Chapter 5 Collision Theory and Logic 137
Editor
window
Menu
bar
Editor
toolbar
Standard
toolbar
Navigate
toolbar
Run
toolbar
Workspace
window
Properties
window
Figure 5-14. This is the basic interface of The Games Factory 2. Learning where the tools are located will help you
become more effi cient at designing games in the software.
CASE STUDY:
GAME PROGRAMMER
A game programmer is the person who
can talk the language of the computer. Using
that language, the programmer asks the
computer to perform tasks. This person is the
“computer guru” who takes the design ideas
and makes them happen in the game.
If you like math and are good in algebra,
geometry, calculus, applied mathematics, and
computer science, you would probably be a
good game programmer. To be a good game
programmer, you need to be skilled in math,
logic, and problem solving.
As a game programmer, you will work
with three types of programming languages:
computer platform–specifi c languages,
scripting languages, and object-oriented
programming languages. Computer languages
like C, C++, C#, Java, and assembly are
popular for designing games. These languages
can “speak” directly to the computer operating
system. Scripting languages like Python, Ruby,
and Perl are simplifi ed languages. They are
easier for a person to use than a computer
language. When a script is fi nished, it is
compiled into a computer language so the
computer can read it. The last language type
is an object-oriented language. These are very
simple, user-friendly languages that build in
A programmer is the person who takes game design ideas
and gives the computer the instructions needed to make the
game function. (Continued)