- 2 hours on-demand video content
- Access on mobile and desktop
- Last updated July 2021
Programming a Simple Game Loop with C & SDL
A short tutorial on how to write a simple game loop using the programming language C and the SDL library.
Free
ENROLL NOW
Free
ENROLL NOW
This is a super short tutorial on how to write a simple game loop using C and SDL. We'll code a simple C project from scratch and learn how to configuring our C compiler to work with the SDL library.
You will learn how to write a minimal game loop, adjust a variable delta-time, and correctly configure a fixed time between frames. The final result will be a skeleton of a small 2D game that can be used as a starting point for more advanced projects.
All you really need is a code editor and a C compiler. All the tools we'll use are cross-platform, so you can follow along with either Windows, macOS, or Linux!
This course has no formal prerequisites. However, you should already know the basics of coding (if-else, loops, functions) and how to use the Linux command-line.
Gustavo Pezzi is a university lecturer in London, UK. He has won multiple education awards as a teacher and is also the founder of pikuma.com.
Gustavo teaches fundamentals of computer science and mathematics; his academic path includes institutions such as Pittsburg State University, City University of London, and University of Oxford.
"Just Amazing!"
"Excellent for begginers to gamedev with previous C/C++ experience. As someone who has extensive C and computer architecture knowledge, this course is perfect. However, for newcomers to these low level languages, it can be though. Nevertheless, great introduction to the fundamentals of gamedev."
"A great introduction to not only C, but also game dev! As someone who's into game dev and used Love2D to get into making my little games, I was always scared of the big scary C... While this course does not dwell deep into learning the C programming language, it most certainly teaches you a few basic bits of it, but most importantly it gives you the essential skills for learning basic SDL2 and how to structure a game loop & a small game on its own. This course will allow you to take your hard-learned knowledge and test yourself with a few exercises to help you grasp the context better. Loved every single moment of this course! Gustavo's teaching is fabulous, he explains everything in detail and never a detail behind and if he does, he will always respond to you on Twitter or the course forum! I highly recommend this course! Be it for a complete beginner or game developers just starting."
"A great introduction to not only C, but also game dev! As someone who's into game dev and used Love2D to get into making my little games, I was always scared of the big scary C... While this course does not dwell deep into learning the C programming language, it most certainly teaches you a few basic bits of it, but most importantly it gives you the essential skills for learning basic SDL2 and how to structure a game loop & a small game on its own. This course will allow you to take your hard-learned knowledge and test yourself with a few exercises to help you grasp the context better. Loved every single moment of this course! Gustavo's teaching is fabulous, he explains everything in detail and never a detail behind and if he does, he will always respond to you on Twitter or the course forum! I highly recommend this course! Be it for a complete beginner or game developers just starting."
"I never really thought that creating your initial game loop is this easy! Why did I think I wasn't going to be able to understand this? Looking forward now to start the course I actually bought, if the quality is the same it's going to be great. I like how the videos were straight to the point, but explain some of the background when context might be more important."
