FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

I am a former Minecraft player and fanboy. However, I recently started boycotting Micro$oft after controversial actions towards Linux(like patenting convergence).
At that time I decided to pick up Minetest, a game I had on my Linux laptop just out of curiosity. I was initially struck by the lack of creatures and some of Minecraft's other features, so I decided to modify the game. Eventually I settled with the subgame "Minetest: The Next Game." It has all of the features I need (except for compatibility with the hunger mod)
I am already developing a texture pack for the game that is a port of my favorite Minecraft texture pack. You will find it in the texture packs forum. If I can learn enough Lua, I might also try to write mods. All of my projects go under either the CC-BY-SA, CC-BY-SA-NC, or GPL. I am a tech slacktivist and am very anticommercial. Enjoy my presence here.
If you want to contact me, I'd gladly chat you on Twitter(gunvolt_linux) or GNU Social(gunvolt@quitter.se)

I am happy about your conversion from Minecraft!

I hope you stay here many time!

And enjoy Minetest!

Hello there. :) I am a current Minecraft/Minetest player and fangirl.

The Minetest Modding Book is a great resource for modding in general:
http://rubenwardy.com/minetest_modding_book/index.html

Should you need more basic knowledge about coding, take the modding book's advice and take some of the free courses at Codecademy. Either Python or javascript would be a good starting point.

asanetargoss wrote:Hello there. :) I am a current Minecraft/Minetest player and fangirl.

The Minetest Modding Book is a great resource for modding in general:
http://rubenwardy.com/minetest_modding_book/index.html

Should you need more basic knowledge about coding, take the modding book's advice and take some of the free courses at Codecademy. Either Python or javascript would be a good starting point.

Friend, please:

Javascript isn't a good "start point" because isn't in Minetest!

Minetest mods are in LUA!
Better start with that!
Python is needed, but for mods isn't so useful.
But if you are new start with phyton then learn lua!

After all the Minetest mods API is very simple and understandable if you know a bit of lua!

MineYoshi wrote:

asanetargoss wrote:Hello there. :) I am a current Minecraft/Minetest player and fangirl.

The Minetest Modding Book is a great resource for modding in general:
http://rubenwardy.com/minetest_modding_book/index.html

Should you need more basic knowledge about coding, take the modding book's advice and take some of the free courses at Codecademy. Either Python or javascript would be a good starting point.

Friend, please:

Javascript isn't a good "start point" because isn't in Minetest!

Minetest mods are in LUA!
Better start with that!
Python is needed, but for mods isn't so useful.
But if you are new start with phyton then learn lua!

After all the Minetest mods API is very simple and understandable if you know a bit of lua!

Just because minetest is not written in javascript, it does not mean it can't be used. Did you know many of the most complex mods out there make use both of LUA and other languages. I do recommend he learns either of those languages or C+ . The more programming languages you can learn, the more stuff you can make.

There is no agreed way to learn. It's mostly practice. The following is just my opinion. Whilst it helps massively to learn lots of languages as it helps free your mind from idioms, you need to start with a language.

The hardest thing about programming isn't the language, it's the way of thinking and breaking down problems. Languages can make it harder by requiring background knowledge.

I'd recommend C, JS or Python as a starting language. C (note, not C++) is good because it teaches you about program flow, assignments, and types without any of the "object orientated programming" stuff other languages have. Javascript and Python are both popular recommendations. Note that Javascript is not Java. It's a completely different language.

Lua is a weird programming language compared to the others. It doesn't have as many resources as it's only used for games, and not really for serious projects. If you want to make a simple mod which doesn't do much, you don't need to program. If you want to make a more complicated mod then you will need to. Keep your expectations low, it's unlikely that you'll be programming amazing mob mods after a few hours.

MineYoshi wrote:Friend, please:

Javascript isn't a good "start point" because isn't in Minetest!

Minetest mods are in LUA!
Better start with that!
Python is needed, but for mods isn't so useful.
But if you are new start with phyton then learn lua!

After all the Minetest mods API is very simple and understandable if you know a bit of lua!

I read through the beginnings of multiple Lua resources. They fell into two categories:
1. They didn't teach programming rigorously (too specialized, didn't explain important concepts).
2. They were targeted at people who already have programming knowledge and understand the technical jargon.

Some people don't need an in-depth tutorial because programming just "clicks" for them. I can't assume that will happen. I want people to learn programming in a way that feels comfortable and welcoming, regardless of their talent. Lua, javascript, and Python are similar languages, so learning any one of them will make it much easier to learn the others. Also, Codecademy is a good resource; I've tried it and I've heard good things.

rubenwardy also makes a lot of excellent points.

For everyone talking: I know the syntax of Python and some basic functions, thats about it