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  XNA Quicks - My First Game
by Marc Miles on 03/31/09 08:23:00 pm
2 comments Share on Twitter Share on Facebook RSS
 
 
  Posted 03/31/09 08:23:00 pm
 
For starters, I had a blast building this.  Even though its simple, very simple, I learned a lot.  It's amazing having to code for something that updates 60 times per second.  Lots of ideas start poping into my head for future games that I'll be making.

The game is called XNA Quicks.  Think of the last time you played Tetris and the speed of the last level.  I took that concept and essentially force you into a do or die situation.  Get as many points as you can in roughly 1.5 minutes before the game ends, and it does end.

Anyway, I hope you have fun with it.  There is a video of the gameplay (with the fantastic Creative Commons music by SaReGaMa that I used in the game), lots more details and source code available at my blog.
 
What I would like to know from readers is what path did you take when you started game development?  Specifically, did you build your own games to start with or make a few clones of others?  And, what advice can you give someone who is new to game dev?
 
 
Comments

Ron Newcomb
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I started when I was 10 on the family's Commodore computer. The DOS-like operating system was also a BASIC interpreter, so I began experimenting with print statements, loops, etc. Later on I learned how to PEEK and POKE the screen, use the sprite hardware, etc., and made simple 2D games using ascii art with the odd sprite or two. I never cloned games I liked -- the hardware just couldn't do it -- I just made what I could.

When I got an IBM (a 386), I began work on VersuS (http://www.geocities.com/pscion/vs.htm) which essentially was a forerunner to Super Smash Bros. -- with create-your-own-fighter abilities as its main draw. Learned a lot.



Marc Miles
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The C64 was also my first computer. However, I didn't do much programming until about 10 years later when I was 20. I suppose it would be different starting out back then. Most are plagued with too many choices today.


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