Re: Ada suitablity as a game dev language

[Ludovic Brenta <ludovic.brenta@insalien.org>]

Jeff Houck writes:
> Wow! Thanks for all the insight, information and useful URLs
> regarding this post! I can see that interacting with this newsgroup
> is going to be very interesting... 8^)

I didn't have a chance to reply earlier but there is a project on
SourceForge called the Generic GNU Game Core:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/g3c/

"G3C provides the main features for 3D-game developers: 3D rendering
engine based on openGL, collision detection, physical rules, p2p
network... A game-sample will be avaible, binding a wargame, a flight
simulator, a first person shooter, a MMOG..."

> I'm going to give this some serious thought. [...] But, before I get
> myself in too deep, [...]  Please keep in mind that I'm looking to
> produce a "proof of concept" at this stage. [...]

I think that this is the crux of the problem:

- what is your definition of "getting too deep"?

- is this a commercial endeavour? i.e. does the investment need to be
  recouped by sales?

> This will be my first attempt at coding a game engine so I'm sure
> it'll be a learning experience. 8^)
>
> I'll post again later with some ideas to bounce off anyone who cares
> to reply or possibly participate. THX!

You will probably find that Ada, as a language, has everything you
need for game development.  Now, you need to evaluate the surroundings
of the language and see if they meet your requirements:

- availability of an Ada compiler for your target platforms

- availability of libraries or bindings

- ease of distribution of your work.  Ada programs require an Ada
  runtime library, plus any other libraries you used.

If you are a hobbyist using and targetting free software, you are in
luck.  The Ada compiler is available (GNAT) and included in most
GNU/Linux distributions and in FreeBSD.  There are several free
libraries available (AdaSDL, AdaOpenGL, Generic GNU Game Core,
GtkAda).  The distribution maintainers will package any libraries you
require, making distribution easy.

If you plan to write free software, you may also want to look for
other developers to join you.  This might be difficult because few
game developers are willing to learn Ada.  OTOH, with Ada you would
need less time and fewer people to develop a game than you would in C.

-- 
Ludovic Brenta.