First post here on GDNet (though I've been lurking for a while) and I just have a quick question that doesn't have a real concrete answer, I'm sure. I've been programming on and off as a hobby for a couple years now and I've done several different console games, from tic tac toe to a text adventure to ConPong (console based pong ;D), and I'm just wondering where I should go from here. I know there are tons of APIs out there, so I'm just confused as to which one to use. I'm not really looking to do much 3D stuff, if any at all (maybe in the future, but I'm a big fan of the whole 2D retro game scene. Cave Story, anyone?). Is it true that you can make snappier 2D games by using a 3D engine like OpenGL? Is there really that much of a difference? I'm kind of a Linux guy, too, so it'd be nice to have it be cross platform. It's not a huge deciding factor, just a plus =D I'd type more but I know I'm already boring you all to death ;D Thanks for any help! Afterthought: I'll stick with my example of what I'm aiming for and ask: What do you think Cave Story was made with? Probably Win32, eh? I've heard that's a mess of an API =(

SDL seems to be a popular choice for 2D cross platform developement.

SDL is easy, in my opinion, and crossplatform. Win32 is a pain when first using it but it may be worthwhile to learn it anyway.

For SDL, here's a great tutorial: LazyFoo's tutorial
For Win32, this one was useful: theForger's Win32 tutorial

People say you should never learn just one API/Laungage/etc... So you should probably learn several different ones. I'd suggest starting with SDL first. Allegro is also a common choice. Whatever you choose, stick with it.