The method used to make this game feel open-world and alive is amazing in my opinion. So I was wondering what program was used to make this game? I've never seen a lay-out like it before.
What program was used to make TiTS?
- Thread starter fightninjacv
- Start date
FlashDevelop using ActionScript3 + Sublime for text macros. You could achieve similar results with almost anything, the key is learning a programming language first.
Thanks for the response
This game makes me want to start learning!What would you recommend then? B)
Learn to hate yourself while learning JavaScript.Thanks for the response
What would you recommend then? B)
Sorry for the wall of text, but I kind of got carried away - I'm really trying to be helpful...
What language is actually the wrong/an unimportant question if you are beginning. The key to learning programming is to learn to break down your grand ideas into small enough bits so that the computer can understand them (hint: computer are really, REALLY stupid...). The language only changes the notation and partially how small the final bits have to be.
That said don't learn programming by writing a game like TiTS. TiTS is a fairly big and complex game - that means you have to break it down into many, many small pieces that have to be meaningfully connected. Start with something small - and for this Javascript/HTML is actually a good choice. Despite what people often say Javascript is quite an ok language: it's cross platform, relevant as a skill today and most likely still relevant in 10 or 20 years, you only need a text editor to start writing code and within a browser you can bang out basic user interfaces with HTML/DOM pretty quickly.
For the first project draw a few buttons that react to the user clicks. Then count how many times each button is clicked. Then enable/disable buttons based on some math (eg have some only active on even or odd numbers of clicks), change the colour or the text of the buttons.
Then try a sliding puzzle or move objects around the screen - this will help you learn to store/access data, check conditions, modify the screen content and have that data represented on the screen.
While doing this learn to debug your program - learning to debug is the most important skill you can master. If something breaks (and it will ... OFTEN) understand why it breaks first, then fix the problem. Don't just change stuff around until it 'works' because this might hide the error or only fix it for some very specific condition.
Single step through your programs and understand why variables change the way they do and why certain code paths are executed - and more importantly get familiar with the tools browsers provide for debugging. Tackling a project like TiTS without knowing how to debug is doomed to fail.
If you start with Javascript here are some useful hints:
Learn actual Javascript - don't start by loading dozens of frameworks or libraries. They can be useful but make debugging more difficult (Remember? debugging == important). And understanding how they work helps with using them properly and selecting the right one - if any at all.
Don't use the newest language features/API calls - being conservative avoids having your program break all the time for other people. MDN (mozilla docs) or caniuse (website) list minimum requirements for many features/functions. You can comfortably write a game like TiTS while staying compatible with IE9.
Use strict mode - ALWAYS. "use strict"; should be the first line in every piece of js code you write. It helps spotting errors early and my only complaint is that strict mode does not switch off enough 'features' that historically plague Javascript.
Use useful variable and function names. Be consistent with the naming.
Add comments! Write what the code should do and why - but don't simply paraphrase the code:
x = x +1; // increment x by one
is not useful - the code already says that. Comment what is x, why you add to it and why you add one.
Update your comments if you update the code or you get this at some point
x = x +2; // increment x by one
and you do not know if the code is wrong, the comment is wrong or maybe even both...
Forget that classes exists. Javascript's object orientation is built around objects, not classes - pretending to support classes was a stupid decision by marketing folks that also advocated the name change to Javascript which has created no confusion at all
If you have a problem ask in programming forums. Ask for an explanation of the problem, not for a solution.
And don't add code you do not understand. You will probably have to debug it at some point...
What language is actually the wrong/an unimportant question if you are beginning. The key to learning programming is to learn to break down your grand ideas into small enough bits so that the computer can understand them (hint: computer are really, REALLY stupid...). The language only changes the notation and partially how small the final bits have to be.
That said don't learn programming by writing a game like TiTS. TiTS is a fairly big and complex game - that means you have to break it down into many, many small pieces that have to be meaningfully connected. Start with something small - and for this Javascript/HTML is actually a good choice. Despite what people often say Javascript is quite an ok language: it's cross platform, relevant as a skill today and most likely still relevant in 10 or 20 years, you only need a text editor to start writing code and within a browser you can bang out basic user interfaces with HTML/DOM pretty quickly.
For the first project draw a few buttons that react to the user clicks. Then count how many times each button is clicked. Then enable/disable buttons based on some math (eg have some only active on even or odd numbers of clicks), change the colour or the text of the buttons.
Then try a sliding puzzle or move objects around the screen - this will help you learn to store/access data, check conditions, modify the screen content and have that data represented on the screen.
While doing this learn to debug your program - learning to debug is the most important skill you can master. If something breaks (and it will ... OFTEN) understand why it breaks first, then fix the problem. Don't just change stuff around until it 'works' because this might hide the error or only fix it for some very specific condition.
Single step through your programs and understand why variables change the way they do and why certain code paths are executed - and more importantly get familiar with the tools browsers provide for debugging. Tackling a project like TiTS without knowing how to debug is doomed to fail.
If you start with Javascript here are some useful hints:
Learn actual Javascript - don't start by loading dozens of frameworks or libraries. They can be useful but make debugging more difficult (Remember? debugging == important). And understanding how they work helps with using them properly and selecting the right one - if any at all.
Don't use the newest language features/API calls - being conservative avoids having your program break all the time for other people. MDN (mozilla docs) or caniuse (website) list minimum requirements for many features/functions. You can comfortably write a game like TiTS while staying compatible with IE9.
Use strict mode - ALWAYS. "use strict"; should be the first line in every piece of js code you write. It helps spotting errors early and my only complaint is that strict mode does not switch off enough 'features' that historically plague Javascript.
Use useful variable and function names. Be consistent with the naming.
Add comments! Write what the code should do and why - but don't simply paraphrase the code:
x = x +1; // increment x by one
is not useful - the code already says that. Comment what is x, why you add to it and why you add one.
Update your comments if you update the code or you get this at some point
x = x +2; // increment x by one
and you do not know if the code is wrong, the comment is wrong or maybe even both...
Forget that classes exists. Javascript's object orientation is built around objects, not classes - pretending to support classes was a stupid decision by marketing folks that also advocated the name change to Javascript which has created no confusion at all
If you have a problem ask in programming forums. Ask for an explanation of the problem, not for a solution.
And don't add code you do not understand. You will probably have to debug it at some point...
I wouldn't recommend learning on JS just because it's weakly typed. That, and starting with web development can be very overwhelming.
A solid course in Java, C# or C++ would be better for understanding the basics.