7 ms·

Amit's Game Programming Information

317 points by WoodenChair 12y ago

prawn 12y ago
It's an incredible resource. We leaned heavily on the hexagon section specifically in the creation of Hexiled (http://hexiledgame.com http://hexiledgame.com) - we marvelled each day at how comprehensive and helpful it was. The interactive diagrams throughout that section are visually simple but still very cool: http://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/ http://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/
tdicola 12y ago
Awesome, I remember reading Amit's page many years ago in ~2000 or so as a student. Nice to see it's still around all these years later. Here's a wayback link to the page 15 years ago, still pretty similar info: https://web.archive.org/web/19991111192444/http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html https://web.archive.org/web/19991111192444/http://www-cs-stu...
- je42 12y ago
  Looks like we both had the same thought ! :)
  - tdicola 12y ago
    Haha yep--now I'm going to go on a nostalgia trip on the wayback machine. Gamedev.net circa 2001: https://web.archive.org/web/20010608083939/http://www.gamedev.net/ https://web.archive.org/web/20010608083939/http://www.gamede... NeHe's OpenGL tutorials, I spent a ton of time playing with these: https://web.archive.org/web/20010214030327/http://nehe.gamedev.net/ https://web.archive.org/web/20010214030327/http://nehe.gamed...
    - je42 12y ago
      LOL. Yeah !
- mind_heist 12y ago
  upvoting ! I remember reading Amit's blog like 7/8 years ago as well .
- tfigment 12y ago
  I found this particularly amusing: "I'm working at an Internet startup called Google. We're looking for really good programmers, so if you're considering getting out of the games business and going into the Internet business, check out our job listings!" How did that work out?
je42 12y ago
I think it must have been almost 15 years ago, when I first stumbled across his page. Nice, that it's still around. See this link in the wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/19990117080207/http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html https://web.archive.org/web/19990117080207/http://www-cs-stu... :)
amitp 12y ago
Seeing my game programming bookmarks page up on HN is unexpected. :) Yes, I started it a very long time ago (most likely 1994 but that's before Wayback Machine, and I don't have my own archive). I should update the links on that page, but I've been focused more on my new site (http://www.redblobgames.com/ http://www.redblobgames.com/), where I'm writing tutorials with interactive diagrams. Longevity is a goal for my site so I try to focus on algorithms, design, and techniques, rather than specific platforms, languages, or code.
- ShaneWilton 12y ago
  Thanks for putting together this incredible resource. I started programming about 8 years ago, making games in high school, and I owe a lot of my early learning to your site.
- zem 12y ago
  been a fan of it for years, and i don't even do game programming :)
- malbs 12y ago
  Damn, I can't recall how many hours (and phone bills!) lost to playing SRE and BRE on all my local BBS's, thank you dude.
- sjtrny 12y ago
  I remember implementing A* during first year uni holidays thanks to your guide. Thanks for the great resource!
- ggambetta 12y ago
  I learned a ton from these articles back in the early 2000s. Thank you :)
- LeslieOA 12y ago
  Just had to sign in and say a big "Thank You". Your site was the first real resource I found that taught me what I know about game/graphics development. Back then it was predominantly on a Psion 3c in OPL, but hell, taught me to work within constraints. Thanks again!
curiousDog 12y ago
A few other good resources: Bit hacks: https://graphics.stanford.edu/~seander/bithacks.html https://graphics.stanford.edu/~seander/bithacks.html Algorithm implementations: http://www.keithschwarz.com/interesting/ http://www.keithschwarz.com/interesting/
jccooper 12y ago
Great. There goes my month.
bitwize 12y ago
It is inadvisable to start with Tetris. The Tetris Company LLC owns the copyright to the game concept; any falling n-omino game is potentially infringing, especially for n=4. Yes, I know that copyright law theoretically doesn't apply to game concepts; that won't stop TTC from suing you and winning by attrition (TTC has enough money to litigate well after virtually indie developer has gone broke).
- jeffreyrogers 12y ago
  I don't think most people plan on selling the first game the make. They probably just want to get some experience writing games and Tetris is one of the most gradual ways to get into it.
l34ch 12y ago
Amit Jain?
dinkumthinkum 12y ago
This comes up on HN every so often. It is a very high quality guide. The redblobgames.com seems to be a good companion to the Visual Algorithm site posted the other day [1]. [1] - http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~stevenha/visualization/ http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~stevenha/visualization/
schnevets 12y ago
Looks like an awesome resource! And just in time for the Ludum Dare this weekend!
evo_9 12y ago
Another great resource for learning about game programming: http://gamemechanicexplorer.com/ http://gamemechanicexplorer.com/
flashgordon 12y ago
Wow I remember going through Amit's site almost 7 years ago and it was really really useful even for non game related stuff. Never realised Id be bumping into it again! Awesome work mate.

317 points by WoodenChair 12y ago

prawn 12y ago

It's an incredible resource. We leaned heavily on the hexagon section specifically in the creation of Hexiled (http://hexiledgame.com http://hexiledgame.com) - we marvelled each day at how comprehensive and helpful it was. The interactive diagrams throughout that section are visually simple but still very cool: http://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/ http://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/

tdicola 12y ago

Awesome, I remember reading Amit's page many years ago in ~2000 or so as a student. Nice to see it's still around all these years later. Here's a wayback link to the page 15 years ago, still pretty similar info: https://web.archive.org/web/19991111192444/http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html https://web.archive.org/web/19991111192444/http://www-cs-stu...

je42 12y ago
Looks like we both had the same thought ! :)
- tdicola 12y ago
  Haha yep--now I'm going to go on a nostalgia trip on the wayback machine. Gamedev.net circa 2001: https://web.archive.org/web/20010608083939/http://www.gamedev.net/ https://web.archive.org/web/20010608083939/http://www.gamede... NeHe's OpenGL tutorials, I spent a ton of time playing with these: https://web.archive.org/web/20010214030327/http://nehe.gamedev.net/ https://web.archive.org/web/20010214030327/http://nehe.gamed...
  - je42 12y ago
    LOL. Yeah !
mind_heist 12y ago
upvoting ! I remember reading Amit's blog like 7/8 years ago as well .
tfigment 12y ago
I found this particularly amusing: "I'm working at an Internet startup called Google. We're looking for really good programmers, so if you're considering getting out of the games business and going into the Internet business, check out our job listings!" How did that work out?

je42 12y ago

I think it must have been almost 15 years ago, when I first stumbled across his page. Nice, that it's still around. See this link in the wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/19990117080207/http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/gameprog.html https://web.archive.org/web/19990117080207/http://www-cs-stu... :)

amitp 12y ago

Seeing my game programming bookmarks page up on HN is unexpected. :) Yes, I started it a very long time ago (most likely 1994 but that's before Wayback Machine, and I don't have my own archive). I should update the links on that page, but I've been focused more on my new site (http://www.redblobgames.com/ http://www.redblobgames.com/), where I'm writing tutorials with interactive diagrams. Longevity is a goal for my site so I try to focus on algorithms, design, and techniques, rather than specific platforms, languages, or code.

ShaneWilton 12y ago
Thanks for putting together this incredible resource. I started programming about 8 years ago, making games in high school, and I owe a lot of my early learning to your site.
zem 12y ago
been a fan of it for years, and i don't even do game programming :)
malbs 12y ago
Damn, I can't recall how many hours (and phone bills!) lost to playing SRE and BRE on all my local BBS's, thank you dude.
sjtrny 12y ago
I remember implementing A* during first year uni holidays thanks to your guide. Thanks for the great resource!
ggambetta 12y ago
I learned a ton from these articles back in the early 2000s. Thank you :)
LeslieOA 12y ago
Just had to sign in and say a big "Thank You". Your site was the first real resource I found that taught me what I know about game/graphics development. Back then it was predominantly on a Psion 3c in OPL, but hell, taught me to work within constraints. Thanks again!

curiousDog 12y ago

A few other good resources: Bit hacks: https://graphics.stanford.edu/~seander/bithacks.html https://graphics.stanford.edu/~seander/bithacks.html Algorithm implementations: http://www.keithschwarz.com/interesting/ http://www.keithschwarz.com/interesting/

jccooper 12y ago

Great. There goes my month.

bitwize 12y ago

It is inadvisable to start with Tetris. The Tetris Company LLC owns the copyright to the game concept; any falling n-omino game is potentially infringing, especially for n=4. Yes, I know that copyright law theoretically doesn't apply to game concepts; that won't stop TTC from suing you and winning by attrition (TTC has enough money to litigate well after virtually indie developer has gone broke).

jeffreyrogers 12y ago
I don't think most people plan on selling the first game the make. They probably just want to get some experience writing games and Tetris is one of the most gradual ways to get into it.

l34ch 12y ago

Amit Jain?

dinkumthinkum 12y ago

This comes up on HN every so often. It is a very high quality guide. The redblobgames.com seems to be a good companion to the Visual Algorithm site posted the other day [1]. [1] - http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~stevenha/visualization/ http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~stevenha/visualization/

schnevets 12y ago

Looks like an awesome resource! And just in time for the Ludum Dare this weekend!

evo_9 12y ago

Another great resource for learning about game programming: http://gamemechanicexplorer.com/ http://gamemechanicexplorer.com/

flashgordon 12y ago

Wow I remember going through Amit's site almost 7 years ago and it was really really useful even for non game related stuff. Never realised Id be bumping into it again! Awesome work mate.