Making prototype then adding graphic.

Newbie & Debugging Questions
#1

Hello

I would need some advices.

I’m currently doing some experiments before I start making a real game and the strategy I take is to keep the graphics as simple as possible. For example, my game for the moment consist only of circle. The goal of this method is to be able to create the gameplay of the game as fast as possible without worrying about the graphics.

What I was thinking for later development in my games is to build the entire game only with the circle and make it fully playable, test it and once it works as intended add the graphics. Like putting an image that follow my circle and making my circle invisible.

The good point with that idea is that it is a lot easier to debug a game where you see a circle and know the exact shape of the object than when you have a lot of graphics that don’t represent what is happening in the game.

But the problem is : Could I do that?

I’m currently using Java2D, would it be a big problem to switch to OpenGL later?

If yes, is it possible to learn enough of OpenGL to make a game with circle in a very short time (let say 1 week?)

#2

You can do it, though it probably won’t help you much except at the beginning. Either way, you should separate your rendering code from everything else so that it’s easier to change how the rendering works.

That does not mean that you have to put all your rendering code for the entire game in one class. It just means that it should be in separate classes from you game logic.

If you keep your rendering code organized, you might be able to switch to OpenGL later. If you spread it throughout your code, you most likely won’t be able to.

#3

Thx for the answer.

My rendering is already separate from the rest so I will stick with java2D for now.