I have began the arduous task of trying to figure out how to get some traction in learning Game Development. I have fallen in love with the idea of making programs and games of my own from the ground up, my own "baby" if you will. I bought Sam's Teach Yourself C++ by Siddhartha Rao as a sort of stepping stone into it all, but as I soon found out C++ is not so complete noob friendly and I very quickly was underwater.

After reading a few threads on gamedev.net's forums and I believe I've landed on Python as the language I would like to get started with. My main question I suppose is now what? College is not really an option, could anyone suggest an online site to begin with or perhaps even a really good textbook? Or any advice from people who have been in my shoes or anything really would be greatly appreciated.

Check out invent with python. There are three python books which you can read online totally free. Also, it teaches you with games as examples, so you'll be learning by doing games (very silly games, but still).

It's possible without college... just frustratingly difficult as... a lot of details that you need to learn, isn't really easy to search for without knowing what the term actually is.

I wouldn't start with python however. It's not difficult. It's just not the best language to learn how to program a game with.

Try out Monogame, Unity, or the Unreal Engine. If you really need to go down to the basics.

I'd start off with buying a book that teaches you C. then try programming some simple terminal games. Like rogue likes, Dwarf Fortress, ect.

If you start with Python, I think there are some boards in the workshop that teaches it.

I wouldn't start with python however. It's not difficult. It's just not the best language to learn how to program a game with.

I disagree. Learn python and then learn pygame (http://pygame.org/news.html). I believe the beginner languages recommended are usually C#, Java, and Python. I have to defer to those languages recommendations because I started with C++ against many recommendations and have the bias of telling beginners to pick the language they want and then dig in.

I wouldn't start with python however. It's not difficult. It's just not the best language to learn how to program a game with.

I disagree. Learn python and then learn pygame (http://pygame.org/news.html). I believe the beginner languages recommended are usually C#, Java, and Python. I have to defer to those languages recommendations because I started with C++ against many recommendations and have the bias of telling beginners to pick the language they want and then dig in.

I started with C++ as well... and honestly I can't see why it's not recommended. It's fairly easy. I found Python annoying for the way it handles it's classes. C# for the way it takes away an amount of control I was comfortable with. And Java for being a strange little thing.

I think HTML5 offers the path of least resistance. You basically just need a text editor and a web browser to get started. There's a multitude of tutorials available online for free so it won't cost you anything either.

Python is a good language to introduce basic programming logic with. Python goes straight into the general concept of programming with easy syntax and rules that total beginners can easily follow. I know a very good online book about Python. You don't necessarily need college to learn coding. Internet has a lot of tutorials, and there are communities to help you with your problems.

Of course, I recommend you to give C++ another try after getting the hang out of Python because C++ is really important. This is just my personal opinion, but here's what you need to do:

1. Start with a programming language (like Python or C++).
2. Take a look at a multimedia framework like PyGame for Python to see how game mechanics are done. SFML for C++
3. Try using a game engine like Panda3D.

Some people say that you can just go straight to game engine after learning a programming language, but I think learning about game mechanics first is better since you'll know what you want to do when facing a game engine. It'll make it easier to learn the engine too.

I personally feel like, as much as Python is "noob" friendly, it's syntax style isn't used anywhere else really. Because of this, I would recommend C++ or Java to start with. It'll be a bit rougher, but at least you'll be diving into a language that *feels* a lot more high-level. Once you got those down, you can basically read a ton of others with little effort. Python can do it, and there are games that have been built on it, but I feel a lot of the bigger games are still supported by a C/C++ back-end.

I like Java because of it's cross-platform, launch right out of the editor feel. But to really get a grasp, C++ is the big boy on the list. Pick up some OpenGL/DirectX books and you'll not only be building a game, but an engine as well.

But hey, I use Unity now because I like it's fast prototyping, C# scripting, WYSIWYG editor, and it's free.