JiiPee

I think C++ is a great language. You can do so many neat memory management tricks with C++ than with Java or .NET. It is also a true work horse if you get your code right. For me, understanding how memory layout and memory management works in C++, helped a lot learning C++ language. I think it is also quite cool that when you work with C++ you'll get to know how memory management works in OS and you surely get know difference between stack and heap memory and what are pros and cons per each.

When you learn all these, moving then to some more higher level language is quite easy. It is good to know, that even if you are using Java or .NET same C/C++ things happens under the hood. I think it is kind of language what gives to you quite a lot of. It takes time to learn, but I think it's totally worth of.

Altough I hate header file comments when working with std-library. It's so cryptic, I'll have to say that. Fortunately in cplusplus.com std-library is documented quite well.

This is not perhaps best example, but I found it really cool that how easy it is to corrupt stack with C standard methods and run method from the stack with buffer overflow attack. That kind of things just open your eyes. It was a practice what we did in school.

Game management? If you're asking about architecture of game engine, then I would suggest you to get some book what covers the topic. However  some "litlle game" developers usually just starts to code and they refactor and manage the game code during the creation process. I think it's quite heavy way to manage the game engine, but some people does it. Usually they have some minor ideas, which they start to implement to code and little by little they manage to create a whole game.

If you are new to coding and game development, the last mentioned way isn't perhaps so bad. It's good way to get to know about the development and coding. Usually you face most general issues when you start from the scratch and by using search pages and books you will get to know about the development quite fast.

Design patterns and class diagrams are quite useless, if you don't have even the most general ideas about your game. Usually it's good way to write even some really high level requirements and from there start to develope your software. Requirements -> some analysis method -> static model -> code.

I use directx on top of win32 and that is because I just want to learn things. So I'm making my own engine atm. But if I would in the situation, that I just want to ship some "little" game for mobile or tablet to market, I think I would use an engine. Would save a lot of time.

Awhile ago I read a little column, that many of finnish game companies are using Unity at the moment because they can concentrate more on developing contents of the game rather than adjusting the engine. And they are choosing Unity because it's quite easy to use. I also used Unity engine when we made networking game project in our school and it's really easy to use. Quite many finnish game companies, which are perhaps start-up companies or beginning companies have some nice idea so they just want that idea as fast as possible to market. Developing an engine would cost money and they couldn't concentrate on the original idea hence they have to develope the engine for it. But that's not what everybody does, but it seems that majority though.

If memory is not there, then you can't even allocate memory, otherwise if you have succesfully allocated memory with new then there is reserved memory size of the data type. I think you should perhaps think otherway around, how to ensure that there is memory before allocating or if program can't allocate memory then how to catch exceptions and what are actions to avoid useless deletions.

Nice answers Nik02. I'll have to consider those options.