Trends in Managed Game Development
Hello all
I'm just starting developing games and am wondering which language / envirronment to write them in.
At the moment for experimenting using Direct3D I'm using C#, with Visual Studio 2005 (.NET), and mucking around with DirectX 9, and XNA (the XNA game studio express).
I've always figured that the professional game devs use unmanaged C++, but is that changing now with the additional support for managed DirectX?
So, in short:
If I want to make a game using DirectX, what language / environment should I use to make it?
Thanks =)
-Cabbeh
Managed languages haven't been around long enough to become widely accepted by the industry, it's still pretty much the hobbyists/indies that are going to take advantage of it. What
you should use depends on what road you want to get on - if your goal is to get into the industry you will have to have a thorough understanding of C++ and DirectX/Open GL (both preferably to give you a better chance
). If you're just going down the hobbyist/indie road I'd recommend giving XNA and C# a shot.
Cool, thanks
Yea, I'm thinking that I want to make a really slick engine, and would like to start off using DirectX and C++ (unmanaged).
Given this, what tools should I use?
eg. IDE & compiler?
Can / should I use Visual Studio 2005 for this, or will its rather .NET orientedness get in the way?
What IDE + compiler do the pros use?
=)
Thanks!
Lots of game shops use Visual C++ and Visual Studio. Don't let the .NET scare ya, it's still plenty easy to crank out unmanaged code.
Having said that, you mention building an engine, which is a bit different than just making a single game. I encourage you to take a look at the (numerous) game engine projects available on sites like CodePlex and SourceForge first. The single most common thing you'll notice among them is they are rarely finished.
If you are new to game development (I got the impression you were, if not then I apologize) you may want to consider knocking out a couple small projects (of the same basic type) and then look at ways having a basic engine could have improved the process.
I know it helped me.
Just my .02
Yes, you are quite right; I'm new to game development (directX, anyway).
I just want to know that I'm making the right start, and not wasting my time (eg. by using C# and managed DX).
Don't worry, the first engine that I'm making is 2D :)
It'll be a platform for a side-view shooter style game; it's main feature being full real-time terrain destruction on a polygon level. I've never seen this done before (at least not well) except on Red Faction, which was of course 3D :P
So, looks like I'll use VS2005, DX 9.0c, and C++ (unmanaged all the way) to make my first little engine.
Thanks for your help everyone =)
