   New member
  Hi everybody, im new to the forum.I''m new to the field of game programming.  I am currently reading a book that teaches basic game programming useing GDI and its 2D.   Am I wasteing my time starting with GDI?  Should I go straight into direct X and use directx to make my simple 2d games to start with? 
  Well, first off, welcome to GameDev! But, now to answer your question, which *may* cause a flame war... I would say, do whichever one seems better to you, but I personally would not suggest either. I would go with OpenGL, the only downside being that there is not much documentation on using OpenGL in 2D. However, keep in mind that OpenGL is portable between PC, Linux, Solaris, and Mac, which may be something to keep in mind. This is my humble opinion, no flame war intended    [edited by - 4TheKing on February 10, 2004 10:20:57 PM];  I actually think what you''re doing is probably a good way to start.  Using just the GDI makes you focus more on the rest of the programming, which is MUCH more important than the graphics when you''re starting.tj963 ;  << I am currently reading a book that teaches basic game programming useing GDI and its 2D. Am I wasting my time starting with GDI? >>Ah ha, the Michael Morrison 24 hours book?You can do games with GDI, and on modern computers the speed won''t matter. I have a pacman done in GDI only (and DirectSound) that runs fine (30 frames per second). On computers 500 Mhz or slower I''ve noticed a bit of slow down (below 30 frames/sec).If you want to try something simple (Pong, Breakout) GDI is great to teach you the basics of Win32, device contexts, etc.I "graduated" from GDI and learning DirectDraw now since I wanna do a side scroller like your name Commander Keen.  GDI will probably be too slow for side scrollers. But it was just fine for VazteroidsVazGames.com  Phil P ;quote:Original post by tj963   I actually think what you're doing is probably a good way to start.  Using just the GDI makes you focus more on the rest of the programming, which is MUCH more important than the graphics when you're starting.tj963   if i were to stop learning GDI and go to "simple" directx like direct draw and if there is a such thing, direct 2d, would it be as easy to implement directdraw graphics into my games as it is to use GDI.   cause i like the idea of concentraiting on game mechanics too thnxPS. I'm reading sams teach your self game programing in 24 hours [edited by - Commander Keen on February 15, 2004 7:28:38 AM];  There''s nothing wrong with GDI, but once you find it too slow (anything more complex than a Pong clone), you should jump straight into Direct3D.  I''ve heard that it has a very steep learning curve compared to OpenGL, but it doesn''t really matter which you choose at first, since the concepts of 3D that you gain from either API will be what''s important.On a side note, I hate how anyone who talks about Direct3D v OpenGL tends to include the words "I don''t want to incite a flame war!" multiple times.  If you do, you do, and the topic gets closed.  As long as you''re not pig-headed about it, it won''t matter. 