   How to begin
  This is my first post in Gamedev.net. I am seriously out to develop GamesTo begin with, I want to start learning DirectX.Are there any website which teaches DirectX from scratch?How complex is DirectX?Apart from DirectX, what other technical prerequesities shouldI have for developing Games.Initially, What kind of  simple Games  to I develop?Please help me.   
  Do you know a programming language?DirectX requires basic knowledge of the Win32 API, both require knowledge of a programming language.If you do not know a programming language, I personally would recommend starting with C#, as there is an already active workshop for it.C# WorkshopC and C++ are still pretty standard within the game industry, but can be fairly complex to learn as a first language.If you do know a programming language, then try to learn some Win32 and DirectX programming.Basic Win32 API tutorialBasic DirectX tutorialsGDNet Beginners Books SectionGood luck[smile];  EDIT: beaten by Crypter.Quote:Original post by serious_learner07...To begin with, I want to start learning DirectX.Are there any website which teaches DirectX from scratch?There are many sites, just making a quick google search I found this ones:http://www.directxtutorial.com/http://www.drunkenhyena.com/cgi-bin/dx9.plhttp://www.toymaker.info/Games/index.htmlAlso I would recommend checking the tutorials on the SDK, and the SDK Documentation it self.Quote:Apart from DirectX, what other technical prerequesities shouldI have for developing Games.Know you way around C++/Win32/COM programming ( if you stick with pure Direct3D ).Quote:Initially, What kind of  simple Games  to I develop?I would go for a really simple games, like Pong Clones and scale your way up from there.I hope that helps   ;Thanks Crypter,idloco for your suggestions.I already have some background in C++ and win32.I have started programming in DirectX.Now  I am trying to render a rectangle.What is a pong clone Game? I didn't get enough materialsfrom Internet. Where can I get more information ;  "What is a pong clone Game?"I think you're referring to the game called 'pong' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pong), and 'pong clone' could mean remaking that game. Lots of people makesimple games to begin with and pong is probably the simplest of them all.   ;  First thing you need is DirectX SDK, you can download it form microsoft (August 2007 version). if you like to continue with C# or VB go to this site for beginners tutorial (www.riemers.net). you need some extra programs such as XNA and FX Composer. To create meshes it's good to have some knowledge of 3DS Max. finally to convert your max files to .x you can use panda exporter. that's what I've need so faroh, it's good thing to have Visual Studio 2005 because some of the examples are written in the newer version of VS. I already visited codeproject and attended to download a sample of alpha map and it requires VS 2003. but if you go to riemers you can use any version of visual studio because the ready to compile source code is included.have fun DirectX SDK:http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/3/f/33f1af6e-c61b-4f14-a0de-3e9096ed4b3a/dxsdk_aug2007.exeXNA Game Studio Expresshttp://download.microsoft.com/download/c/c/8/cc8c017a-ae53-4832-83a9-14b6d7b6e222/xnagse_setup.msiFX Composer http://developer.download.nvidia.com/tools/FX_Composer/2.0/FX_Composer2_2.02.0801.1835.exePanda Exporterhttp://www.andytather.co.uk/Panda/directxmax_downloads.aspx;  You could just look up Blitz Basic and get the basics down.  Thats what I did.   ;  whoa, talk about information overload :-D  just to throw my two cents in ... I suggest starting out with XNA Game Studio express.  There are a number of resources available on the XNA site that should do fine to get you started.  All this other stuff about 3ds max and exporters will come in time when you start learning about the asset to game workflow/pipeline.  But for now, just keep it simple and use free assets that are readily available from a number of places.http://creators.xna.com/edit: specifically, http://creators.xna.com/Education/GettingStarted.aspx;  Don’t download FX Composer 2, I’ve just download it and found out that its help doesn’t match the program. Seems to be full of bugs. I wonder how can I assign a texture to my effects, I can only change the name of the effects!After all, see fx composer forum on nvidia site first and then decide to download it.This version needs xp with sp 2http://developer.nvidia.com/forums/index.php?s=da721f0d1546694702f02012a08d64cf&showforum=6;  I'm going to move this to the 'For Beginners' forum as it sounds like you're after more than just DirectX help/advice. To be honest, I doubt you want to learn DirectX - at least not directly.As others have suggested, "XNA Game Studio Express" is most likely a perfect match for you. It's got a good language (C# is much better to start with than C++!!) is actively supported and is targeted at the entire game development spectrum - DirectX would only be a small subset of this.hthJack   