I think basic is cool as it allows creative people realize innovative gaming ideas without being inhibited by a horrendously complex language like C++.
Many creative people are not good language and math people and use the exact opposite hemisphere of the brain but do have a good understanding of how things work, and can conceptualize new ways of doing things. Having a high level language to work with does give them the opportunity to create something without the unnecessary kludge of a complex language like C++.
Game development to me is a kind of like art, and being someone with a traditional painting and illustration background, one thing I notice in both mediums is that good art and good games are often about simplicity and knowing how to create an impression/suggestion of something without getting swamped in the details.
I think in many cases it’s the same thing with languages, a basic language can be simple and elegant if it’s written with your medium in mind. Not everyone needs to be able to dig in the heart of the engine to create a fantastic game. I do think that Blitz3D has been let down somewhat through a lack of some basic features that DX7 does support (compressed textures, some kind of alpha sorting, more UV channels if required with some basic control of multipass rendering within the b3d format would be fantastic.
But even so, there isn’t really much that can touch it in the flexibility and ease of use when it comes to roughing out a game design.
Many creative people are not good language and math people and use the exact opposite hemisphere of the brain but do have a good understanding of how things work, and can conceptualize new ways of doing things. Having a high level language to work with does give them the opportunity to create something without the unnecessary kludge of a complex language like C++.
Game development to me is a kind of like art, and being someone with a traditional painting and illustration background, one thing I notice in both mediums is that good art and good games are often about simplicity and knowing how to create an impression/suggestion of something without getting swamped in the details.
I think in many cases it’s the same thing with languages, a basic language can be simple and elegant if it’s written with your medium in mind. Not everyone needs to be able to dig in the heart of the engine to create a fantastic game. I do think that Blitz3D has been let down somewhat through a lack of some basic features that DX7 does support (compressed textures, some kind of alpha sorting, more UV channels if required with some basic control of multipass rendering within the b3d format would be fantastic.
But even so, there isn’t really much that can touch it in the flexibility and ease of use when it comes to roughing out a game design.