Im trying to create an easy 2D game, and maybe later a 3D car game.
Im wondering what programming language to learn.
From what I heard Pygame, Python, or XNA are the best ones.
I've tried Yoyo's Game Creator but it was impossible because
there wasn't any books or tutorials on how to master it.
So I understood that I need to learn programming once and for all.
Im a Psychology major, so one of the motivations is to be able to
make "psychology games" and psychological tests.
For this purpose what would you recommend?
Best language for beguinner?
You heard right, Python is by far the best language for beginners.
I would recommend Pygame for your 2d game and Panda3D when you want to to switch to 3D.
I would recommend Pygame for your 2d game and Panda3D when you want to to switch to 3D.
I have never done Pygame or Python before so I can't really compare with that. I started learning programming on Pascal which is supposed to be popular amongst collages. I found Pascal to be quite good to learn on.
Both Python and C# (XNA) will work great for what you're doing, and both are great choices. You really can't go wrong, I'd just look at some code for each and pick whichever you feel you can read better.
I actually started my programming journey with BlitzBasic. It's a nice little indie language. I think python would be about the same idea as BlitzBasic. Python like blitz basic is built to be simple, and allow for rapid production. Yes, this makes the learning curve much lower.
But, I would not recommend python as a starting language. Instead, I think C#(XNA uses C#) would make a good starting language. It is also much more common or will become more common than python. In other words, strong knowledge in C# will look more impressive on a resume than Python in my opinion. It also means, that you will be able to stick with a single language into more advance areas.
<Edit>I think you may also find the documentation is more accessible for C# than python. But I didn't spend that much time looking.
But, I would not recommend python as a starting language. Instead, I think C#(XNA uses C#) would make a good starting language. It is also much more common or will become more common than python. In other words, strong knowledge in C# will look more impressive on a resume than Python in my opinion. It also means, that you will be able to stick with a single language into more advance areas.
<Edit>I think you may also find the documentation is more accessible for C# than python. But I didn't spend that much time looking.
There is no best language.
That said, Python is the best language. It has the lowest barriers to entry.
That said, Python is the best language. It has the lowest barriers to entry.
Author
Thanks for answers. I checked out both languages and Im still somewhat unsure.
But It seems to me that Python is somewhat easier and more intuitive.
Kinda difficult to choose since you all disagreed so much on what language is the best. :)
But It seems to me that Python is somewhat easier and more intuitive.
Kinda difficult to choose since you all disagreed so much on what language is the best. :)
There is no absolute answer to "What programming language should I learn first?", it is more of what do you feel will work best for you.
This requires research into the different languages and API's available to you. Some may be harder to setup but may feel more intuitive for you in the long run.
C# and XNA - Fast way to get things running, in my opinion great for smaller games and even some larger games if you can optimize things. Easy to setup, plenty of tutorials out there.
C++ with DirectX or Opengl - C++ is harder to fully understand but I feel is quite once an understanding of why things were done a certain way(others may not agree). Doesn't nicely hide all the lower level things like XNA does, but this is a benefit and a negative at the sametime. Those negatives though won't normally come up when begining game dev.
Comes down to pick what you believe is most suited for you, but do some research first.
This requires research into the different languages and API's available to you. Some may be harder to setup but may feel more intuitive for you in the long run.
C# and XNA - Fast way to get things running, in my opinion great for smaller games and even some larger games if you can optimize things. Easy to setup, plenty of tutorials out there.
C++ with DirectX or Opengl - C++ is harder to fully understand but I feel is quite once an understanding of why things were done a certain way(others may not agree). Doesn't nicely hide all the lower level things like XNA does, but this is a benefit and a negative at the sametime. Those negatives though won't normally come up when begining game dev.
Comes down to pick what you believe is most suited for you, but do some research first.
Author
Thanks for answers, I looked at some of the codes out there.
And I think I liked Python best, it seemed very logical to me.
C# looked decent as well, but somewhat more codes that "doesn't do anything just needs to be there"( as it seems to me as a newbie).
And I think I liked Python best, it seemed very logical to me.
C# looked decent as well, but somewhat more codes that "doesn't do anything just needs to be there"( as it seems to me as a newbie).
Quote:Original post by JonConley
Those negatives though won't normally come up when begining game dev.
No, the negatives of C++ are there from the very start, there is no getting away from them. Now, you might not be aware of them but that in fact makes it WORSE rather than better.
While there are a few dissenting voices the general recommendation here is to start with C# or Python. Both of these make it easier to learn to program (the goal here) without worrying about the pitfalls and problems something like C++ brings with it.
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