A few questions about making games on here

Hello, I don’t know if this is the right place to put this up, but I just have a few questions for you all or some of you.

1. How long have alot of you been making games, programming etc before you started submitting games on Kongregate?

2. What game engine software do you use to make your games?

3. What programming languages do you use to program your games?

4. Do some of you program, design and even create some of the objects in your games on your own, or do alot of you try and find people to help you out or have (a) friend/friends that help you out?

5. Is it difficult coming up with game ideas that people will enjoy and get addicted to?

I am sort of a nooby at this kind of stuff. I am currently learning C++ game programming online and do a good amount of C++, but am still learning alot of new things as I progress through the course. I also completed a 3D game course a few months ago which helps you step by step how to make the game. the game engine I used was called GameCore. I have also tried out a few 2D game engines, but I just really don’t know where to start, I have used Games Factory, RPG Maker, Game Maker, some of those nooby engines.
I have read a few threads on the developer forums and was looking at this one called AS3, I looked it up and says something about Action Script and it looks like its a combination of Flash Player and code. I’m not a very good drawer and have only tried animating once which was for the 3D game.

How long does it take to make a game for alot of you?
Is it hard making a game on your own? If alot of you do this.
How much experience do you think I would need before I start making some games and submitting them?

Thanks for your time,
Zichu ^^

AS3 = Action Script 3 is a language, like C++ and is used to do the programing in flash.

How far advanced in C++ are you exactly?

When you how far advanced, do you mean how long have I been learning it or how much experience have I had with it?

What kinds of things are you making with it? Celcius-Farenheit converters or virtual memory simulators?

I don’t think that stuff is in the books that were provided, there were only 2 books with the course I am doing and the I am on the second book and have just looked through them both and I don’t see anything to do with the 2 things you mentioned.

With the converters, could that be anything like for example converting different number systems like binary to decimal or hex to binary and stuff? Would it work the same way as Celcius-Farenheit converters? With the virtual memory simulator, there isn’t anything in the book that says stuff like that.

I will tell you chapters I have completed:
Introducing C++
Logic, Conditionals, Loops and Arrays
Functions
References and Pointers
Classes and Object orientated programming
Strings and other topics(the other topics are like the this pointer, friends, static keyword, namespaces etc)
Operator Overloading
File input and output(saving and loading files)
Inheritance and Polymorphism
Templates
Errors and Exception Handling
Number Systems (The chapter I am on now)

The chapters after:
STL Primer
Windows Programming
GDI and Menus
Dialogs and Controls
Timing, Animation, and Sprites
The Air Hockey Game

I haven’t done C++ before these books, I have probably been doing it for 4 – 5 months now. I know alot of people have had years of experience with programming languages before they started there first game.

I would finish your book first. After that work with getting more comfortable with development by making simple games on you own such as breakout, tetris, space invaders etc. Depending on how you feel then you could look into either C# and XNA or ActionScript 3 and Flash. Both are fairly easy and allow you to get good looking games up and running really quickly. I’d deffinately spend another month or so with your C++ before trying to start anything else though.

That’s fine ^^, does it really matter if I use C# and XNA or ActionScript 3 and Flash? Are they both reasonably easy compared to each other?

I should have made it clear, if you want to have your games hosted on Kongregate you’ll have to use ActionScript 3. I was suggesting that instead of that you might want to look into making a games with C# and XNA, which users would have to download and play on their PC or Xbox 360. Both AS3 and C# are resonably easy, but a portfolio of C++ and C# games looks far better than a similar one of Flash if you ever want to make a career out of game/software development. If you go for C++ or C# and decide later on that you want your games on Kongregate it’ll only take a couple of days at most to port each one over. If you just want your games online and not particularily kongregate you can try www.gamejolt.com, who allow you to upload SilverLight (C#), Java applets and Flash as well as freeware games. They also have a revenue sharing system similar to kongregate, except you also get revenue from people visiting your profile pages and blog. It’s not as big as kongregate at the moment but it has a lot more potential.

Ahhh ok cheers lol
Well I guess I will try out C# and XNA after and just get some experience with that. I will then try out ActionScript and Flash after that I guess ^^
I will probably be back months later hopefully with a game or something.
I have been wanting to find out more about putting up games on Kongregate or other sites, so I’m glad I did it today.