Beginner programmer
Author
Hey I want to program games but i dont know what program to learn first. Currently I do not have any languages under my belt. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for a language that would allow me to program games, Thanks
There are several game programming specific languages such as BlitzBasic or DarkBasic for graphical programs or Inform for text based adventures. If you want to learn a general purpose language some good ones to start with are Python and C#.
I recomend learning a simple higher level language like VB. It provides more initial visual output for your work. Although you won't be programming games right off the bat, It'll introduce you to the basic fundamentals of programming like loops and conditional processing. After getting familiar with VB, try creating a few simple 2d games since speed won't be too much an issue.
Once you feel comfortable, move on to C++ and learn the syntax. The programming aspects will come out easy since you already know what the heck something like say... a for loop... is.
Or you can skip straight to C++ but you won't get much results for your initial efforts. Just remember that althoguh DirectX/OpenGL with VB is possible, its not recomended since it can be a tad slow.
Once you feel comfortable, move on to C++ and learn the syntax. The programming aspects will come out easy since you already know what the heck something like say... a for loop... is.
Or you can skip straight to C++ but you won't get much results for your initial efforts. Just remember that althoguh DirectX/OpenGL with VB is possible, its not recomended since it can be a tad slow.
Like posted above, it dosn't really make much of a differance, but its just that your intial programs won't be that spectacular consisting of text output on the command line while something like say VB will allow you to create forms and windows right off the bat with no programming. Creating events for those buttons etc will be easier too althogh they really have nothing to do with game programming.
If you dont' think you need any visual stimulae to stay focused on your learning, don't feel afraid to go to C++
If you dont' think you need any visual stimulae to stay focused on your learning, don't feel afraid to go to C++
Nope, not too complicated really, its just a low level language... For things like Win32 programming, it really is harder than things like VB and in my opinion even Java (although the syntax is similar for both).
If your looking for some tutorials, check out here:
http://cplus.about.com/od/beginnerctutorial/
goes from basic "hello world", to things like polymorphism and multiple inheritance (some good stuff to know for any programming)
oh, and if you chose VB, go with VB 6, not VB.NET... alhtough it has more support of OOP, IMO its not really good to start with unless you know some programming concepts already
If your looking for some tutorials, check out here:
http://cplus.about.com/od/beginnerctutorial/
goes from basic "hello world", to things like polymorphism and multiple inheritance (some good stuff to know for any programming)
oh, and if you chose VB, go with VB 6, not VB.NET... alhtough it has more support of OOP, IMO its not really good to start with unless you know some programming concepts already
Author
Ok Thanks, I guess my problem right now is sitting down and learning it, I start reading tutorials but then i never get any farther. I need to get dedicatd to learning the language
Just remember not to get lost when you get to pointers! Don't give up! Many a wannabe programmer has given up when they get there... Its not too hard of a concept to grasp, its just that the way the tutorials use it are not too useful. If you don't get it, try again but then move on. With practical experiance you'll understand it sooner or later.
C++ is most definitely not one of the easiest languages to learn, but I consider it a great language to learn with. With C++ you will have to learn things that other languages will do for you.
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