Hi all,
I just started learning C++ ~1 month ago and I have recently started to design my own RPG game for some fun and practice using the language. However, I would like to be able to take it to the next step and add graphics to my game instead of executing it from the command line. How can I accomplish this? Thanks for any help, advice where to get started is greatly appreciated.

What u have put forward is a very general, and depends how far you would want to take it. I would however taking a quick look at OpenGl, as it can do both 2d and 3d graphics, allthough this may be a bit more than what you want to do.

Well I would like to learn enough to create pretty sophisticated graphics (3D such as you might see in a game today) but I realize that you can't start there so for now I would like to learn the basics and be able to apply them (2D or 3D at this point Im not picky) to what I am currently creating. Thanks.

Well if your aim is to ultimately create 3D games then I would just take the plunge and go strait for OpenGl. To begin with it can be a little complicated, but it shouldn't take you long to make a simple 3D maze kindof game, especially if you look for some of the very good online tutorials out there. As for potential, well OpenGl is the top, games such as the Quake range etc use it.

I strongly recommend that you download Qt from http://www.trolltech.com/. It is very C++ centric and it supports OpenGL through its OGLWidget. Also, it is platform agnostic, which means that apps written in Qt will readily port to Linux, Mac and Windoze (and others).

Also, if you need database support, it is available through Qt for a wide variety of popular (mostly) relational database systems.

Since you are relatively inexperienced in C++, my recommendation is that you use Qt extensively since it is very "good" C++ and those lessons will be of value to you. Qt also helps remove some of the numerous complexities of "raw" C++ from you.

Using (included with Qt) the "designer" application, you can readily produce GUIs with ease. Again, the product of your labors will run on multiple platforms with little (comparatively) effort. That means that, should your game become popular, it will (once targeted) run on the various popular platforms.

Learning OpenGL is not for the timid. It is a very powerful API that is C-based. There is nothing C++ about it at all. If you're looking for something more specifically C++ oriented, then perhaps other packages may be of greater interest to you.

If you wish to provide your game for free, then you won't need to pay for a Qt license.

One thing to be aware of is that game programming is possibly the most difficult and challenging software development activity.


:davis:

Stop by a good bookstore (Borders, Barnes & Nobles, etc.) and peruse the computer section. You should be able to find a shelf or two full of game programming books. I can't think of any titles offhand but there is one series that has a black cover that I've looked through several times and looks useful.

I'm sure you'll find several that are interesting but look for ones discussing OpenGL. You might also look at some of the "beginning game design" books that cover a wide range of game topics.

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