#119895 - nesmar - Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:51 am
I was given the opportunity to make a game for my final project and my new found love for the DS gave me an idea :o
I don't have any of the hardware needed right now, but I plan to buy it if my professor lets me work on the DS.
My question is for someone who mostly knows java, how long will it take to make a decent game for the ds (hopefully using the touch screen in some way). I know a little C/C++, but not much, and I would actually prefer to work with C++ if I can. I don't have any actual game programming experience, just standard text stuff.
I have around a month to do the project and I'm not the best comp sci student in the world, but these boards seem helpful enough ;o
Am I in over my head here? My other choice is xbox 360 homebrew with XNA and C#, but the DS seems more interesting to me right now.
#119898 - Diddl - Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:25 am
The difference between java and C++ is not so big. but I suggest to use C instead of C++. The toolkit is very good and there a many examples available. You also can find many games or port with source code available, so it should be possible.
#119903 - OOPMan - Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:57 am
Developing with C/C++ for the DS is not very much like developing standard stuff using Java at all...
Question is, how complex must the game be? A month is actually a pretty tight schedule to jump in at the deep end, which homebrew DS programming kind of is...
It would be cool if you got an A-okay for doing this though...
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Last edited by OOPMan on Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:11 am; edited 1 time in total
#119904 - chishm - Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:59 am
Going from Java to C++ or C is not extremely difficult, but there are a few mistakes you'll make. In C++, you have to explicitly delete objects when you are done with them since there is no garbage collector. The class syntax is different, so you'll need to read up on that. Also, pointers are explicit, unlike the non-primitive data types in Java.
I suggest you get a good C++ book, have a long browse through it and see how much you understand. The DS is not the easiest platform to debug on, so it is not the best platform to learn on. If you feel confident then go ahead, but be aware that it will take you a bit of time and effort to get anywhere productive.
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#119910 - nesmar - Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:04 pm
I'm pretty sure the game does not have to be that complex, but I want it to be somewhat fun and playable.
Starting to have doubts about doing this for the project, but I would like to do this on my own time either way since I do want to get into the video game industry.
#119915 - melw - Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:39 pm
If you haven't done anything on C/C++ or on DS so far, one month may be too little for making a game - i.e. you might spend most of the time getting known to the platform and not in making the game at all. What I've tried XNA Studio and C# shortly that seems like a way easier platform to approach - especially since you can compile and try things directly on Windows. Also, C# is closer to Java, if that's what you've done before.
If you decide to go for DS, take a good look at libnds examples and DoubleC's tutorials.
#119921 - tepples - Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:05 pm
It may be easier for you to learn C++ for the PC first. If you have not yet downgraded your machine to Windows Vista, you can use the Dev-C++ distribution of MinGW to get started.
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#119922 - OOPMan - Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:35 pm
Well, he did mention that he was primarily interested in using C++, so I guess that's his lang of choice...
One way to produce your DS game quickly would be to use PAlib. Probably appropriate for a quick project like this anyway...
_________________
"My boot, your face..." - Attributed to OOPMan, Emperor of Eroticon VI
You can find my NDS homebrew projects here...