Games/Programs - which is harder?

[Madboy]

I wanted to know which is most difficult to program, Games or Programs (in VB). I know games require alot of graphics etc, but i wanted to know, and i know it does depend on the game/program we're talking about. Maybe you could post some comments and vote for the above.

Thanks

[Kasracer]

Depends on the game and application. They just can't be compared as you have it, it's too vague to get a good answer.

Someone could say programs are harder then games. Therefore, my 'Hello World' program would be harder to make than Doom3. People could say games are harder, so my 'Random Number Guessing Game' would be harder to make than VS.NET.

[Madboy]

Ok then, how about:

Text Editor > Tic Tac Toe
Paint/Image processor > mario
Hex Editor > Sonic game (with physics)
Own IDE and Compiler > Doom 3


Some examples for one to compare

[LabtroRob]

Thing is, neither is really difficult to program. Anyone who progams for a long time will quickly realize all their problems stem from design. Coding is really repetitive and easy when you think about it.

With games, the trick is making sure you write a fun game, that is challenging enough to be fun, but not too challenge, plus getting unique factors etc.

With programs, the challenges are usually fully understanding the business requirements, making sure the program is user friendly, etc.

[Madboy]

Well i say games, because i wouldnt know where to start. I think i might attempt a simple hangman game or something soon. Just wondered if its easier to jump into game programming, or application development first.

[Kasracer]

Originally posted by Madboy
Text Editor > Tic Tac Toe
Text Editor isn't difficult. BinaryEdit was my first VB application and that has most of the basic text editing stuff in it. TicTacToe might be easier to do though, it really depends on how you actually program it (DirectX? Flash? Just plain command buttons?)
Originally posted by Madboy

Paint/Image processor > mario
Never heard of a Paint/Image processor, but if you ment program, I would image that would be more difficult than mario, depending on how well done it is and how complex it is.
Originally posted by Madboy

Hex Editor > Sonic game (with physics)
Sonic without a doubt. Hex Editor could probably take you an hour or so to do
Originally posted by Madboy

Own IDE and Compiler > Doom 3
Depends on how complete the IDE and Compiler are. VS.NET 2003 still doesn't support the entire C++ standard, and it has had C++ in VS for atleast 6 years, maybe longer.

As you can see, it is IMPOSSIBLE to say what would be harder or easier without ALOT more information. What libraries will be used? What language? Features? ect...

Originally posted by Madboy
Well i say games, because i wouldnt know where to start. I think i might attempt a simple hangman game or something soon. Just wondered if its easier to jump into game programming, or application development first. I'd use C++ for games rather than VB.

[Madboy]

I would love to make a sonic game clone:)