Best of Game DevelopmentDecember 2024

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    Article
    Avatar of game_developersGame Developers·1y

    I created a tutorial series for learning to make RTS games (like AoE)

    Learn how to create a 3D real-time strategy game similar to Stronghold Crusader and Age of Empires using the Godot engine. The provided tutorial series offers a step-by-step guide for game development enthusiasts.

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    Video
    Avatar of lowlevelgamedevLow Level Game Dev·1y

    How to make games in C++ from 0 experience!

    Learn how to go from zero C++ experience to creating games with a 3-step framework. Start by learning the basics of the language through free tutorials, slow down and create simple projects to build practical coding skills, and finally make a simple game using libraries like SFML. Avoid getting bogged down by advanced concepts; focus on writing simple, functional code and taking action as soon as possible.

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    Video
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    The 7 Levels of Programming

    This post humorously details the seven levels of programming, from a beginner using Scratch to an elite coder. It starts with basic web design, progresses through game development, university and professional level programming, culminating in an elite coder who lives and breathes code. The narrative highlights common pitfalls and the progression of skills at each level.

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    Video
    Avatar of youtubeYouTube·1y

    Everything You Need To Start Making Games (As A Beginner)

    Game development involves making intentional decisions such as game engine choice, coding, and using assets. Beginners should start with an accessible game engine and avoid relying solely on tutorials. Resources like documentation and free assets can help in the learning process. Organizing progress and seeking community feedback are also crucial. Additional artistic and sound design skills can be enhanced with specific tools and resources.

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    Video
    Avatar of joshuamoronyJoshua Morony·1y

    WEB WORKERS made my code over 100x faster (almost ZERO blocking time)

    Using web workers in Angular with Phaser can drastically improve performance by offloading computationally expensive tasks like the wave function collapse algorithm from the main thread. This allows the game to render terrain without causing freezing or requiring loading screens. Web workers handle the heavy computations and communicate results back to the main thread, ensuring smooth gameplay and responsive UI.

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    Video
    Avatar of webdevcodyWeb Dev Cody·1y

    You need to try game development

    Learning to code through game development can be highly beneficial as it exposes you to various complex areas of computer science such as physics, math, and algorithms. Unlike web development, game development offers constant challenges and requires critical problem-solving skills. This can make the learning process more engaging and rewarding. While web development is practical for stable, well-paying jobs, incorporating game development projects can significantly boost your programming skills and understanding.

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    Video
    Avatar of youtubeYouTube·1y

    The game of the year was written in Lua

    Jonathan Blow suggests that instead of following complex tutorials and dealing with dependencies, beginners should consider using Love 2D, a simple framework for creating 2D games with the Lua programming language. Batro, a highly successful game developed with Love 2D, exemplifies how effective and engaging games can be created with this framework. The game, known for its smooth animations and engaging gameplay, has sold over 2 million copies and received overwhelmingly positive ratings on Steam. Love 2D's simplicity allows for quick development, and the use of shaders can add significant visual appeal to games.

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    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·1y

    boardgameio/boardgame.io: State Management and Multiplayer Networking for Turn-Based Games

    boardgame.io is a JavaScript engine for developing turn-based games. It handles state management, multiplayer synchronization, and AI bots automatically, making it easy to create and manage game state without writing networking or storage code. Features include game phases, a lobby for matchmaking, prototyping tools, and extendable plugins. It supports vanilla JS and React/React Native. The community offers documentation, examples, and support for contributors.

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    Video
    Avatar of primeagenThePrimeTime·1y

    How To Become An Expert

    Becoming an expert in programming requires hands-on experience in building things from scratch. To truly understand components like game engines or frontend frameworks, one should attempt to create simplified versions of these. This practice helps in grasping fundamental concepts and addressing common problems, thereby enhancing your ability to work effectively within those systems.

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    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    Universal, Pure-GPU HTML Renderer

    Ultralight is a GPU-accelerated toolkit designed to embed modern HTML in games and native applications. It offers ultra-fast rendering either directly on the GPU or on the CPU for ease of integration. Ultralight is highly portable, with support for multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, and ARM64 devices. The toolkit is built in collaboration with leading game studios and provides deep GPU integration, transparent rendering, custom image compositing, and more. It is also optimized for native app developers, offering consistent performance across platforms, automatic window management, and seamless JavaScript-native code integration.

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    Video
    Avatar of youtubeYouTube·1y

    I Built A Cozy Javascript Game ✨ (With No Experience)

    The author shares their journey of creating a cozy JavaScript game focused on teaching users how to make different pasta shapes, despite having no prior game development experience. They outline their planning process using Notion, gather resources and create a study plan for learning game development, and use tools like Notion AI, MidJourney, and Phaser.js to assist with different aspects of the project. The author also discusses the challenges and learning experiences faced while working on the game, and provides insights and links for others interested in learning game development.

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    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·1y

    louis-e/arnis: Generate any location from the real world in Minecraft Java Edition with a high level of detail.

    Arnis is an open-source project written in Rust that generates high-detail, real-world locations in Minecraft Java Edition. By leveraging geospatial data from OpenStreetMap, Arnis creates accurate and immersive Minecraft worlds, handling large-scale data efficiently. Users can select areas using a rectangle tool and generate worlds starting from specific coordinates. The project supports cross-platform usage and invites community contributions for improvements and new features.

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    Article
    Avatar of lobstersLobsters·1y

    Lua is so underrated

    Lua is a versatile, efficient, and easy-to-learn scripting language designed for embedding in applications. It supports multiple programming paradigms and offers excellent performance through its clean design and minimalistic syntax. Despite its capabilities, Lua often flies under the radar compared to more marketed languages, making it an underrated choice for both gaming and embedded systems.

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    Article
    Avatar of game_developersGame Developers·1y

    Summary of features and use-cases of game engines!

    The post compares the pros and cons of Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot for game development. It highlights Unity's strong community and extensive multi-platform support, Unreal Engine's superior 3D graphics and visual scripting, and Godot's lightweight nature and support for multiple languages. The author concludes that it's important to use the tools you know best and provides recommendations for beginners and various game development scenarios.

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    Video
    Avatar of dafluffypotatoDaFluffyPotato·1y

    I'm making a VR Game Engine in Python

    The author shares their experience of developing a VR game engine using Python. They describe the process of integrating different libraries like PyOpenXR, ModernGL, and GLFW to handle various aspects of VR game development. The post also mentions their recent release of a 2D game called Yanok, which is available on Steam. The author highlights the challenges faced, such as memory leaks and the implementation of spatial audio, and concludes with future plans for adding more realistic gunplay mechanics, NPCs, and multiplayer functionality.

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    Article
    Avatar of game_developersGame Developers·1y

    Mods needed

    The community has seen significant growth, ranking in the top 10 on the platform. This has made it challenging for the current moderators to manage all the forums and the Discord server effectively. The author is seeking new moderators to help oversee various developer squads, including game developers, Unity, Unreal, Godot, and Roblox studio developers. Responsibilities include supervising posts, hosting events, creating activities, and maintaining respectful and active participation. Interested candidates are encouraged to reach out via Discord.

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    Article
    Avatar of game_developersGame Developers·1y

    Math in programming...

    The author shares their newfound realization about the importance of math in programming, particularly in the context of game development. They provide a C++ code snippet demonstrating the use of mathematics to animate a platform in a game by adjusting its position using trigonometric functions.

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    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·1y

    HarperJonesGPT/PokerGPT: Pokerstars bot that plays real-time poker using GPT4

    PokerGPT is a sophisticated bot designed for playing 6-player Texas Hold'em on Pokerstars, using the OpenAI GPT-4 API for real-time game analysis and decision-making. It utilizes Tesseract OCR for card and action recognition and includes a GUI for data visualization and audio playback. The bot reads data directly from the Pokerstars client and simulates mouse clicks for automated gameplay. Requirements include Python 3.8+, OpenAI GPT-4 API access, and Tesseract OCR. The bot is tailored for specific screen resolutions and the Pokerstars 6-player table format.

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    Video
    Avatar of primeagenThePrimeTime·1y

    So I Tried To Learn Shaders...

    The writer shares their journey of learning shaders, starting from a point of confusion back in college to making a renewed effort with modern tools like the Book of Shaders. They explain basic concepts such as what shaders are, how they function in parallel on GPUs, and the importance of uniforms in passing consistent input data to shaders. The post highlights the challenge of understanding shader syntax and execution but encourages continuous learning through practical experimentation.

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    Video
    Avatar of youtubeYouTube·1y

    Can I make a GTA game using ChatGPT?

    A developer explores using ChatGPT to create a GTA-style game in Unity. Despite not being a professional developer, the author illustrates how ChatGPT provides step-by-step code and implementation instructions. The post covers the creation of character movement, camera handling, car models, and gun mechanics, often requiring trial and error. With the integration of AI, the author shares their journey in building a game environment from setting up player controls to importing city models.

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    Article
    Avatar of godotdevelopersGodot Developers·1y

    Current Humble Bundles are Great for Beginners

    There are several appealing Humble Bundles available for game and software development, such as 'Learn To Make Games in Godot 4' and 'Gamedev Market: Best of 2024.' These bundles include a variety of assets and courses that are especially beneficial for beginners. Keeping an eye on Humble Bundle's software section is recommended, as it frequently offers bundles with useful assets and sound.

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    Article
    Avatar of gamedeveloperGame Developer·1y

    The Last Humble Bee postmortem: Staying sane in solo development

    Jacob Weersing, a solo developer, shares the psychological and technical lessons learned during the two-year development of his game 'The Last Humble Bee'. Key insights highlight managing expectations, finding joy in the process, and the importance of finishing projects. He also discusses the tech stack, including Gamemaker and Unity, his approach to art and music, and practical marketing strategies.

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    Video
    Avatar of clearcodeClear Code·1y

    The ultimate introduction to Raylib

    Learn how to use Raylib to create both 2D and 3D games. Raylib is popular for enabling advanced game development without requiring game engines like Unity. This tutorial, using Python, covers the basics such as setting up a window, drawing shapes, working with images and textures, handling input, and managing movement. It also introduces concepts like frame rate independence and vector math for game development.

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    Article
    Avatar of gamesindustryGamesIndustry.biz·1y

    Why RuneScape creator Andrew Gower has returned to MMORPGs with Brighter Shores

    Andrew Gower, the creator of RuneScape, has returned to MMORPGs with his new project, Brighter Shores. After departing Jagex in 2010, Gower founded Fen Research and developed the FenForge engine. Initially focused on creating a game engine, Gower realized he needed a project to demonstrate its capabilities. Despite originally working on a different game, community demand pushed him to create another MMORPG. Brighter Shores launched into Early Access on November 6th, designed to incorporate modern player expectations and the passive gameplay systems catering to those with limited time.

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    Article
    Avatar of unityUnity·1y

    Ultimate guide: Multiplayer Networking for Advanced Unity Developers

    Experienced Unity developers can now access a comprehensive guide on multiplayer networking, offering foundational concepts, practical examples, and tips on avoiding common pitfalls. The guide includes an in-depth overview of network synchronization, client-server communication, and various network topologies, along with hands-on examples using Unity's Netcode for GameObjects. It also highlights Unity's latest tools and sample projects to facilitate a smoother transition into multiplayer game development.