Processing?

RoRo979

Just wondering what people think about processing. Are there any better languages out there which accomplish the same tasks as it or should I concentrate on it?

RedXIV

I'm a little confused by this. What are trying to process? Different languages will process different things at various different speeds. Text is processed very differently from graphical output for example.

A bit more information may help you garner responses.

gizmo

I imagine he's talking about this Processing.

Looking at the site, it seems interesting but it depends on what you're trying to accomplish with it really. For instance, if you just want to make games, the likes of Unity, Unreal and Gamemaker would be better options. If you wanted to avoid full engines, I've seen a few folk working with various Haxe based frameworks such as OpenFL with some pretty great looking results too.

RedXIV

gizmo wrote: »

I imagine he's talking about this Processing.

Looking at the site, it seems interesting but it depends on what you're trying to accomplish with it really. For instance, if you just want to make games, the likes of Unity, Unreal and Gamemaker would be better options. If you wanted to avoid full engines, I've seen a few folk working with various Haxe based frameworks such as OpenFL with some pretty great looking results too.

Cool! You live and learn, never came across that language before

oisincar

I'm 100% sure what it is exactly, but I think it's an equilavent to Mit's scratch. A framework for learning to program. I'd say it's great to start with, but to actually start making games you'll need to know a traditional language I think, and then use a framework like libgdx (my new favourite), or a program like Unity or Gamemaker.

I think all the knowledge ties together in the end, so just go and start to make stuff! I do think that having a good knowledge of straight programming will help you in the long run, however.

RoRo979

I'm a little confused by this. What are trying to process? Different languages will process different things at various different speeds. Text is processed very differently from graphical output for example.

Apologies my bad for not clarifying enough.

but I think it's an equilavent to Mit's scratch.

I can safely say that imo it isnt comparable to Scratch in any way. The language is based off Java and so far I have used it to make retro games e.g space invaders/pong. The reason for my question however is that being able to make retro games in todays world doesn't seem very helpful. I do understand that unity/UDK and other things are out there to use but in college we are using processing atm and I am wondering if it is worth devoting lots of time to or if it isnt the usuable in today's world. I have tried researching sample projects etc but havn't managed to find anything that tells me it is a powerful tool.

oisincar

Huh, my bad. I had heard them being compaired before, but I guess they were just talking about different programs that are good to start off with.
(From the processing wiki: [Processing was created for] the purpose of teaching the fundamentals of computer programming in a visual context.)

I don't think there's any big games that would be made in processing, no, but I think most of the skills you'll learn in processing will transfer pretty easily. In my experience most game engines/ frameworks tend to do things in a similar way, and that's the hard part. If you can make a game in one program, you're 90% there to making it in another IMO.

oisincar

Huh, my bad. I had heard them being compaired before, but I guess they were just talking about different programs that are good to start off with.
(From the processing wiki: [Processing was created for] the purpose of teaching the fundamentals of computer programming in a visual context.)

I don't think there's any big games that would be made in processing, no, but I think most of the skills you'll learn in processing will transfer pretty easily. In my experience most game engines/ frameworks tend to do things in a similar way, and that's the hard part. If you can make a game in one program, you're 90% there to making it in another IMO.

RoRo979

oisincar wrote: »

Huh, my bad. I had heard them being compaired before, but I guess they were just talking about different programs that are good to start off with.
(From the processing wiki: [Processing was created for] the purpose of teaching the fundamentals of computer programming in a visual context.)

I don't think there's any big games that would be made in processing, no, but I think most of the skills you'll learn in processing will transfer pretty easily. In my experience most game engines/ frameworks tend to do things in a similar way, and that's the hard part. If you can make a game in one program, you're 90% there to making it in another IMO.

Cheers, I agree it is a tool for learning programming but it is done alot different to scratch. So what should I be heading towards next in terms of game development? Unity, UDK? Currently am doing android dev and am making good progress with that so I would like to stuck with Java.

gizmo

RoRo979 wrote: »

Cheers, I agree it is a tool for learning programming but it is done alot different to scratch. So what should I be heading towards next in terms of game development? Unity, UDK? Currently am doing android dev and am making good progress with that so I would like to stuck with Java.

None of the major engines are built in/support Java but if you're willing to side step to C# then you could move over to Unity. Given your current path, it's probably the best idea for you right now.

As an aside, UDK isn't a thing anymore, you get full access to Unreal Engine 4 now. It is, of course, fully C++ based.

oisincar

I'm using Libgdx atm. That's in java. It could be a bit frustrating to use though, it doesn't give you a lot for free so to speak. It allows you to publish to HTML, android, ios, mac, and windows from the same source code, which is pretty sweet.

I enjoy the programming part more than the developing games part tbh (i.e. I don't really mind if i publish the game or not, i enjoy figuring out how everything works ect) so I don't mind writing 200 lines just to get something to animate something moving across the screen. If you want to just make fun things you're probably better off working with unity or unreal. Learning a new language isn't super hard anyway, lots of things transfer.

oisincar

I'm using Libgdx atm. That's in java. It could be a bit frustrating to use though, it doesn't give you a lot for free so to speak. It allows you to publish to HTML, android, ios, mac, and windows from the same source code, which is pretty sweet.

I enjoy the programming part more than the developing games part tbh (i.e. I don't really mind if i publish the game or not, i enjoy figuring out how everything works ect) so I don't mind writing 200 lines just to get something to animate something moving across the screen. If you want to just make fun things you're probably better off working with unity or unreal. Learning a new language isn't super hard anyway, lots of things transfer.

RoRo979

gizmo wrote: »

Java but if you're willing to side step to C# then you could move over to Unity. Given your current path, it's probably the best idea for you right now.

I'm using Libgdx atm. That's in java.

So would I be wise to look towards LIbgdx due to my current knowledge of Java? I asked my lecturer about processing and really it just makes displaying things in Java easier, removed the need for Java.awt and is mainly used for displaying data so that isnt really my cup of tea.

What im looking for is to learn the best tool that will be most practical for me to use, with time and diffuculty not being a factor as I am only learning atm. Sorry for the basic questions, I find the best way to learn in programming is from those with the experience.

gizmo

RoRo979 wrote: »

So would I be wise to look towards LIbgdx due to my current knowledge of Java? I asked my lecturer about processing and really it just makes displaying things in Java easier, removed the need for Java.awt and is mainly used for displaying data so that isnt really my cup of tea.

What im looking for is to learn the best tool that will be most practical for me to use, with time and diffuculty not being a factor as I am only learning atm. Sorry for the basic questions, I find the best way to learn in programming is from those with the experience.

It depends on what your end goal is here. Are you looking to get into games development as a career? Do you want to make games in your spare time for yourself? Do you want to eventually release them? Are you going to be learning a language other than Java as part of your course?

RoRo979

gizmo wrote: »

It depends on what your end goal is here. Are you looking to get into games development as a career? Do you want to make games in your spare time for yourself? Do you want to eventually release them? Are you going to be learning a language other than Java as part of your course?

I will be making browser games, iOS applications, android applications and websites. The languages that will be under my belt upon completion will be Java,C,HTML,SCSS,Javascript,PHP, Ruby. My course may also be doing python and in my free time I may look into swift.

I do not wish for games development to be my full time career, I do however wish to spend lots of my free time on it. I enjoy making projects with groups and hence wish to have knowledge of the appropriate tools/languages to do so.