About

As there are new people trickling into Cymon’s Games, let me recommend you check out the games, download a few, and be sure to vote on them. Make a few comments. And if you decide to try your hand at programming, load up CodeBlocks with MinGW, maybe actually type in a few beginning programs, check out some learning resources if you need them.

If you’re new to programing or just love games here you will find free source code, tutorials and resources, and a new game every week! Cymon’s games doesn’t provide tutorials or lessons but if you’re interested in learning to program here is how you can learn the way I learned, the only way I know; inspiration, getting you setup, and providing teaching resources as needed, then encouraging you to submit your programs and pass it on.

Inspiration

Cymon’s Games will weekly feature a new program and it’s code. The programs are simple with relatively small source code. You don’t need to write a lot of code and you can have a great program. You can find all past program on Cymon’s Games by going to the Programs section. These programs aren’t fancy or even attractive, but they’re manageable, some of them less typing than a blog entry. Every program is provided not only as an executable but also with it’s source code and its source code in a PDF formatted for print. As an incentive for downloading the PDFs there will usually be a little something extra about the program in the PDFs, author’s notes or additional features that can be added.

Getting You Setup

Go to the getting started section and follow the instructions there get the programs you need setup on your computer. Once you’re setup you can start programming. I recommend picking a program or two and actually typing them in. At least you should plan on typing in a few small ones to get started. Doing so will accustom you to how a program is written. After typing in one or two you’ll probably feel confident enough to type in your own.

For new programmers there are a few programs I recommend:

• Hello, a small program to help you get to know your computer.
• Seeing Stars, another small program that shows how to use ifs and variables.
• RobotEscape, the coolest short program on the site.
• ..and many more.

Resources

Now there is no need for me to take the time to write tutorials on programming when the internet is literally filled with excellent, tried and tested tutorials written by many talented individuals. So instead of reinventing the wheel I’ll just point you to these resources as I find them. You can see all the learning resources by clicking on the learning resources link at the top of the page.

Final Words

Programming is not an impossible aspiration. In fact programming can be a fun and rewarding past time, open ended and challenging. It feels good so solve a problem you’ve presented with yourself and seeing the computer respond the way you want it is satisfying like little else.

I hope you will try your hand at programming. If you do I’m sure you’ll find you like it. And when you write your own programs, no matter how trivial, be sure submit your programs to Cymon’s Games and pass it on.