Pretty straight forward question. I don't have a game in mind, I just wana start making copies of Pong and games like that to practice once I've finally stopped ripping my hair out on what to start playing around with.
Ask questions for clarification.
Please and thank you guys
Well sooner or later HTML 5 is going to take over Flash. So either you want to learn HTML5 & Canvas or learn Game Maker. IMO.
Game maker is easier to get into and kind of holds your hand most of the way -Flash is a bit more involved but offers more flexibility once you've built up a bit of skill.
GM is pretty easy, and you can start out with drag-n-drop then move on to just writing everything in GML.
Don't pay money for it, though. Just get the free version. You'll outgrow it pretty quickly if you're serious about programming.
Try SmoothStep2D :), it's really easy to start with, and it works very like other engines or frameworks, so what you learn can be used with different technology:
User guide: http://galloman.github.io/ss2d/manual/index.html
Start out with the free Game Maker. Once you have done the tutorials and start hitting the limits of the free version, either get a less-limited version or come back here and ask what your next steps could be.
You can then re-evaluate if you want to move on to ActionScript/Flash or a different technology; Flash/HTML5 aren't the only other options.
If you want to learn game programming, flash isn't a bad option. I would recommend starting with something like FlashPunk:
Once you're comfortable with ActionScript 3, moving to HaXE will allow you to target mobile devices:
http://www.joshuagranick.com/blog/2013/05/30/introducing-openfl/
HaXE is an 'improved' version of ActionScript.
Or you can continue to use ActionScript 3 with something like SpacePort:
ActionScript is a nice gateway language to Javascript.
I never used Game Maker, but I think flash would be good starting point. You can do some action script and get used to coding.
On other hand if you seriously want to get into game industry and professional game development. Learning C++ would be best you can do. I went straight to C++ and I turned out fine... I think.
Problem with C++ you will be playing with console without seeing any cool results for few weeks before you know more about it. So it could be hard to stay motivated.
If you are going for C++ approach, definitely invest into a some beginners C++ book! It's definitely more hardcore approach.
Awesome vid explaining how to get into game development.
