties of MovieClip become a part of Bullet. I am certain you will read all about it.

Other frameworks that are pretty good are Pygame, which uses the Python Programming language ( <a href="http://www.pygame.org">www.pygame.org</a> ) and Love ( <a href="http://www.love2d.org">www.love2d.org</a> ) which uses Lua. Both are free to download and use but don't provide the animation facilities that flash does. However, both Python and Lua are slightly easier to grasp than Action Script. There is also no reason that you can't export the frames of animations made with flash as images and then animate them in the framework you use.

Good luck to you.

Pegosho 2011-12-09 20:09:59

Wow, thanks mikry for that awesome comment. :D
I'm glad to hear that by learning AS3 I'm also learning similar concepts for other languages.