Learn C or Python next.

Visual Basic is only good for writing quick throwaway GUI programs and isn''t used much in the game industry other than for quick throwaway GUI programs.

Assembly won''t teach you how to program and is hard to write well. Learn it after learning a higher level language like C.

Python is a good choice, as it may teach you decent object orientation while only damaging your brain with its syntax. It''s not all that useful as a scripting language on consoles at the moment but it may be quite popular on the next generation of consoles (Xbox 2, PS3, etc). If you choose to learn Python, I''ll have to respectfully request that you NOT become part of the Official Python Groupie Club. This informal club makes it their business to recommend Python as the highest form of programming on every Internet message board that they can find. I hate to disappoint you, but Python doesn''t cure AIDS or cancer and won''t someday be the only programming language in the world.

C is a good choice because it is the de-facto structured programming language, and it''s good to know structured programming even if you use the object oriented paradigm more often. C is the best supported language in the world and one of the simpler ones to learn. You''ll need to know either C or C++ if you want to work on consoles, although C# may become popular with next batch.

Python may be easier to learn but you can live without Python, whereas it''s much harder to live without C. Whatever you choose, don''t get frustrated if you''re having trouble... it may be Blitz BASIC''s fault, not yours.

IMHO you should learn turbo pascal. Not normal pascal mind you, it''s a bit bitchy and anal; turbo is more like the languages held in higher regard.

If you can find it for download somewhere, turbo pascal 6.0 (yep - DOS =)) is proberbly the best you can get for a compiler.

There are many tutorials out there on turbo pascal, and I am sorry I can not remember the one I used years ago =( However, turbo pascal is proberbly the best choice you can make for a transition IMHO, as it is easy to go from TP to C (from experiences of myself and others), it is the language commonly used in oldskool high-school IPT, it allows you to learn the fundamentals of non-OOP programming (iteration, data sets, procedures and structures) without being swamped by everything that is C and C++, and many forms of pseudo-code follow a -very- similar structure to TP (and pseduo-code pwns for writing out an algorithms outline).

Yes, the TP I am referring to is DOS, proberbly 16-bit (code wise; however it does have 32bit codes) and now forgotten. But I have never seen a better language to learn the fundamentals of real programming on, which provides everything from file i/o to inline assembly, yet isn''t complex at all.

=)

I haven''t used python, so I''m not even going to start with it (heard it wasn''t a bad language but wasn''t as fast, yada yada yada).

AKA has a good suggestion. TP is a great language to know. Not used commercially much anymore (other than Delphi, which is a Borland derivative for Windows programs, and Kylix, which is the same, but for Linux). It will let you get a feel for object-oriented programming, and isn''t too far away in syntext from C/C++.

Assuming you want to head in a more game programming oriented direction, C/C++ should be your destination. As bobstevens said earlier, it is the industry standard. You won''t make it very far without knowing it to some extent.

In the long run, knowing more than one language is definately a good idea. It will give you a feel for the strengths and weaknesses in each language and let you decide which will be best for each program you make.

-Overflowed

PS - As for the suggestion of ASM: You''ll get an amazing grasp for the intricacies of the processor you''re developing for, but good luck writing large-scale programs in it (or cross-platform for that matter). I would suggest learning it as a supplement to other languages (optimizations and such).