   Advice on making very simple games
  Hi, I was looking for advice on how to make some very simple games, preferably ones that could be played online (though this isn't 100% necessary).  I'm a webmaster at an online community of Herbie the Love Bug fans, and would love to add a few very simple games to the site.  A maze, for example, would be just fine.  Or a character creator in which you could select features to add to Herbie would be entertaining.  Simple stuff I'm guessing, but I've never made a game before.  I did take a C++ class in highschool (years ago), but am still probably more a fetus than an infant. I really just want to ask how possible you guys think this would be, how much time I might expect to have in it, etc.  I was hoping to find a game making program that maybe has templates, etc. that can get me started, and I can already tell that this community is probably not going to point me in that direction.  Any advice would be appreciated, thanks much!Dan   
  C++ isn't the only language that you can use. You can actually (with some time) create such games using your current knowlege (since I'm assuming some sort of knowlege of &#106avascript, HTML, and possibly PHP). You could learn another language, but in my own personal opinion, you would probably be best off using the resources you hve to create something like that.As for how possible it is, yes it's possible. How long, that's not something that anyone can pinpoit; there are so many ways to do things and so many things you could do that it could range from five minutes to infitititiy.Gamemaker (if I recall correctly that's what it's called) is quite nice if you don't want to go the web application route that I described slightly. It would probably be the easiest for you to get into and is low cost last time I checked.And don't take any assumptions about this community, you know what they say about that...   ;  For web apps, the eaiest from a programming perspective would probably be Flash, since it's more designer-oriented. Java applets or Silverlight are also possibilities. &#106avascript would be possible for very simple games but the complexity will be a bit too much even for simple stuff, IMHO. However, if you go down one of these paths, there won't be any shortcuts - you'll have to learn the tools and languages involved. Since you claim that your programming is more than rusty, you'll probably need to spend a month or two before you're up to speed (optimistic estimate, real results will depend on your time commitment and continued interest). Can't help you with any game maker type programs, but there are some out there. Dunno if there are any for web stuff though.   ;  Thanks, guys.  I see I can download a trial of Game Maker, so I might as well give that a go.I'm really no pro at coding websites, either.  I use Microsoft Frontpage.  But I'm pretty dedicated when it comes to working through a goal, and I love a challenge.  Thanks again.Dan   ;  Cool, I already made a simple maze game and a character creator where you can change the wheels on the car, etc., using Game Maker.  A little cheesy, but if I make some better looking sprites it'll improve the quality.  Thanks again for the advice.Dan   