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AppGameKit Classic Chat / Is AGK right for those who have never coded before?

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keyte
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Joined: 29th Mar 2012
Location: Japan
Posted: 24th Jun 2012 12:24
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I've tried almost all those coding free game maker tools starting with 3dgm, fpsc and others but always get board and end up coming back to the thegamecreators.com to consider dark basic pro or AGK.
I'm a windows 7 user hoping to build my games for the iPad. I own an English language centre and I teach English to kids in Japan and we have 6 iPads in my school. I currently run a fun games curriculum on them and the kids love them. I would really love to be able to build simple game applications for the iPad and since there seems to be a free app made for AppGameKit that can allow us to test and run our games on the iPad with only a wifi connection it seems perfect.

I've made 3d sims on fpsc and the kids had a chance to play them on our over head projector which was great and I was able to teach a lot of English using the 3d games that I made. Now I really hope to start building games for the iOS.

AGK isn't 3d yet but looks like it's coming which will be great.

My only worry now is what sort of time would I need to put in to learning how to code and my myths skill is like nothing.

If someone could point me in the right direction and give me an idea as to what I should get started with first since I've never really coded ever.

Thanks.

Ed.
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BatVink
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Joined: 4th Apr 2003
Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 24th Jun 2012 14:18
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If you want to code games, and you want to put them out to mobile devices, then AppGameKit is for you. That doesn't mean it is easy though, the entry level for what you want to do is not basic by a long way.

You could quickly start to make simple games, but don't expect to reach FPSC standards. What you have in FPSC is 20,000+ lines of code, crafted by someone with 20 years experience (plus others), alongside a world editor which is just as complex as the game engine.

On the other side, there are very few languages out there that give you so much game-oriented functionality built in (screen and object handling), as well as nice extras like bitmap font commands.

For your needs, I would say AppGameKit is the way to go.

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bjadams
AGK Backer
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Posted: 24th Jun 2012 14:44
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Keyte, if you don't have the skills and mindset of a programmer, and don't have the motivation to spend long hours over a span of months to learn the very basic concepts of programming and basics of how iOS works, then I would suggest that you seek other options.

Keep in mind that to build good games, programming is only a part of the equation. You need solid artwork and good sound to entertain kids.

One option is to find a programmer to help you out.

I do a lot of free pro-bono work for good causes. I "might" be able to help you...
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keyte
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Location: Japan
Posted: 24th Jun 2012 14:51
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Thanks BatVink,

Yes as I said I had used FPSC and had fun with it but I totally understand a lot of professional work has been put into the back-end and I'd never in my wildest dreams imagine making anything as powerful as what one can with FPSC if I was to code from scratch.

I think what I mean is that since I'm trying to work in a more education environment for kids I just needed a way to go about things more in my own way and thus learning a programming language would be an important step for me.

FPSC is fabulous for fast passed shooting etc but If I really need to teach something on screen within the game then I need to jump in and learn the code.

Making an app for none native kids to learn English doesn't need to be so heard. It could be based on a well known story such as "the 3 little pigs" for example, I would have the kids in the story and play the story as a game and they could choose which character they'd like to be and beat the wolf.

Or another app I would like to build a simple 3d book that opens up, and as the kids touch each page the book comes to life teaching the pictures within each page in 3d.

Or just a 2d platform game and kids need to run around hunting for the ABC in order starting from A ~ Z.

Or even more simple by just making puzzles for the kids to drag and drop into place.

The main purpose is for the kids to learn English but I hope to make it fun for them so I'd like to build the learning within a simple game nothing fancy at all.

Anyway, I'm downloading the free trial now and will start with Bitesize tutorials by Steven Holding here: http://www.appgamekit.com/bitesize.php

By the way I've never even touched any kind of coding language before so if anyone has any ideas on which tutorials I should be starting with please let me know.

Maybe I should start with DarkBasic pro??

Thanks.
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keyte
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Posted: 24th Jun 2012 15:10
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Thanks bjadams,

I'm sure I'm going to need help with my projects and I'm very pleased with your kind offer but I do have the time and I would really like to have the satisfaction of being able to make the games myself.

You are very right about the art and sound which I have. I also have art from 3drt.com various cartoon environments for interior etc which will be used and my music is from: Music 2 Hues, Inc who has provided me with a huge amount of fantastic songs and sounds for kids.
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basjak
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Location: feel like signing up for mars
Posted: 24th Jun 2012 17:07
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I understand you're asking but best solution is to try by yourself.

you can as well get the AppGameKit book which even shows you how to teach AppGameKit as well.

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MarcoBruti
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Posted: 24th Jun 2012 18:13
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The best thing for you is to start with DarkBasicPro, for the following reasons:
- it is free (download the free version)
- it is a more stable product since it has been out for many years.
- it features both 2D and 3D, so you can do both 2D games, platforms, puzzles, etc, and you can taste the flavour of 3D programming because it has got a full featured 3D engine.
- programming is very similar to AppGameKit, so if you learn Dark Basic, learning AppGameKit will be nuts.
- there are 2 very good books from Digital Skills that teach you step-by-step how to program and the basic concepts of game programming.
- The con is that is based on Windows and DirectX, so no iOS o iGadget, sorry.
Pls go to my site to see some screenshot of games I have developed since 2010
http://darkbasicgames.altervista.org/
You can also download some little game or some demo. Of course I do not want to sell anything to you, it is only to have an idea of what can be done.
Consider that I have many years of experience in programming games for hobby. So creating the games you shall see in the site requires months of works, programming skill, passion and a lot of experience.
Anyway by installing DarkBasicProFree

http://www.thegamecreators.com/?id=2000&m=view_product&page=free

and following step-by-step the books of Alistair

http://www.digital-skills.co.uk/darkbasicoverview.html

I guarantee that you shall learn how to program in a short time. And you will be able to transfer some of your skill to your people.
Please give us back a feedback of your experience...and good luck!
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keyte
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Posted: 24th Jun 2012 18:58
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Thanks very much MarcoBruti. That's very useful info indeed! I will get started on your advice.
I was sensing that I would probably be better off starting with DB pro.

Thanks!

Ed.
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fallen one
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Location: My imagination!
Posted: 24th Jun 2012 20:13
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unity 3d has some visual programming tools, like in the marketplace add ons made by users.
they have drag and drop programming tools, plus their is also a kickstarter programming game for unity script should you want to program beyond the visual programming tools.


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MarcoBruti
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Posted: 25th Jun 2012 21:27
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How much does it cost Unity 3D?
I think that the answer shall discourage us to leave AppGameKit or our friend "living in Japan" to abandon his DarkBasicPro projects...
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DVader
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Posted: 25th Jun 2012 21:47
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Unity is free I believe at least until you make any money from your projects. I tried it a few years back but couldn't really get into it.

I went from DB to AppGameKit and petty much could code straight away, it is very similar(tier1). I don't think there are that many issues regarding stability now so I wouldn't worry about that. I would try the free version out and see for yourself.

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keyte
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Posted: 26th Jun 2012 02:35
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Unity seems to be free but I'm not just hunting for free stuff, seems like a powerful tool though. Anyway If I go with unity I would need to pay $400 to develop for iOS which is the direction I'm going so my costs would be more IF I go with unity at all.

Anyway I've been using products from TGC for almost 10 years now starting with t3dm which I loved so I have a kind of soft spot for TGC and their great software so I'm getting started with db and then move on to AGK.

I may give unity a try but seems a bit of a bulky software for my liking. Powerful I'm sure which i respect but doesn't seem right for me.

Thanks.
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Ancient Lady
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Location: Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Posted: 26th Jun 2012 18:40
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With AppGameKit you'll need, at a minimum, to sign up for the Apple iOS Developer program ($99/year). If you want to distribute for the Mac as well, you also need to sign up for the Mac Developer program (another $99/year).

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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DVader
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Posted: 26th Jun 2012 20:58
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Oh Unity is very powerful, but as I said I didn't really like it myself. Here's a demo I tried out on my old site, which I was impressed with just to show what it can do.
http://www.sentientsoftware.bandedsoftware.com/Driver.html
I was looking for a way to get stuff running on web pages and thought this was the best at the time. Still I didn't enjoy the coding that much so abandoned it.
AGK or DB would be easier to get into.

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