first of all, joined gamedev today.

did a bit of browsing and searching. I know you all have seen these questions a lot. I am sorry for asking them again. But i really do need some guide lines and i believe there is no better place than gamedev.

So, My goals are:

1. Learning a programming language : C++ (have 3 IDEs:VC++,Codeblocks,wxDev-C++ ; please post ur recommendations)
2. Learning making small 2D games for PC. (if there is an engine/library to learn then please mention it)
3. Learning to program 3D games(using Direct X), i know it's not a one man job. But i want to learn enough to land a job in the industry. Would love to work on a engine i.e. Panda3D/UDK (that i can use for free, please post your recommendations )
4. Understanding the mathematics and physics used for developing games.

So please tell me how to achieve my goals. Please post your recommendations about books (better if organized as a beginner to advanced level), tutorial/articles on the net . Anything will be appreciated.

N.B. i am CS student and currently studying "Beginning C++ through game programming" by Michael Dawson. I have read the beginners guide in gamedev. I do realize that i have to start small. I want to create a firm base and then want to work on it/ adopt as time goes by !

I'm studying the same book you are (and have two other 'Beginning' books to follow it with to ensure a solid foundation), and in my personal experience, and on my recommendation, don't quite worry about 2 and 3 at the moment. 4 and 1 should be your primary concerns - you don't want to scatter efforts too thin and suffer in the basics of either your programming language or your math skills that are essentially the life of anything you're planning. Algebra, Geometry, and Calculus have been recommended to me endlessly as -basics- for getting started, with linear algebra pressed the most. Brush up on your math (I'm studying Algebra for complete idiots 2nd ed. with my Beg. C++ and love both books to death), keep at your C++ studies, and take pride in the visible progress you'll make as you go.

I'm a firm believer in being brilliant at the basics - and feel that a) writing a program or example is vastly different from understanding it, and b) no amount of engine/program knowledge will mean anything to you without the background skills to put it to quality use.

Anyway, I know its not quite the answer you asked for, but I believe it fits to help achieve your goals and am hoping to prevent a case where you over-tax yourself and become frustrated and lose motivation. Math will be tied to anything you look to do in programming, and no program that I've looked at will do much for you without understanding C++ or that program's intended language.

Visual Studio is by far the industry standard in its ease of use and features (for Windows development). Code::Blocks is a great choice for Linux development though.

For simple 2d games try SDL. I have never used it myself, but I bet most member would recommend it as a great starting point.

I have used UDK for a class and its fine, but there is definitely a feel of missing features for scripting. Unity has a pretty strong offering as well same as the modding tools from Valve with the source SDK and Hammer editor.

i completely agree with you. going to look into Algebra for complete idiots.........

have been a class bunker after high school and now i have come to the realization that enough is enough . trying to learn from the ground up. In terms of math , have been out of practice for a long time. So waiting for any book recommendation on that.

Though my current focus is on c++ and math(1,4) , i would love to know about the whole path ahead of myself.

Sorry for my poor English.(Not my native language)

I'm re-learning math as well... though I never was great to begin with.

Khan Academy seems to be a pretty good resource, especially if you don't have access to a math class and teacher.

It's nice to actually have a person explain the problems and show you how to work through them.

@ Ben Apuna..........thanx.... iknew about Khan Academy before......bt whenever i go there the huge list of the tutorials reminds me how less i know about them!!!

I'm also a CS student who had been out of school for a while. I remember how frustrating it was to relearn a lot of what I ha forgotten in Algebra. Your curriculum should take you through Calculus, and if you need to take math electives like I do, go with linear algebra. I agree with Ebontide, that you need to start with the basics and build a strong foundation in those.
Also, before someone else says it, when you get the basics down, try building a game not an engine. Use SDL to build Tetris or something similar.

I'm also a CS student who had been out of school for a while. I remember how frustrating it was to relearn a lot of what I ha forgotten in Algebra. Your curriculum should take you through Calculus, and if you need to take math electives like I do, go with linear algebra. I agree with Ebontide, that you need to start with the basics and build a strong foundation in those.
Also, before someone else says it, when you get the basics down, try building a game not an engine. Use SDL to build Tetris or something similar.

yes i have heard it before.........trying to build an engine will slow slow things down/make things complicated/simply is waste os time........when there r quality engines out there, there is no need to create one ......all u need to do is learn one .........

2 questions

i.is SDL related with OpenGL?......
ii.can Direct X be used for simple 2D games?

Yes and yes to your two questions.
But I wasn't endorsing using other engines. I was saying to build the game from scratch. Then you'll have a better idea what kind of things are needed in a game engine. Then make another game and see what is needed for that and so on.

Actually, I'm not sure about SDL on windows, but it uses OpenGL on Linux and Mac OS. The instructions for using SDL will tell you which libraries you'll need. I dabbled in it a long time ago, it is not too hard to learn.