XNA - Starting a platformer - xna

I have followed the MSDN Platformer tutorial and made a variant with it.
However, I want to make a Platformer like the Super Mario games. Although I prefer to make a game with a basic level, instead of a side scrolling level.
I've read certain documents about using Tile grid to create my levels. Are there also beginner/full tutorials available to create a start?
Basically need help with the first steps of setting up a level.
Greets

I have not used XNA for about 6-7 months, but back when I was 'playing' with it, I was working on Windows Phone 7 games and learned a lot from this blog over here. His tile engine worked pretty good for me.
Although it looks like it is for RPG-like games, take a closer look at the examples, there is a 2D platformer example there too.
You must read this, otherwise nothing will make sense :)

Related

Developing an iOS app, questions about the API I should use. (thinking of SpriteKit)

This is a pretty basic question and doesn't really need much depth for an answer. I was just currently interested in developing an app for iPhones and after learning the swift2 language from the Mac site, i was just wondering which API I should use.
I did some moderate research, and so far spriteKit seems like the way to go (bit of a hassle if I want to port it over to android, but not impossible). But I was just wanting to make sure it's the right way to go.
The app idea revolves around keeping track of some form of progress and being able to use this data to generate graphs for the user? I'd also like to add some image functionality to the application as well. (similar to the health app and how it measures distance walked?)
I know this sounds vague, but would spriteKit be able to do these things? Or is there another API worth having a look into? (I've checked out metal and sceneKit as well, but leaning towards the more 2D type apps)
From my point of view using spritekit for this is overkill.
There are some greats frameworks to do graphs like charts :
https://github.com/danielgindi/ios-charts
Spritekit is more gaming oriented, if you want a "simple" app you don't need it.
I don't think SpriteKit is the right API to accomplish your problems.
SpriteKit is all about moving and manipulating images on the screen. I am quite familiar with the SpriteKit API.
I do not see any help for generating graphs or something like that.
Also it is not the right API to display a proper interface for "serious" apps.

Done Some 2D Game Design, Now Want To Move To 3D

I have used PyGame for a while now, and quite enjoyed doing so, but only 2D experience is not going to cut it when I apply for video game jobs, and besides, I have a number of ideas I want to try out in 3D. What 3D library should I go into first? I was considering Irrlicht, which will also force me to work on my C++ again, but I was also looking towards XNA, as it would be cool to write 360 games. Any suggestions?
You can try Unity3D http://unity3d.com/. In the fall they released their engine for free that is cross platform (Mac, Win and possible Linux) and it can also be targeted for iPhone and web browser and is starting to build an open community and looks promising.
I've done some XNA stuff and the Unity tools look pretty good in comparison making it easier to get content into your games.
In my opinion, going with Irrlicht or OGRE is a good idea. It will help you get back in touch with C++ and experiment with 3D without making it too easy. It is a good idea to learn XNA as well and build a few 3D game prototypes there.
Summary: Do both, eventually. Learn OpenGL/DirectX later.
All the best.
XNA Game Studio is a fantastic framework and let's users jump into creating games quite quickly if you are comfortable with the .NET Framework.
However, if you decide that you want to move to the 3D world, you have 1 more dimension to take into consideration and it makes things exponentially harder. Simple collision detection, isn't so simple anymore. However, with the vast amount of information available for XNA Game Studio, you should find yourself getting to grips with the 3rd dimension quite quickly.
If you haven't done the whole Nehe type tutorials, it's probably best to play with the API, so that you get comfortable with it.
Create a Triangle
Spin the Triangle
Color the Triangle
Load some assets (models and textures) and render them
Try your hand at Alpha Blending
Take into consideration that XNA Game Studio does not have a fixed function pipeline and you will have to use Shaders (HLSL).
I have personally used Irrlicht, Ogre3d, Unity & Xna. Because you want to do this to help for when you apply for jobs in the game industry in my opinion I would suggest Irrlicht as you will want to work on your c++ skills. I also suggest Irrlicht as it is a 3D engine not a specific game engine which will allow you to work on your physics and maths skills as well which are highly sought after in the games industry.
I would suggest avoiding Unity if you are looking for experience to take to industry as it is a package that handles a lot for you and as such could limit your learning.
Ogre3D is a viable option as it is similar to Irlicht, maybe look into the tools available to help you make a choice between those two.
Xna is another interesting choice, it will give you a lot of chances to learn as Irrlicht could and there are a huge amount of resources to help you learn but at the same time you lose the c++ experience that comes with irrlicht.

Augmented Reality Help

I need a help to develop a small application on Augmented Reality.I have spend almost a week trying but with no proper solution.Tried some sample code but still not successful.
I have seen many videos and want to develop something like that.
for example my code should detect only square or any particular shape.And then after detecting the square and another Image should appear on the screen.
Please help me out.
This stuff is hard, but most new cool things are until they are no longer cool or new.
You can play with AR Toolkit until you are familiar with the functionality and then attempt to dive into the setting and mess with those, then maybe look at the source.

Any Resources for Pure Actionscript 3 Games?

What resources (books or website/tutorials) are available, that cover game development using pure Actionscript 3 code? By pure, I mean not using Flash CS4 and its timeline, and not using Flex MXML components. Everything done using only Actionscript code.
In another question, I asked about using certain objects of the Flex SDK for simple games, and the consensus was that I shouldn't use it at all, but only Actionscript for a game. Sounds reasonable, but the books/website tutorials that I have found on the subject of games, all use AS3 in the context of Flash CS4. They assume your objects will be movieclips, with timelines, etc.
I realize that you can learn game programming from books in other languages, and/or ignore the Flash aspect of AS3 books. I guess what I'm looking for, is whatever information is specific to AS3, such as best practices for AS3-only games, how to make architectural/design decisions, etc. If it exists, anyway :)
You may want to take a look at Flixel.
What is flixel?
flixel is a completely free collection of Actionscript 3 files that helps organize, automate, and optimize Flash games; an object-oriented framework that lets anyone create original and complex games with thousands of objects on screen in just a few hours.
Flixel is licensed under the MIT license and the site has quite a few tutorials to get you started.
Flash Adventure Game Tutorial
series shows you how to create a
Flash adventure game with Flex and
ActionScript.
FlexFighters
shows you how to make a shoot'em'up
with Flex and ActionScript.
This is a tutorial series that shows you how to make a 3D Flash game with Flex and Away3D
A site that is basically all about using just pure AS3 and that now has game tutorials centered around his pure AS3 game making library is www.actiontad.com.
Your games may be smaller using only AS3 and the SDK, but you loose the ability to animate with a timeline, animations made with the timeline in Flash will perform better, than say sticking a whole bunch of .pngs together, which is a technique actiontad uses, but that site is coming into it's own now with the library he recently released, if pure AS3 game making is your thing it's worth a look.
If you want to deploy your games on mobile (iOS/Android) you should take advantage of Starling (http://gamua.com/starling/), 2D rendering engine built on top of Stage3D, which gives you GPU raw power.

Can the UDK be used for non-game projects?

This is a pretty basic question. I am wondering if the Unreal Development Kit can be used for something other than games, specifically a light show simulator and editor. The site says:
Unreal Engine 3 has been used by game developers, researchers, television studios, machinima directors, artists and students. If you have an idea that needs to be brought to life in a game engine, UDK is for you.
But I have the feeling that it is more game oriented. For my hobby project, I would like to be able to create light show simulations with rotating/moving lasers/lights of changing color, synchronized to sound/music. I would also like to develop an GUI editor for this, preferably in C#, but if it's not possible to access the rendering functionality of the engine from C#, then C++/Qt should suffice. The editor would be used to design the simulation, which would then be rendered/played out in real time.
I guess my base, general question is: can the Unreal Development Kit be used for something like this, not necessarily game related? Or should I go with my original option of Ogre3D, which just focuses on rendering and 3D graphics as far as I know.
EDIT: Just saw this page which again mentions:
Can I create any kind of game with UDK?
Absolutely. UDK is the perfect solution for any kind of virtual world you wish to create, from racing games to simulations.
So my question is now simply: Would I be able to access the renderer or other functionality of my resulting code to integrate it into an editor for my simulator? I guess a simpler, more relatable analogy would be, if I wrote a game, would I be able to write my own level/character/etc. editor for it? And how would I do so? Yes, I know that the UDK comes with editors already, but I mean if I want to make my own.
Thanks! I appreciate any answers :)
The UDK only permits you to play with script (Unreal Script) and not with native code (c++). So more complicated projects or integrations are very difficult without the full c++ source code. But if you will re-use the editor (UnrealED) for your project and make you simulation based upon unreal you can do it.
I'm pretty well oriented in what Unreal Engine can do, and answer to your question is yes and no ;)
Yes, you can create your own actors that will be rotating/moving and emitting light. But won't be able to create your own custom editor around UE's rendered. Frankly I don't see why you would need one - Unreal Editor has all the tools needed to design and execute light show simulation (and much more) - all you need to do is to get familiar with those tools.
One thing you could do in external editor (except, of course, for textures, sounds, models, etc) is create some custom setup in saved to text files, and later read in those files in unreal script - it allows it.
"I guess a simpler, more relatable analogy would be, if I wrote a game, would I be able to write my own level/character/etc. editor for it?"
Yes, you can make your own characters and maps. You shouldn't have any need to make your own editor though, the given editor should be enough.
Although you might not have access to the C++ source code, there is a lot that can be done using Unrealscript. Check out all the entries to the Make Something Unreal contest, they were all done using tools available in the UDK.

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