11 replies to this topic

[ahnoldschwarz]

I want to get into game design, but I'm not sure which programming language I should learn first. I'm going to use resources on the internet, but mostly I'll be teaching myself. I want to be able to design smaller games first and build a portfolio, and I eventually want to work on big multiplayer games. Which language should I learn first to get experience and prepare for more advanced projects?

[Termana]

If you want to get into professional game development especially with companies that do console development you will need to know C++. I personally like C++ and find it easy contrary to the belief that it is hard.

[TALucas]

I've heard it said....If your serious about game programming you want to use C or C++...however, I wouldn't discount other languages. If your new to programming, I would suggest learning an object oriented language (like Java) to build good coding habits.

Besides...if you seriously want to develop a larger gaming system, learning multiple languages will be helpful.

[WingedPanther]

Bjarne Stroustrup lists almost all the major game companies as using C++ on his website. Flexibility, speed, and power make it very attractive. There are also a LOT of games being developed in Flash these days. I've seen games in Java, VB, and various other languages as well, but C++ is the language that will probably carry you the farthest.

If you want to get an idea of what goes into games, check out some of the games on sourceforge.net. In particular, games like OpenArena and Nexuiz are high-end FPSs (one based on Quake 3's engine).

[G_Morgan]

C++ is the best language for game programming. However learning C++ is not nearly enough to learn to program a game. That is the easy part.

More important is to learn how to handle graphics, networking, sound, input, AI, physics, etc.

Of course it depends on what part of games programming you get into.

[WingedPanther]

I actually taught a class on physics to programmers specifically to get them familiar both with real physics and how you can NOT use real physics in games.

[Donovan]

If you would like to get a general idea on how the code is compiled and how all the lines of code work to gather I would recommend Python. You do not have to plant your face into it like I did but you should spend maybe a week or two on it so you can understand it. If you already know how it all works or just want to start with coding games and such, you should start with C++ and go from there. I am confused with what you mean by Game Design, If you want to design a game you need to look up Meya 8.5 and Meya 3ds max. Those are the most used programs in game design. If you learn C++, Photo Shop, and both the Meya programs you will be on your way to getting a job at a gaming company.

[MeTh0Dz]

Ignore that above paragraph it's full of crap.

1) Why would you learn Python if you wanted to see how code is compiled? Python is by nature an interpreted language.

2) Learning Python to see how code works is also dumb, learn something lower level or C, or even better, Assembly.

3) Spending a week or two on Python is a waste of time.

4) Even if you learn C++, Photoshop, and Meya you still aren't going to be getting a job in game programming. Look at the stuff G_Morgan was talking about, those are the intricacies you'll need to learn before you can get a job.

[G_Morgan]

Maya and 3DS Max are 3D modelling programs. They are necessary for making a game (though you could equally use Blender) but are specialist tools for a very narrow section of games development. They aren't game design tools.

I'd learn C++ quickly. Getting to the stage where you can open the editor, knocking in code and invoke the compiler should take an hour or two. After a week or so of running through some exercises I'd then move straight onto gaming. You don't have to be brilliant at C++ to start it. Frankly this is going to take a while to get it all done. You can broaden your understanding of the language as time goes on.

Get to the point where you know how to start a program, load in libraries, invoke the compiler and handle language features such as classes, memory management, pointers and references and obviously the basics like if statements, functions and loops.

Then look at game development starting at a basic 2D game utilising a framebuffer and some basic keyboard and mouse handling code (the SDL library is good for this, it can be done using Win32 but it gets messy). This will enable you to focus on nailing down C++ and good design without being overrun by the details of the more complex areas of game programming.

Then I'd introduce the other stuff as you prefer. I'd probably migrate a 2D game to OpenGL or Direct3D at this point as an exercise.

[Xav]

For any stupid .NET obsessives out there, there's always the XNA Framework.

[Aereshaa]

I have actually made a few games, mostly 2d. For this I use C, with a graphics library, and not much else.