When you first start learning programming, your journey inevitably begins with a simple “Hello World.” It’s not just a tradition but a symbol of embarking on something new. For me, though, that wasn’t enough—I decided to take it a step further.
A Small Step for Me, but a Giant Leap for NPCs
Recently, I wrote a small piece of code that adds a touch of interactivity. Instead of simply displaying text, I created the beginnings of a dialogue system for an NPC (non-player character). What does it do? The NPC greets the player, asks for their name, and even responds! It might look simple, but for me, as a beginner developer, this was a meaningful step forward.
using System;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading;
namespace CSLight
{
internal class Program
{
static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
Console.ReadKey();
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Green;
Console.WriteLine("Loading...");
Thread.Sleep(1000);
Console.WriteLine("Hi, I am alive");
Thread.Sleep(1000);
Console.WriteLine("What is your name?");
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Magenta;
string name = Console.ReadLine();
Thread.Sleep(1000);
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Green;
Console.WriteLine($"Hi {name}, it is my pleasure to meet you.");
}
}
}
Why Does This Matter?
For me, this simple program became a bridge between my current level of knowledge and my dream of creating a fully-fledged game. The code isn’t perfect, but it shows how basic C# concepts can be used to create something interactive.
Lessons Learned
- Progress is progress. Even if you write just a few lines of code, it’s still a step forward. The key is to keep moving.
- Games are about storytelling. Even the simplest dialogues bring characters to life, making them more than just a collection of pixels.
- Practice beats perfection. It’s better to create something small and functional than nothing at all because it seemed too hard.
What’s Next?
I plan to continue building my knowledge base: learning C#, experimenting with Unity, and, of course, creating new scenarios for NPCs. There will be plenty of falls and mistakes ahead, but that’s the whole point of learning.