Getting Started as a Game Developer

What Do I Need? (Will It Cost A Lot?)

1. Create a new folder that's easy for you to get to. If you want to be mobile, put it in the top level of your flash drive. If you don't want to use a flash drive, put it in the C:\ drive of your computer. Name the folder something fun like "GameDev".
   
   For the rest of these instructions, I'll assume you chose to install to the C:\ drive. If you're using a flash drive, substitute the appropriate drive (E:\, F:\, etc.)
2. The most fundamental tool of a game developer is their compiler. A compiler basically takes the statements that you, the programmer, write and transforms them into a machine code called a program. Don't get scared by all this talk - it'll make sense in a bit.
   
   The language we'll be using is C++, one of the fastest and best languages for writing games. The C++ compiler we'll use is call Dev-C++. Download it the installer here: http://softlayer.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/dev-cpp/devcpp-4.9.9.2_setup.exe
   
   Save this exe file onto the desktop of your computer. Once the download is finished, double click on the exe file to start the installation. Choose "Full" installation. When prompted, make sure to change the installation directory to your "GameDev" folder!
3. We also need to know how to use a drawing program. If you use Windows, you already have a program called Paint. But we're going to install a copy into your GameDev folder just to make things convenient.
   
   Create another folder inside your C:/GameDev folder called "Paint". Then go to this Microsoft link and download the paint installer (don't worry - it's a tiny file): http://download.microsoft.com/download/winntwks40/paint/1/nt4/en-us/paintnt.exe
   
   Save that file into the Paint folder, then run it. All done with that!
4. At this point, we should do a few things to make life easier. Open the C:/GameDev folder. There should be two folders here: Dev-Cpp and Paint. If not, you've missed something along the way and should go reread the earlier instructions.
   
   Right click somewhere inside the GameDev folder and click on New > Shortcut. When prompted, click Browse and go into the C:/GameDev/Dev-Cpp folder. Find the program called devcpp.exe (with a blue icon) and click on it. Name the shortcut DEVCPP.
   
   Follow the same procedure (right click inside GameDev, select New > Shortcut), this time browsing to the Paint folder. Select MSPAINT.exe and name the shortcut PAINT.
   
   One last thing: Create a new folder inside C:/GameDev called PROJECTS. This is where you'll save you game files.
5. We almost have everything we need. Now we need a gaming library. No, this is not a collection of books about gaming. In computer terms, a library is a collection of code that skilled programmers write once so that we don't have to rewrite it every time we want to use it. A gaming library allows us to do things like get input from the keyboard and move pictures around.
   
   We'll be using a library called Simple Directmedia Layer (SDL). Download the "devpack" here: http://asrobo.hut.fi/devpaks/SDL-1.2.12-1zapo.DevPak
   
   Save this devpack file into your C:/GameDev/Dev-Cpp folder.
6. Last Step: Click on C:\GameDev\DEVCPP to start Dev-C++. After the startup procedure, go to Tools > Package Manager. Once the package manager appears, click on "Install". Find and click on that SDL devpak we downloaded in that last step. Dev-C++ will install all the SDL stuff for you.
   
   With that done, there's just a couple of little details to polish up. In Dev-C++, go to Tools > Environment Options. Select the "Files & Directories" tab and change "User's Default Directory" to your PROGRAMS folder that you created. Then click OK.
   
   Go to Tools > Editor Options. Uncheck the box that says "Smart Tabs". Click OK.
   
   Go to Tools > Compiler Options. Uncheck the box that says "Use fast but imperfect dependency generation". Click OK.
   
   You're programming environment is complete and ready for testing!