Finding Zero
My plan for this website is to narrate my independent development of a computer game in the Rust programming language. I've never done this before, and so I hope to be able to show you the progression right from zero all the way up to a game. Beyond serving as an introduction, this first post is to set out where I'm starting. I’m going to tell you what don't I know, what I'm good at, and what I find difficult.
My zero
Zero game programming experience.
Zero experience in the Rust programming language.
Zero experience making assets, images, sounds, models, etcetera.
This first point is slightly subjective. I have in my school years tried to make games, however this was limited to Warcraft 3 Map editor triggers, and YoYo Games' Game Maker. Since these efforts I have spent a decade learning maths and programming at school and university. I have also spent a fair amount of time playing games. So I’m now better equipped than ever to narrate the journey from zero to game.
Some strengths
Good with numbers and equations.
A good functional programmer.
A very fast prototyper.
My background is in maths, data science, and machine learning. This is reflected in my programming knowledge, I've tried lots of languages, but my serious coding time has been put into Wolfram Mathematica, from 2009, and Haskell, from 2017. This has been great in an academic context, but means I don't have experience deploying reliable distributable software. There is great advice for hacking through gaming tech online, I hope I can give some pointers on hacking through gaming maths.
And weaknesses
Setting up new programming technologies takes me a long time.
Object oriented programming is difficult for me, something that seems important for games.
Stick to my comfort zone.
Over ambitious.
These personal limitations are one of the motivations for publishing this journey. Often, when looking for help online, I feel that I'm the only idiot in a world of suave computer geniuses. Whilst I cannot promise to be helpful or instructional in every aspect of the process, hopefully the difficulties for me are evident. If I can eventually manage, surely anyone can!
The next post on Friday will talk about game design inspirations, and signpost some big design decisions.
