Slick Forums

Im looking to start up ametur game development. Mainly as a hobby currently, but with the view to eventually continue it as a career. After looking around pretty heavily, I've settled on Java, mainly because if the game development fails, I've still got knowledge of an incredibly strong language.
Now, I've been looking around for a couple of weeks now, and I dont seem to be getting anywhere with basic Java. Not due to not understanding it, instead I cant find any tutorials that are any good.. I'm probably looking in the wrong place.

1. Are there any good beginner Java tutorials that would take me up to the level to develop say.. A simple platformer in Slick?
2. Are there any good beginner Java tutorials that are focused around game development in Java, or LWJGL?

Now, I am a complete and utter programming beginner, I've never done it before. However I do have a certain knack for writing and remembering code (HTML to be exact). And I have taken a massive interest in programming, but I just dont know where to start, and thats my problem.

I figured here was the best place to post, since after all, you are a community of Java game developers

Thanks

It's hard to jump into game programming if you don't know how to program at all. I'd suggest learning the basics of the language, how programming in general works, Java syntax/conventions, and object-oriented techniques. Once you are very comfortable with all of that, then you can start learning about Slick and/or graphics programming, and from there how to develop a game.

There are a lot of books on learning Java. Check out your local book store.

There are also hundreds of great tutorials and guides online:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=best+java+tutorials+for+beginners

Good luck. Programming isn't easy, it's not something you'll be able to pick up in a day.

It was tough for me but I made it through a lot of the official tutorials. One exercise in particular made things make a lot more sense, it is the one where you find an object near you and program all its behaviors and states. Anyway, I think it's a pretty good place to start but it can be a little confusing. Here it is: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/

I still consider myself a beginner but that also means I'm still pretty in tune with the problems I had starting out, so if you have any questions don't be afraid to post them here and I'll respond.

You could start off with Slick but a lot of Slick tutorials seem to require a certain level of understanding Java. If you want to start right off the bat with Slick, a great place to start is here: http://slick.cokeandcode.com/wiki/doku. ... _tutorials

Do you have Eclipse set up already?

I also want to note that after a few weeks of good practice, and you understand the syntax and some of the library, it's more about logical problem solving than anything else.

And do yourself a favour and don't start with tutorials on java that involve swing/awt. It will give you some unnecessary headaches and get's you nowhere in terms of game development.
At least that's my humble opinion coming from C# and MS' very comfortable GUI editor...

All rants aside you may also consider investing in a book. I've got the following which leds you through the process of developing simple tile based games and then goes on to 3D programming. It's a little bit old (2003) so you may need to adapt some of the barebone stuff to slick2D.

David Brakeen - Developing games in java

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team red

I don't know if people think the way I do, but I think learning the basics of C and then do the jump to an Object Oriented Language has helped me to make the programming learning curve more smooth

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Sorry for my English, trying to improve!

Yeah, I think a C start could be a good idea.
In case you're worried to learn one language to then learn another one
keep in mind that Java was mostly based on the C syntax.
I learned it this way at school. Kinda... But you can also directly start in java.

When you start with no experience at all, you should (imho) start with:
- Data types: Where is the difference between String, int, float, etc...
- The standard constructs: if/else, while, for
- (After quite a while) Object Orientated Programming (OOP): What the heck is a class?

Start simple, there are many tutorials out there.
And for real, buy a good java book, it's the best thing to do!

One more tip, use Eclipse to write your Java code, at first it can be gruesome,
but the auto-complete functionality is worth a lot, especially for beginners.

If you want to go with C as some are suggesting,this is a good place to start. He explains things very thoroughly. I don't think you'll have a problem jumping into the java tutorials though.

Hey everyone, thanks for all this advice! For those who want to know, I can't get Eclipse again (I used to have it) until I get my new computer (I'm using my iPad). I have bought a Java book before but it was no help so I'll try some of the online tutorials you guys (and girls) have sent me links to. And thanks for the offers of support. I'm sure I'll make use.