   Help with getting into the game..
  Ok i've been treying to teach myself games programming for a while now and although sometimes I make alot of progress I always seem to end up hitting problems in my code which relate directly to a lack of sufficient understanding in the degree of C/C++ knowledge required of me..Academically Java is my first language and so I dont have any problems jumping into code when I'm using it for whatever purpose I require, but with C/C++ I find myself jumping from tutorial to tutorial everytime I want to do something different which gets tedious and time consuming but more importantly, is discouraging and makes me often lose my motivation to continue..I understand all (I supposed the standard) concepts of games programming, I understand all the concepts of general programming also and I dont have any problems coding the hell out of something when Java is my concern, but as soon as I pick up Visual C++, my brain seems to go to mush and I feel like I dont really know what i'm doing again..I know this may seem like a strange topic but I was just wondering if anyone else went through the same problems when they started coding games and if anyone has some useful help or advice they could give me to help me get that confidence to say to myself "I want to build this" and actually be able to do it without searching online for an hour looking for tutorials before hand..Thanx peoples..   
  I have the same problem (still) with games and software apps. I've been doing software programming in C/C++ since I was 13 (I'm 18 now), and I started game programming about 3 years ago.I use Visual C++ 6.0 Enterprise Edition, and I still run into problems such as yours. Sometimes I still have to get on the MSDN Library website and look some stuff up. Or I have to post a question about something that I can't seem to do right.There's nothing wrong with looking through tutorials/references when working on a project. I don't think anyone is expected to remember EVERYTHING that is required to complete a project.Yeah, sometimes it makes me feel like not doing it, but I get over it. I do it all as a hobby for right now. But I know I can still do it, no matter how long it takes. I want to make a career of it one day, so I have to keep myself motivated.Sometimes I get on GameDev.net and help a few people out, or I look through MSDN and try to find something similar to what I'm doing. Those two things keep me going. And if it wasn't for GDNet, honestly, I probably would've lost the want-to a long time ago.Just keep working at it, no matter what, if it is something you really want to do. Look at some code, browse the web for projects similar to yours, visit MSDN or something of that sort. That usually motivates me to continue with a project.I am currently working on an OpenGL framework that I'm going to create a Custom AppWizard from. That way I don't have to code EVERYTHING all over when I create an OpenGL app., whether it's a game, or just something to further extend my knowledge of OpenGL development.That's about all I can say. Just do something to keep yourself motivated. And don't let having to look over things again get in your way. I think it's better that way anyhow because you may learn something new in the process. You may not mean to, but when you start reading, you'll learn something you didn't know before.I am really talented, and I can usually remember ALMOST anything I do. All I have to do is do it once, twice, maybe three times. And I remember it from then on. And I'm not bragging. I am just really talented and I'm thankful for that. Because it helps me out a lot.But don't let that bring you down either. Just stay with it. Motivate yourself.That's about it. Hope this helps. Have a nice day. =)   ;  I had the exact opposite problem :D.  I learned C++ first, then took java in university and I constantly said, 'god I wish this was in C++' for every non-trivial assignment.  I find going back to C++ though, the biggest thing is to remember to delete my memory ;).  Honestly though, just keep pluggin away at the tutorials, the two languages are close enough that you'll get it.  Especially if you brush up on the STL.  I find this library much easier than the java library.  There are still things you will loose out on though, such as serialization, reflections, garbage collection, etc.  Overall software design will still be similar though.  The big thing is to learn the constructs java doesn't have and to see when to use them.  (structs, enums, templates, globals, etc).  If you have any specific Java->C++ problems, we're more than willing to help.   ;  There's nothing wrong with tutorials and references. I spend probably a good third of my programming time reading articles on software design, user interaction principles, reference materials, etc. etc. just to keep my creative juices flowing.Learning a new language can be tricky until you get used to it. One of the most helpful things you can do is rewrite things from the language(s) you already know. For instance, take a nice little Java game or whatever that you've done, and figure out how to convert it, feature by feature, to C++. When writing a new project, think about how you'd solve the problem in Java, and then compare that solution with the available tools and tactics in C++.Of course, keep in mind that C++ is not the only valid language to write game code in. Java is perfectly fine; in fact, if you're already confident in Java, just use it. There's no real need to use any particular language for the most part until you get to some highly arcane and complex graphical work, and that's not worth worrying about.   ;  Thnx for the replies people!I spent the better half of last night going over STL since I realised that that was probably one of the largest issues I was having trouble getting to grips with.. I managed to dig out some books on it and I think it's really helped me now to put everything into perspective..I've recently just started building a directX application framework which I should be able to use as the starting point for the rest of the game projects I plan to build, I think it will help me alot and keep me going for a good while..I agree with what TFS_Waldo said, I think my biggest problem was that i'm a sucker for trying to understand and remember everything I implement which can be a good thing but it really makes me feel discouraged when there's always soo much to learn even in the simplest of programs..I really wanna stick at C++ for games programming because I also plan to make a career out of it.. Hopefully by this time next yr i'll have enough ground knowledge to be able to use tutorials and reference texts properly (i.e. start with my own idea, work out a solid design and use references to figure out how to implement various features/aspects etc..) rather than going through them line by line and not taking much in..Oh and thanks for the idea about porting Java progs into C++, I forgot about doing something like that, I'm sure it will help..   ;  I've been coding for years, and I'd say I have a pretty thorough grasp of c++, but that doesn't stop me from going to MSDN at least once or twice a week. A good coder doesn't know everything all the time, a good coder knows how to find what they need to know when they need to know it. Being able to research things is a skill in itself, and should practiced as such, not avoided.