Ex: C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, etc.

I'd really love to understand the differences between each one, as I'm just beginning to delve into learning all of this!

Ok, here are my opinion:

C++

If you need a OO language and lot of control and performance, then C++ is still the king. The disadvantage is, that C++ does not ships with a framework, you need lot of libs to do even basic things and this libs are often platform dependent.

Java

Java is a really powerful OO language, managed and more safe to write code in. It has a very powerful framework shipping with it and is often used in enterprise applications/server application.

C#

Very similar to java, but from Microsoft and often used in combination with the .NET framework, which is similar to the java framework. Although managed.

JavaScript, Python

Scripting languages. You can write code more easily , but it has its limits. If you want to write gamelogic code/web code etc. it is often sufficient to use a scripting language. In games you often have a primary engine (written most likely in C++) doing all the performance dependent stuff like rendering,physics,audio and a scripting language to write gamelogic/ai/ui code.

What is an OO? and, sadly, I'm not too familiar with framework either.

JavaScript is in a wholly different category than Python.

Python is a scripting language taking the place of older languages like Perl. Its writing short programs rapidly. Rapid development is a goal of the Python language, but it's not for performance, usually.

JavaScript is the language for embedding in webpages. Web browsers have been optimized to compile JavaScript in web pages efficiently. However, it's an old hack of a language, so there are now several languages designed to be compiled into Javascript. JavaScript is not really used outside of web development.

C++ - Currently the standard for game engines in the game industry, especially in consoles. It replaced C as the predominant language in the late 90's, which replaced device-specific assembly in the late 80s. Note that C++ is used only for part of the game, just the engine but generally not the object scripting or build system, and many studios place restrictions against using certain bits of functionality around the high performance parts. In major AAA games, it often makes up anywhere from 60% to 90% of the code that gets checked in, but every studio and every project has their own stats.

C# - Currently used almost everywhere for tools. Used in scripting; some systems use C# as the primary scripting language. It has been used for many games as the core language, just not so much for the AAA games and the console games.

Java - One of the primary languages for web-based games, and used for many servers. Was used everywhere for tools before C#, many tools still use it. Used in scripting.

Python - Used for scripting. Used for tools. Used to manage builds.

Perl - Used for tools. Used to manage builds.

LEARN ALL FIVE OF THOSE LANGUAGES ABOVE. You will be expected to know them during your career.

JavaScript - Not based on Java like many people think, it is the scripting language of the web. Very popular.

HTML - The coding language of the web. Simple if you are just making something for fun, but the DOM and the standards add more nuance than most people will admit. You will probably end up learning the basics as a mater of course even if you don't want to.

SQL - Used in databases, which you will use if you develop server-side stuff.

ActionScript - The code behind Flash. Used in a lot of web games and web content.

Lua - Scripting language used in a lot of games. Quick for a programmer to pick up if they have learned the first five languages.

PHP - The back-end scripting language for the web. Like it or not, it is the current de-facto standard. Personally, I don't like the feel of it, yet I can use it.


You will probably encounter several more languages, but these are currently the big ones you will see in games and game-related software.

There are a lot of good answers in this thread! Remember the programming languages are just a way to tell the computer what to do. With all that is out there, you can do almost anything you need with any language! This early in your journey the differences between them won't matter too much. Like how some languages compile the applications directly to machine code, while others (like C#) only compile it down to a software layer (to be more efficient for programmers that aren't so efficient :P )

I would definitely start with anything OO (Object Oriented) as that is something you will definitely want to be proficient at. ( I say C++ all the way! )

I also 100% agree with Frob, in my journey I did eventually need to learn all 5 of those languages.

I can't see any reason not to learn C# either, so you may want to start there, all up to you!