February 2020

Lookup Windows API Virtual Key Codes by pressing keys on your keyboard. Get instant C++ code to check if that key was pressed.

I was originally going to title this article “The Art & Science of Code Documentation”, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised there isn’t a lot of science behind it. It really does become a fairly subjective thing. Some people comment and document more than others, some files 100’s of lines long don’t need documentation, some that are under 100 lines desperately do.

But there is an art to it, and there are a set of good, strong guidelines that if followed, will ensure that your code remains readable for yourself in 2 years time, or to the next person to try and decipher just what the hell you were doing.

Let’s go over them.

Whether you’re a solo auteur crafting an experience that remains true to your vision, or you’re the chief ideas guy of your three man team; every game needs to start with a Game Design Document.

When making your game there’s really no better way to begin getting noticed than by making a devlog. You can keep yourself motivated by getting encouraging feedback all the while gaining new fans, before the game is even done.

But I see a lot of bad devlogs that aren’t giving the developer these things and instead they lose motivation and they never finish their game. I’ve read enough devlogs and written my own that I think I can give some pointers on writing a good devlog.

Well, you’ve definitely got some ambition in you. Making a Video Game from Scratch is not an easy task. In fact, I would say it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but you know what? It’s also the most rewarding. In this article I’ll help you get started and point you in the right direction.

So you’ve decided to bite the bullet and are ready to make that video game. Excellent. You do a little bit of planning and you’ve got your game scheduled for release in three weeks time. Let’s get this done.

There’s a couple of reasons you might want to make a video game. Maybe you just finished the latest blockbuster AAA cinematic game released on the latest platform and you have ideas. Or perhaps you’ve seen some of those nifty little “indie” games that keep getting released that you see on Steam and think, yeah I can do that! Hey, maybe you’re a software developer and you’ve heard that game development will build up your skills.

Whatever the reason, you’re here, and you want to know how to make a video game. So let’s get started.