In the next few chapters, we are going to build our first game step by step. Once you have been led through the process of making a mock 3D game, you have the basis you need to go further into game development. Much of what you learn here will apply to more complex games and tools later on. You will...

In this chapter, we looked at Multimedia Fusion and went over the installation. In the next chapter, we are going to look at Multimedia Fusion in more detail. We’ll cover the editors that make up Multimedia Fusion before moving on to creating our first MMF game.

Before we can use Multimedia Fusion, we must first install it. The installation process begins by double-clicking the file called MMFDemo.exe, located on the CD-ROM in the Applications folder. When you double-click the file, it will begin the process of extracting the installation files, and a screen...

In this chapter, we are going to turn our attention to our first game-making application, called Multimedia™ Fusion™. This development tool is mostly used for 2D games, but because it is the most well-rounded game development tool available in the non-programming category, it’s a perfect way to...

Now that we’ve looked at the many languages and several authoring tools, you are probably wanting an answer to “which language or tool should I use?” Unfortunately, there is not a single solution that will work in every instance. Assembly is by far the fastest language available, but it is probably...

3D RAD is perhaps the easiest to use authoring tool of any mentioned here, although it is probably not the best choice for commercial-quality games. It offers several interesting features, including prebuilt objects that can be used in a program without the need to alter them. For example, you can place...

Another authoring system, 3D Game Studio, offers the capability to create 2D and 3D computer games. As its name implies, it was designed first and foremost as a game development environment, a point that is very important because it has been optimized for the development of games. It includes several...

Authoring tools such as Macromedia Director have long been used for the development of games. Many current and past commercial games have been developed using these types of programs. Director, which is arguably the leading development tool in this area, has several strong features that make it a possibility...

Java is a portable language developed by Sun to compete with C++. It has borrowed many aspects of the C++ language, although it seems to be a little easier for beginning programmers to learn. The programs you develop can be platform independent, and most can run embedded in Web pages. The language became...

Delphi is very similar to Visual Basic in that its ease of use and IDE are its most important features. Like VB, Delphi has had tremendous support from the large user base, including complete 3D engines and third-party controls for accessing DirectX. We’ll not get into the VB versus Delphi argument...