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1500 questions
156
votes
3 answers
What is the point of a borderless fullscreen window?
Quite a lot of game allow user to play in a "borderless fullscreen window" instead of a "fullscreen mode". I've been wondering. Why would one prefer a fullscreen window over the "built-in" fullscreen mode?
Simple test of my own showed me, that…
LaVolpe
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155
votes
11 answers
How closely can a game legally resemble another?
Most games build on other games' successes and many are downright clones. Where is the limit of imitation before legal issues come into play? Is it down to literary or graphic work like characters and storyline that cause legal problems, or can…
Fuu
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154
votes
18 answers
What things should an indie game developer never do?
What are some of the biggest - and better yet: insidious and unexpected - mistakes that indie game developers make? Especially when making the transition from hobbyist to full-time indie?
Andrew Russell
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150
votes
22 answers
STL for games, yea or nay?
Every programming language has its standard library of containers, algorithms, and other helpful stuff. With languages like C#, Java, and Python, it's practically inconceivable to use the language without its standard lib.
Yet, on many C++ games…
munificent
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150
votes
10 answers
How do you generate tileable Perlin noise?
Related:
Simple noise generation
Understanding Perlin Noise
I'd like to generate tileable Perlin noise. I'm working from Paul Bourke's PerlinNoise*() functions, which are like this:
// alpha is the "division factor" (how much to damp subsequent…
bobobobo
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137
votes
1 answer
What should a main game loop do?
Generally, what are the core things that one should do in the game loop, and what are some things that one shouldn't do in the game loop?
hokiecsgrad
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137
votes
16 answers
How to avoid players getting lost in and/or bored by the meta game?
Yesterday, I noticed something that I had never noticed consciously before, but which had "ruined" more or less all games that I have ever played:
The longer you play a game, the more you get lost in and bored by the meta game. What I mean is that…
gexicide
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136
votes
9 answers
What are some programming design patterns that are useful in game development?
I have a few books on Design Patterns, and have read some articles, but cannot intuitively figure out which programming design patterns would be useful in game development.
For example, I have a book called ActionScript 3 with Design Patterns that…
jcurrie33
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136
votes
11 answers
How can I create borders in an open-world game that don't feel artificial?
When creating open-world maps, a big issue to take into consideration is how "borders" of sorts are implemented. Obviously, in an open-world game, there shouldn't be invisible-wall borders, as it ruins immersion, and makes the game feel more…
Ethan Bierlein
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134
votes
4 answers
What are "affordances" in game design?
I keep hearing the word "affordance" in terms of game design, most recently in the movie Indie Game: Life After. I also vaguely remember it from a UX class in undergrad. But I have no idea what it means.
What is an affordance in the context of game…
Evorlor
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125
votes
13 answers
How to develop RPG Damage Formulas?
I'm developing a classical 2d RPG (in a similar vein to final fantasy) and I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to do damage formulas/links to resources/examples? I'll explain my current setup. Hopefully I'm not overdoing it with this…
user127817
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123
votes
12 answers
Has piracy ever resulted in a developer getting shut down?
Has piracy EVER resulted in a developer getting shut down? That is, has piracy ever been so detrimental that it brought about the downfall of a game studio? If I were to release a game, should I be extremely wary of pirates and plan accordingly, or…
yuritsuki
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122
votes
20 answers
Is it unethical to make a game AI that is secretly non-competitive?
In several games the AI is designed to give the player an easy time without their knowledge. This can be having a 0% chance to hit the first time you appear, enemy letting you sneak up on them by not turning around, or the lowering of difficulty…
PStag
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120
votes
10 answers
How does entity communication work?
I have two user cases:
How would entity_A send a take-damage message to entity_B?
How would entity_A query entity_B's HP?
Here's what I've encountered so far:
Message queue
entity_A creates a take-damage message and posts it to entity_B's…
deft_code
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117
votes
28 answers
How to deal with "Scrooge McDucks" in my fixed-currency-amount game?
I'm currently working on a very small scale MMO game planned to support approximately hundred players per server, but we're having trouble with our economical model.
For various reasons we have decided to go with a fixed-currency-amount system;…
Charanor
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