This was my idea for a project... I would like some feedback.

Hey there! I've been really busy with school lately... so not a lot of time for recreational programming or ranching. I have almost completed the HeadFirst book, and I got a SWEET grade on my Java intro class -- I take part 2 soon

I was thinking that I wanted to put together a game. My new Java Dream is to re-create pacman.

Now I know it's going to be hard, and it will probably take forever. I just think that "living my dream" will get me one step closer to being.... well...... good at this. And it's something I could do when I'm stressed out.... instead of knitting or stamp collecting or whatever people do.

Now here's where I got this silly idea:
Pac man project

This is where I'd like feedback:
1. Where can I find information about making graphical objects.... ya know, like the maze and the ghosts and my man PacMan
2. I'm going to make it non-user controlled at first, but what APIs should I look at for integrating user control?
3. Am I out of my mind? I mean, is this WAY too hard for someone who's just done a few things?

Thanks for the feedback,
Janeice

What's wrong with knitting?

There are several books about Java game programming. I'd head towards those rather than just looking at Swing or Java2D docs.

Is it too hard? That depends on your criteria for "success". You'll find it... challenging.

Janeice DelVecchio wrote:...


3. Am I out of my mind? ...

Thanks for the feedback,
Janeice

Yes, absolutely. But that's what I told myself when I started my chess program a couple of years ago. Anyways, if it was me, I'd set small, measurable goals. Before I even think about navigating mazes, and munching dots and escaping monsters, I'd write a program that would let me move a simple sprite around the screen using joystick movements. Then I'd expand with some very basic events that would happen when the sprite interacted with basic objects on the screen. The point is to expand slowly and not take too big of a bite.

Have fun. I think it's a great idea. It will definitely keep you going for a while.

The video game seems to be the "personal" project on everyone's favorites list. Decades ago, when I started programming, I went through the same phase. After three months of using BASIC (my first language), I switched over to the 6502 assembly language, and starting working on a video game. The commodore 64 actually had sprite support in hardware, so it was a really cool machine to develop for.

After a few years (on and off) of doing that, I got a summer job working in Pascal ... And realized that you can actually make money doing programming. Wow! What a concept !!

The things that I learned from 6502, particularly the bit shifting, and masking stuff, I still use today. Never did finish that game.

Henry

Henry Wong wrote:The video game seems to be the "personal" project on everyone's favorites list. Decades ago, when I started programming, I went through the same phase. After three months of using BASIC (my first language), I switched over to the 6502 assembly language, and starting working on a video game. The commodore 64 actually had sprite support in hardware, so it was a really cool machine to develop for.

After a few years (on and off) of doing that, I got a summer job working in Pascal ... And realized that you can actually make money doing programming. Wow! What a concept !!

The things that I learned from 6502, particularly the bit shifting, and masking stuff, I still use today. Never did finish that game.

Henry

I remember the peeks and pokes of the Commodore 64. What a brilliant idea that was

Anyways, Janice I'll just add this comment. If you're anything like me, the objective is not just to build a better mousetrap, but to make learning java fun. So if you wanna try using swing or 2D, then use it. It may not be the best tool for the job, but at least you'll learn a lot about those areas of java.

Careful with the spellings, Fred. It's Janeice not Janice. I suspect the missing "e" represents a sex-change without an anaesthetic

Campbell Ritchie wrote:Careful with the spellings, Fred. It's Janeice not Janice. I suspect the missing "e" represents a sex-change without an anaesthetic

ok Cambell, whatever you say

Wow.... thanks for all the input!

Firstly, Campbell and Fred.... the "e" in my name doesn't change my gender. It just changes the phonetics of my name. I become a Janice (like the chick from Ghostbusters and the differently spelled Janis Joplin). The double vowel makes the "e" long... like in leisure. Don't worry if you've been pronouncing it incorrectly... I get "Janice," "Janine," "Jenny," and a thousand others.... people not knowing what to do with that "ei" in the middle.... or worse yet, thinking I misspelled my own name. HA!

As for this game.... yes, Fred, it's an effort to learn some more advanced concepts while making the learning fun. I would also like to put it in some sort of portfolio with my schoolwork to show I can do large as well as small projects. Maybe I could make the game more like my all time favorite Colecovision game that I lost years ago.... mousetrap (a pacman ripoff with cats and mice and traps for the cats..... ).

I really found something again that I enjoy. I programmed BASIC on my dad's Apple IIE (I remember because he told me it was 2 elephants) by copying programs out of 321 contact magazine. When you're a kid you don't have much quality control, so you learn to troubleshoot syntax errors fast. I remember this one LONG one wouldn't work.... I looked for months. It was a missing ". Effed up the rest of the program. It was only natural to move to VB, but I found it boring and choppy. Granted this was 10 years ago in high school. I later helped my boyfriend out with a C++ class and liked it. It seems, once you understand programming logic, it's easy to learn new languages.

And Henry....

And realized that you can actually make money doing programming. Wow! What a concept !!

during my Java class, I realized how much I like logically solving problems with programming.... I told my dad I wanted to get into DB applications (my major has a focus on databases... I find SQL fascinating also) that use Java and he laughed at me. He said there's no money in it, and if there was, there's no jobs. I said there's no reason why I couldn't get paid to do something I LIKE to do. I may not find a job right away, but I'll find one and be really happy.

All right. The Pac-man/mousetrap game shall begin. It will be a long road, but I'm not scared.
Thanks a lot!
Janeice