BlitzMax is the new, next generation game programming language from Blitz Research. BlitzMax provides developers with a complete cross-platform 2D programming solution for OSX, Windows and Linux. The OSX version has just been released, with Windows and Linux versions to follow shortly. For more details, please visit www.blitzmax.com or read the official press release. Blitz3D is also available.
BlitzMax for cross-platform games development
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
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BlitzMax is an enhanced BASIC, if you wonder what this “next generation game programming language” is. It’s great for writing games, but not really “next generation language”. (Not that Blitz claims that.)
How about a Amiga OS 4.0 and MorphOS version?
I like your thinking bill
I guess in ease of use/and speed.
And with pygame you can use opengl so 3d isn’t out of the question.
Also, wouldn’t learning python be more beneficial for other programming ventures?
Speed seems to be the big issue with python/pygame. Not sure if that jit compiler for python will/does help much.
Also, if one wanted to not (heaven forbid) give out the source with python, is that even possible?
Who remembers Skidmarks for the Amiga? The stunning game that showed what this language then was capabale of. Its great to see Mark Sibly (one of the all time greatest 16bit game designers) still developing Blitz. It was a fun and fast language for knocking games together.
As in Blitz Basic? As in Woody’s World? Aren’t they NZers?
Sweet!
– http://holloway.co.nz/
Do they run on a standard Mac? No. Then OS developers must find a very good reason for the Blitz developers so that the latter actually buy custom hardware to do the port. Ports are not done because they are so fun and great to do.
Grrrrr….OS4 market is too small. Amiga is dead. I owned them, and they ruled the world, but now “Amiga” is a mobile device software developer, and the OS is made by some unknown little company. It’s just an OS without software. Always bury dead people, don’t let them lie out in the open.
Sorry to sound so sarcastic, but pay some respect to Amiga and let it be!
I would just use Pygame (=Python SDL wrapper) instead, which is arguably even more porable.
On the other hand a lot of people already use Blitz and this is a great way to leverage their skils on more platforms.
Anyone interested in Blitz should consider SDL (http://www.libsdl.org/index.php) the open source cross-platform and cross-programming-language gaming system.
It just so happens that I wrote an article a few months ago about using SDL w/ Mono. This article was intended for submission at OnDotNet.com, but that didn’t work out (not because of the quality but becausing of a misunderstanding). Check out my article here:
http://edoll.info/articles/sdl_dot_net.html
SDL has also the advantage of beeing allready used in a commercial game : Neverwinter Nights
http://nwn.bioware.com/downloads/linuxclient.html
very good, I have two(?) blitzbasic games on my amiga and they run as smooth as any other game would do. BlitzBombers and BlitzRacing(?) 3D
> SDL has also the advantage of beeing allready used in a commercial game : Neverwinter Nights
Thats not the only commercial game. There existing a lot of commercial games, whcih using SDL.
For example the games by BlackHoleSun: http://www.blackholesun.com/games.html
And don’t forget, that the libsdl was created by an Loki-Developer http://www.lokigames.com/ who wanted to use this free library for porting great commercial Windows or MacOS games to Linux (and other platforms).
So, I think, the most commercial 2D-games, which are running on Linux using SDL.
yeah! I rember skidmarks. It was one of the better games for amiga.
than using (for example), C/GTK+/OpenGL ?
probably much easier
than using (for example), C/GTK+/OpenGL ?
That’s like asking ‘How is Visual Basic/Delphi better than using C++?’ Well, maybe not ‘better’ as in speed and power, but definitely easier and faster to code. Obviously, you’re not going to make Doom 3 with something like this, but for some uses (eg – smaller shareware titles), it works well.
Blitz Bombers is one of the greatest games on earth. And it was finally released for free!!!
I have been playing with BlitzMax since I downloaded it yesterday evening. Lots of fun. I’d recommend it to anybody who just wants to make something simple and doesn’t have the time or want to learn more complicated languages. That being said, it certainly looks like it is going to have plenty of features for the hardcore programmers as well. And with the ability to compile for Mac, Win, and Linux without paying extra license fees then where is the problem? Just needs some easy 3D routines like DarkBASIC Pro on Windows (sitting on my now unused PC in the closet since I got my G5) and I will be one really happy camper. Great job BlitzMax team!
Joshua: “Just needs some easy 3D routines like DarkBASIC Pro on Windows”.
I think you mean “Just needs some easy 3D routines like Blitz3D on Windows”…
…which will happen in the new year (most likely a separate cost, but still cheap).