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reference website shows next:

http://www.cplusplus.com/articles/1w6AC542/

 

Tips:

I've learned many things about making games, some things the hard way. Here are some things that you should do:

• First, stay organized! You should have a good organizational system for everything; your code, your graphics, your sound effects, etc. I would suggest putting code into different files based on what it does. i.e, collision detection/resolution code in one file, resource management in another, AI in its own file, etc. This way, if you need to track down a bug, it will be MUCH easier to find various functions, and possibly, the bug itself. Keeping the structure of your code organized can help as well (i.e. have classes for various purposes; rendering, AI, collision detection, etc. Rather than hundreds of void some_func()'s all over).
• Also, try to keep your code clean and efficient. Reuse variables where you can, minimize use of global variables, check for memory leaks, don't load all of your graphics/sounds at once, etc.
• Try not to hardcode too much data into your game. Instead, try to implement a system of loading data from files (maps, etc) This will really help keep your code manageable, and will allow you to update something without recompiling anything.

Some starting tips from chrisname:

You don't need to work that hard. What you need to do, is go through a programming tutorial (the one on this website for example). Don't do too much in a day, or you will get bored and unmotivated. Don't set a goal based on time, that doesn't work. You'll forget alot of what you learn if you stop halfway through a lesson. Work through the tutorial on this website ( http://cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/ ). Aim to get through two lessons a day. Don't stop partway through a lesson (unless it's for a short break, that's a good idea) and don't do too much in one go, or you simply won't remember it. I recommend reading and copying out each example (not copy and paste; type it yourself, this will help you to understand what you are doing), compiling it, seeing what it does when you run it and modifying things to see what changes. I also recommend you look at other people's code (one of the things that has helped me is to take other people's broken code and try to fix it, although don't get too hung up on this because it is hard to read other people's code when you first start out). When you are reading, try to rephrase things: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." (Albert Einstein).

Once you've gone through this tutorial, and maybe some others (I read about three different tutorials because it was useful to have things said in a different way - I find having something explained in two different ways is useful for understanding and remembering it), you could read through the tutorials for SFML ( http://sfml-dev.org/tutorials/1.6/ ). Learning SFML will teach you to make 2D games. I'd also recommend learning SDL ( http://lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/index.php ) because lots of games use it and you will most probably come across it eventually.

After that, you should get into OpenGL programming if you want to make 3D games. SFML makes this very easy, and the SFML tutorial includes a tutorial for using OpenGL. For OpenGL, perhaps someone here can recommend you a book or tutorial.



Throughout all this you should remember that it is important to pace yourself. Don't try to absorb too much at once or you'll forget lots of it. And don't stay up until 3am when you have an exam the day after next...

 

There are many other things that can be done to make development easier and your game more efficient, but, these are the biggies.