Well there are tests out there that show python's slower than other langs, side by side comparisons where two programs designed to do the same thing run, and the times are recorded.
magurp244 wrote:BGT can also be just as good a place to start as any.
True, but my god, so many people just get too comfy there and never do anything else, and it shows. It's like they get into it, but not fully into it, now there are some people who really do some cool stuff with it, but a majority of the stuff I've played on BGT ranges from OK to just plain crap, unfortunately.
I'm just kind of tired of the status quo. There are some people out here who probably could make a decent game, but don't. I'm almost thinking BGT hurt the scene more than it helped. BGT provides such a low entry to programming that they read the manual, see OK its not that hard, do a few things, and think they can code. Now, they have huge gaps in their knowledge, and they find a whole bunch of includes out there, so they put it in and go with it. They maybe modify some numbers, but not the code itself. Now, one might make the point, if we're building something like a deck, do we cut down our own trees, mill our own wood, forge our own nails? No, of course not. We buy lumber, packs of nails or screws as needed. So, I really don't take issue with using classes and stuff if they're freely available, but its like if someone said ah building a house is so easy, here's a foundation and frame, you do the rest. If that person has no experience in carpentry, masonry, drywalling, and so forth, they're gonna look at you like you're a loon. You don't cut corners, you need to know all the intermediate steps between where you are now and where you want to go.
I wrote this blog post to try to dissuade people from falling into this trap. I'm not saying never use BGT, just, if you are an ambitious person, if you have the drive to make audio games, BGT is a step on the ladder, its not a comfy couch that you sink into. Use it fine, help you learn, and ya know if you can use BGT to the max like Sam Tupy, like Mason, like Liam Erven, then fine, I won't bitch, because mainly I don't have the grounds to tell you otherwise, as I know its something I couldn't do. I'm fairly limited in my abilities to code. I am concerned and annoyed as a gamer that so many games are being made with BGT, but underlying that, people put out stuff that's not fit for release. Buggy games that are almost unplayable due to the amount of bugs they have. It's like people don't take pride in their work, either that or they're so hype for people to pat them on the back that they release now. I know of one game that was someone's first project, Echo Quadrant. Now, I don't think it was written in BGT because there are like graphics and print on the screen which BGT can't do. Hell, I wouldn't care if someone released a tic tac toe game as their first game. I don't need complexity, though it is something I desire, something to dive into, etc. What I really care about is that people take the time to debug their game. Run through as many different scenarios as you can and release it when it looks good. I know there are bugs, always going to be bugs, its just software, and the way things are, but real edge case stuff, not like everything you do is so screwed up the game might not even be a game anymore.
Facts with Tom MacDonald, Adam Calhoun, and Dax
End racism
End division
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