[java] Is Java the best program for me?

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6 comments, last by baseball435 12 years, 7 months ago
I was wondering which language i should use to make a series of mini games (asteroids) in, i don't know if i should use Java or Visual Studio or any of the others. OK the two languages i named are far from each other, but i am going to college to learn software development which involves visual studio. I know basic C++, also i really wanted to put them on my own website. P.S Gamemaker isn't right for me because you have to buy it to put the games on a website.
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C# / XNA

Is the Way for you
[size="2"]Java / C# Developer
It Depends on your needs, there are no absolute right or wrong languages.

If by "put on your website" you mean embed it on the page itself (like let the users play the game on your actual webpage) then yes I would say java is a good choice, I dont know to much about flash but you can also embed games on your page with flash, or even Microsoft SilverLight (relatively new)

I've also seen people make cool stuff with JavaScript, and ActionScript

Now if you want to just put a game you built as a downloadable on your page, then you have many more options to choose from, You could stick to C++ and make a game on it, why try to learn something new so early when you can try to master or get a good foundation in C++ first? some good libraries you might want to Look into if you choose to stick with C++ is SDL, OpenGL from my personnel preferences.
Still around? Both C# and Java are good languages, and both .NET and Java are good platforms. Here's my honest opinion of the two:

C# / .NET: Definitely a smaller community, but more standardized. Jobs are out there, but the majority aren't .NET jobs. Obviously there's strong integration and compatibility with anything Microsoft, and iffy support for anything cross platform (depends). In Rich Internet development there's Silverlight, which is nice too. Microsoft's tools are pretty good, but for more advanced IDE features (or designer stuff like Expression Blend) you're going to be paying some $.

Java / Java platform: Arguably (if not surely) the largest developer community in the world, but very fragmented with lots of choices (not all of which work well together) as a result. Jobs are certainly out there for Java devs, of course. Java is probably the "most cross platform" (major) language out there, and integrates with practically anything you can think of through some means or another. (Part of the advantage of a huge community, there's a ton of "free stuff" out there for doing most anything.) For Rich Internet dev there's Adobe Flex (also others), which is my favorite front-end SDK, and it integrates well with Java (well, other stuff too--even .NET, but Java integration is one of the most common with Flex). Tons of free stuff out there, lots of choice for free IDEs and tools.

Both are good for web development, both can do 3D/gaming (and of course 2D), and performance is probably about the same. If I had to recommend learning one without any information regarding preferences or goals, I'd go with Java, but I've also recommended .NET before. .NET might be a little easier on beginners (due to the more standardized environment), but the popularity and flexibility of Java has made it industry leading for sure (generically speaking). Gaming wise of course, C++ is still king for cutting edge stuff, but that'll likely continue to change going into the future.
Pulpcore works fantastically for applets, and there's great examples for pretty much everything you'd want to do.

Check it out:

http://www.interactivepulp.com/pulpcore/particles/
Is Java the best program for me?

First off, Java is not a program, it's a language.

i don't know if i should use Java or Visual Studio or any of the others.

Apples and Oranges here. Java is language, Visual Studio is an IDE. There is a Visual Studio for Basic, C#, C++, ...

also i really wanted to put them on my own website.

By 'putting them on your website' you want just to distribute your game or that is playable through a web browser?
Unless you have specific needs that limit your choice, I'd say go with whatever you feel most familiar with. If you just start out from nothing, I'd say Java is a little easier to learn due to the many community sites.

I'd also recomend you start with some game or graphic libary so you can get further (more specific) help on that libary website and forum. I ended up using Slick2d for Java which was easy and had a forum where people help out.
I have a webpage where I put my stuff.

luzsite.net
Use Java, best way to go for sure. Here is a series of GREAT tutorials on 2D game making in Java which I used to get started myself...

http://zetcode.com/tutorials/javagamestutorial/

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