Beginner Programming

[TheMonarchy]

Hi,

I just want to start Programming. Since I'll major in Game design, little programming will help. Which do you recommend?

thanks.

[slushy77]

Since most games are object oriented by nature, c++ would be a very good bet. Combine this with the OpenGL (http://www.opengl.org/) libraries and you will have good employment prospects when you graduate.

[Melon00]

I would go with C#. There are a lot of gaming programming manuals on the C# subject. It is a cleaner version of C++ and is much easier to understand in my opinion. If you have never programmed before I strongly urge you to pick up some literature on programming basics, such as learning how tor write pseudocode. Anything that is not language specific will accelerate your learning process of coding...trust me. I would put anyone that learned flowcharting and pseudocode before learning a language over anyone who hasn't.

[slushy77]

I agree with Melon on learning algorithms/flow charts they are a useful skill.
however c# is a MS technology, C++ isnt.
coding in c# will mean your games will work on XBOX and PC/windows machines. You'd have to convert to c++ and then write any platform specific routines for your games to work on other platforms. (more work)
coding in c++ will mean your games will work on PSP, PS2, XBOX, PC/windows, MAC, Nintendo, etc. You would only have to write machine specific routines, there wouldnt be a need to convert the actual code to slightly different syntax

[Melon00]

Slushy brings a good point. It will be up to you whether or not cross-platform coding is right for you. I just noticed that you are interested in having a little programming experience so I figured it would be easier for you to learn C# faster. Since C++ has a million quirks in it to deal with that takes years of programming to overcome (and no one ever overcomes them). I would recommend creating a demo before you graduate college, that will give you a huge leg up over the competition. Since, the gaming world has tons of competition and most positions require experience.

[ttttt]

You could try Java

[Mhtml]

lol...ttttt, you're not serious are you? Well for any serious engine it's definitely out of the question.

C++ or C# definitey, and due to my extreme hate of pretty much all Microsoft technologies I am biased to C++.

I have written an OpenGL game engine in C++.. I highly recommend C++. But it just comes down to choice in the end. For the level of programming you would be doing even Java would be acceptable.

Possibly the best resource for this subject is www.gamedev.net.

[drhowarddrfine]

C# has to be interpreted to run the first time. I think (I think) it can be compiled into an executable file later but not sure of this stuff anymore. If you are serious about writing games, you need C/C++ and assembly if you want to be an expert.