Tutorials Design

[Josh]

I am still getting together some needed files and editing the articles, but the new tutorials page is mostly done. A big thanks to Jorn for designing the structure and writing most of it.

 

There are two main design goals here.

 

First, the articles are meant to be a linear set of chapters you can go through in order, instead of learning random bits of information here and there. This is meant to structure the learning process better, so we can effectively communicate the information you need to know.

 

Second, I've taken the lessons a step further with the first game template lesson that actually explains coding. I have noticed that many people have difficulty making the jump from understanding commands to turning that into actual gameplay. The marble game template is a test to see if this style of tutorial, using a simple gameplay example, is effective.

 

Feel free to leave your feedback on the material in this thread. Thanks.

[Rick]

instead of learning random bits of information here and there

 

I may be weird but I actually prefer learning random bits here and there since when I come to a new engine my goal is not to learn the engine it's to get what I wanted to do with the engine done.

 

This is meant to structure the learning process better, so we can effectively communicate the information you need to know.

 

I think we'll find the people who ask a lot of the questions are the ones who are like me and don't go through step by step structured learning. They often are artists who just want to get x working and are only interested in trying to get x going and not going through hours of other stuff that isn't directly related to x and therefore is meaningless to them at that time when all they have in their head is x.

 

An example to this wold be "How do I make a HUD?". The question we hear very often. Well, a person could go step by step through all the tutorials that don't directly talk about how to make a HUD and if that person isn't already a programmer, they may not be able to directly translate what they have learned into how to make a HUD. Reading the large "here's a game" sections also talk about so many different things and if a HUD is in there somewhere then it's hard to remember where you found that information a few weeks or months after the fact because it's blended in with all this other information.

 

I personally think the gameplay sections shouldn't be full games (or still have those but in other areas). The gameplay section, I think, should have a bunch of smaller examples of gameplay elements that aren't fit together in anyway to an overall game. The HUD example is a good one. Just show how to make a HUD that has some basic stuff to it and ideas on how to expand on it. But don't put controller, AI, other stuff in there. Inventory system(s) would be another. Basic AI could be another, etc. Putting them all together in an actual game can be nice but it also makes it harder to pull just those sections that you care about out.

 

Those are my thoughts on this anyway. I prefer to learn while doing the specific thing I want to do vs just generally learning the engine itself because there is so much information to an engine that learning all the basics and then trying to translate all of that to my specific needs I find to be difficult. I would have learned so much that I will just forget in about a day because it wasn't related to my specific needs. Specific needs are often general enough though to make tutorials on. There are only so many game elements out there and if someone is trying to go outside those game elements then it's more acceptable that it'll be harder to figure that out.

[cassius]

Maybe in addition to the official tutorials we could have a " How to " section on thforum in which members can show "How to make a HUD" or whatever..

[Thirsty Panther]

I noticed some typos and spelling mistakes. I noted them in the comments section of each.

 

Otherwise very good.