Slashdot Mirror

Game programming with Blitz Max was the way we went. There is actually a book called Game Programming for Teens that gives you some lesson structure.

BlitzMax also has a C++ SDK, so you can graduate to that at some point. But as a recovering C++ developer myself I can't understand why you'd want to do the poor kid that.

BlitzMax compiles the same code for Windows, OS X and Linux. Although there's no official 3D engine yet, there are several engine wrappers available, as well as the excellent MiniB3D, an unofficial OpenGL-based engine provided with full source.

Do you mean that it's good for games, as long as you don't like popular games? ;-) The range of bizzare and not terribly well executed logic games that run natively on Linux is indeed very high, but they are not what the vast majority of people would call 'fun' (IMO due to poor execution, and gameplay that's of very limited appeal).

Even counting all the older games that have been ported, such as titles from the now defunct Loki - some of which are excellent - there are still fewer decent titles there ever were for Apple's System 6, sadly.

At the moment, the range and sophistication of web based games seem to be overtaking that of native Linux titles. I think cross platform game development kits like BlitzMax are probably the only way to turn things around on the gaming front (and help get out of the vicious circle of "no games = no gamers and no gamers = no game developers specifically targeting Linux").

The lack of triple A titles is obviously always going to be a problem, but I think with enough half decent titles you could build up enough of a consumer base to warrent more and more offical ports of existing titles.

Try BlitzMax -- it compiles for Windows, Linux and OS X.

BlitzMax is cross-platform (Windows, OS X and Linux) and ideal for fast development.