I want to learn game development. Which language should I use? [closed]

Answer 1

C++ is the language used to actually write the game, at least for the graphically-intensive complex games like World of Warcraft. Languages like Python are often used for scripting behaviors within the game.

On the other hand, a major category of games is the "casual" games category, which includes simpler games like Sudoku games or simple puzzle solving games. These might be written in a very high level language like Python.

More likely than Python, however, lightweight games are usually written in Flash, using the scripting language in Flash (ActionScript). It turns out that this is actually a flavor of Javascript. Javascript, in turn, is much like Python.

So, my suggestion is that you learn Python, and then learn Javascript. Then write some simple games in your choice of PyGame, Flash, or even in-browser Javascript. Then if you still want to learn C++, go on and learn that, but keep playing around with game design in your spare time, writing casual games.

Answer 2

If you're making an Indie game(i.e. 2d, in a team of less than ten people, low budget), then pygame is your best bet.

There are many libraries in http://pygame.org that make development a snap. There's in-game GUI, networking, pathfinding... Python 2 is better, for now. You won't need the P3000 stuff just yet.

Lua is also a very popular choice, but that's mostly for big, professional games. They often choose Lua because of its can't fail philosophy. You can pass more or less arguments than a function takes and it won't complain. Pretty much anything can crash, and it will still run on average.
Also, it has very powerful (kind of)threads. There's no race conditions. Ever. And there's Lambdas. And it's extremely moddable. It's basically Lisp with less parentheses. It should go without saying, Lua programmers are very, very careful people.

Anyway, no matter what you hear, know this:
Games are written in script languages.
Engines are written in C++.

If you "want to learn game development", you probably want to write games. Also, for both python and Lua there's a pretty simple way to write a script and then ship an .exe. Search elsewhere for "Embedding %s" % language_name, but it's basically just

#include
...
python_run_file("main.py");

Answer 3

if you want to be hired in the industry, get good at C++. Real good. Like, godly.

if you want to Get Things Done and ship a small game with a small team (e.g. just you), use python, C++ is a premature optimization.

Python2 has better library support for game stuff -- PyGame will set up your window and give you 2D operations, PyOpenGL to do fancier stuff, Panda3D, etc.

Answer 4

The game concept is more important than the language you chose. Use whichever language you are most comfortable with. All but the most complex 3D graphics games will run fine with even interpreted languages.

My advice is to minimize the number of unknowns. I assume you are new to game programming and you state you are new to python. My personal bias is to approach a new domain (games) with a familiar language (C++) or approach a known domain with a new language. Approaching a new domain with a new language is tough challenge.

Answer 5

Most modern games are not built from scratch but use some pre-existing game/graphics engine.

Flash games are quite popular. Although most games written in Flash tend to be simple, the language is geared towards graphics and you will really learn at the higher level.

C++ is really widely used, but it is unlikely that building a game engine from scratch is a viable idea.

Look at www.GarageGames.com for a good place to find both a ready game engine and a community of developers writing games.

Answer 6

Given that you want to learn game development and don't have a lot of experience with it, I would recommend starting with Python 2 and use the latest version that PyGame supports.

http://www.pygame.org/

There are an awful lot of games, written in Python with PyGame, that are available as source code to download and study. If you ever get a job programming games, chances are that the game engine that they use, will not be one that you have used before, so you will need to translate your experience into their engine and API. Therefore, Python will not handicap you in any way. In fact, because it frees you from a lot of the gritty details, you can focus on learning game development, not pointers and structs and syntax and compile errors etc.

Later on, you can move into C when you already have the game programming concepts down pat. Or, you may find that you prefer digging into the internals of a game engine and tweaking the drivers etc. In that case, stick with PyGame and work on improvements and enhancements.

I would give different advice to a skilled programmer who wanted to make a career move into game programming.