Eric the Red

I recently learnt c++ and i'm interested in making a game. I'm wondering if you'd recommend for me to use the windows API or (direct x/open gl) i rather open gl. I got this book called 'Sam's game programming in 24 hours' and it uses the windows api.

Any thoughts?

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nnxion

The windows API is GDI, I think it will use DirectX which is from Microsoft.

I'd go for OpenGL, but I heard some good things about DirectX 10. So you might want to try that. It all comes down to personal taste.

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Arevos

I was under the impression that DirectX 10 was delayed until Vista was out?

King

It pretty much is. And I dont think any graphics card companies are releasing DirectX 10 cards untill the vista release anyways.

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cmpr101

I'd do this a little differently. Get a good game engine (Torque for example) and learn about game programming rather than getting embroiled in graphics programming.

My opinion on game programming (held up by games like Darwinia) is that the graphics are less important than the gameplay, so getting that right is a far more rewarding experience in many cases than choosing a graphics API.

But maybe that's just the (lazy) game designer in me...

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Kilo

WHATTT!?!?!? there is a DirectX 10!?!?

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nnxion

Footage.

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Mocker

Torque is a pretty expensive way to start learning. You can do just as much with DirectX or OpenGL and a free gaming library like SDL or Ogre. Look into those. To make a basic 2d app you really do not need much extra and it is a good way to get into learning how to structure a game engine.

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commodore

You can't make cross-platform stuff with DirectX.

lectricpharaoh

For a simple game, like Tetris (as I'm inferring from other posts of yours), I'd just use plain GDI. It's simpler than DirectX, and it's a good idea to learn it anyways. If you have any sort of game where the graphics are primarily made up of rectangular tiles or blocks (Tetris, many old top-view so-called RPGs, some shoot-em-ups and scrollers), much of the drawing logic consists of drawing these rectangular bitmaps, and then drawing whatever sprites you've got.

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