Ok, I get it. So the language is a tool for creating games, and I first need to learn "programming" before I learn "game programming". So i'll stick to python.

But let's say iv'e watched all of thenewboston's videos about python (43 of them), and I now know and have practiced all the basics. I know all the basic commands, functions, modules etc. Where do I go from there? How do I get this knowledge of writing python to serve me in making actual games? How will "print x" or "if x else y" be translated into a game? How do I start doing this process called "game programming"? It's like learning how to use work tools and then wanting to build a building.

For Python you can use pygame (a library) to handle graphics, input and sound.

Start with a very small game project (i usually recommend pong since it is fairly trivial).

Break it down into as small parts as you can.

what objects or data structures do you need to represent the game state ?

what rules govern how the game state is updated ?

then its simply a matter of a loop that:

*checks for player input

*updates the game state

*presents the gamestate to the player (i.e , draw stuff on screen and play sound effects)

From reading around some more, I came to realize that Java is much more efficient than python for creating full scale iOS and PC games (that's what im aiming for).

Efficiency is one of the last things you should worry about as a beginner. You're not exactly going to be writing Battlefield 5. Focus on what you find easiest to work with for now which certainly will be influenced by familiarity (so sticking with Python if you're already started down the road is very valuable). Given a year or three of experience you'll have the knowledge to not only make a choice between languages for new projects but also be able to ask the right questions.

Actually, efficiency is EXACTLY what he/she should worry about as a beginner; it's just a matter of how you define efficiency. ( For the record, I agree with you completely, I am just being a pedant ).

See, there are many metrics by which you can measure a programming languages efficicency. The speed of the code it generates, the productivity of the programmer using it, or the speed in which someone learns the language.

As a beginner, you want to choose a language that is efficient for learning. This generally means no or a simplified build cycle ( if you dont know what this means, good! you picked a language that fit the criteria! ), lots of supporting documentation and a large community of people to talk to. Python fits this criteria, although it wouldn't be my personal recommendation. ( I would personally recommend LUA ).

Ok, I get it. So the language is a tool for creating games, and I first need to learn "programming" before I learn "game programming". So i'll stick to python.

But let's say iv'e watched all of thenewboston's videos about python (43 of them), and I now know and have practiced all the basics. I know all the basic commands, functions, modules etc. Where do I go from there? How do I get this knowledge of writing python to serve me in making actual games? How will "print x" or "if x else y" be translated into a game? How do I start doing this process called "game programming"? It's like learning how to use work tools and then wanting to build a building.

If-statements allow you to make decisions based on a test case. Can you not think of any situations in a game where you could use this? Logical statements are the most commonplace things. If I'm hungry, I eat, else, I don't eat. Simple. Of course the computer doesn't attribute it's logic skills to intuition, so you have to make that decision explicitly. If a player's health is less than 0%, then end game and notify the player.

You probably wouldn't be using the "print" function unless you were making a text-based game or debugging with the console. The reason why tutorials use functions like this when teaching is because they're easy to use and without them you wouldn't have any means to get meaningful output without writing code to accomplish that. That's clearly not a good start.

Also, I should note that, you don't have to learn "programming" before learning "game programming." Just practice writing code, and make sure you complete your projects. In that respect, you ought to start small and gradually crank up the difficulty. If you feel you can handle a small game, then write a small game.

I'm not sure if I explained your questions coherently. I feel like I might not have addressed them completely. I'm a little tired so I'm writing this on limited mental capacity, but I'll get back to this tomorrow and see if what I said makes sense