side-scroller help

Java 2D
#1

I’m interested in creating a side-scroller Monster truck style game for the PC. I want to write everything from scratch, so using the Box2d isn’t an option. I know it’s a big project for a beginner, but I’ve always wanted to do this.

I know I’ll need gravity, pixel-perfect collision, scrolling, and the use of acceleration for the vehicle.

This will be my first real game so, I’m a bit stumped as to how it all works together.

A couple problems I see with gravity is factoring in the center of mass, to get the truck to rotate as it falls, and accelerating up ramps and such.

I was able to load the sprite/background, but it only moves one pixel at a time.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, just to get me pointed in the right direction.

Thank you… :slight_smile:

#2

Since nobody is biting I’ll take a shot at an answer.

And that is: learn to walk before you run. I would create a simpler game without any physics simulations first. Try a grid based Tetris clone and see if you can turn it into a full-fledged game. You’ll find it is already hard enough to do something as basic as that and you’ll have a million beginner questions that need answering while you implement it. From that learning experience, you’ll be one step closer to doing the game of your dreams.

Also I do believe it will be quite hard to do this without any kind of guidance outside of a forum; you are not going to learn this by asking those million questions here. When I started out with hobby game development I started collecting books like a nut (which was very costly indeed… but it was in a time where I did not have direct access to the internet yet). The advantage I had was that I was using (Visual) C++ in stead of Java at the time, so most books I could buy actually matched my target language and platform. Now you are likely not going to learn game development using C++ first and then switch to Java like I did, but my point is to not disregard the vast amount of C++ based resources out there that can really teach you a great deal. You should be able to read and understand the C++ code that books or articles provide and at least apply the knowledge yourself in your Java games.

#3

Depends on your focus.
If you want to learn how to implement physics, scrolling, etc., just go ahead.
If you want to finish a real game though, using stable, proven, ready-to-use libraries is your only option.

#4

Thank you for your reply. I’ll keep that in mind.

Don’t worry, I promise I wont post a million questions…

#5

Its not a question of worrying about it, people on this forum love to help. Its more from the perspective that you shouldn’t believe you are going to learn game development like that; but you seem to realize that :slight_smile: