Hey.


So I'm a complete new blood when it comes to programming/ coding but I'm really interested and eager to learn.
I've always been super interested in computers and computer gaming since I first played Neverwinter Nights over a decade ago but I've recently become interested in being able to write the scripts and program these games myself and eventually be able to create my own.
I'm wondering if there are any reccomendations on a starting point for me? Maybe some tutorials I could watch? I've recently began learning Python because I was told its a good language to start with? but the app I'm using isn't very thorough when it comes to exp- laining things.
I currently only have access to my smartphone so we have to work around that for now, I will be getting a PC asap.

would you be more interested in creating games that involve minimal coding? you can use tools like gamemaker or rpgmaker if you're looking for a creative outlet.

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=73407171&f=120

Not really, I eventually want to be able to understand multiple language codes and work even outside of the gaming aspect of programming, I just thought focusing on gaming is a good start beings that's what has me interested in the first place

IMO, watching videos would probably only confuse you at this point. you really need to get hands on when starting with it since you have no experience.

i would recommend starting with a solid non-gaming foundation. but if gaming is the reason you got interested, you'll probably lose motivation going that route. i'm only familiar with making games without programming and making games with a programming background. i dont know anything about beginner programming with a focus on games. the guy in the link might be able to help you more.

People who learn to code to make games are likely to quit because they can't make the games they envisioned.

Learn the language first then move on from there. As for that there are a few ways to tackle this, as in which language to learn which will later allow you to move into gaming.

If you want to make 2d platformers or 3d games, learn C# or javascript (preferably C# since it allows you to venture into more areas). If you learn C# you can start off with making Windows (and Linux with Mono) desktop applications. C# is a very good language for its ease of use as well as its rapid GUI design. Later on you can venture into game frameworks such as Unity which uses javascript and C# as the two languages to access its game API.

If you want to make simpler games such as text RPGs or 2D platformers python and ruby are a good choice. They are both cross platform (can be ran on multiple operating systems) and have some kind of gaming library to ease of game development. Python is probably better in this regard since it has a library called pyGame which is meant for the task. Although I am partial to ruby for its beautiful syntax.

You can learn the harder (ish) languages such as C/C++ if you wanted as well, and then migrate into the unreal game engine which uses C++ to create its games.

So basically I would really only suggest 2 languages depending on your broader scope other than "making games":

C# if you want to make desktop GUI applications, and use Unity to create games once you are comfortable
Python is you which to make cross platform scripts for automating tasks or the like, then going on to use pyGame.

If you just want a nice language to learn from, Ruby is good and has plenty of learning resources like C# and python. Then if you want performance on Linux you can migrate to Crystal which has the raw performance similar to C.

Here are some resources for the various languages:

http://learnpythonthehardway.org/
https://rubymonk.com/
http://poignant.guide/book/chapter-1.html (my preferred resource to newcomers)
http://www.blackwasp.co.uk/Tutorials.aspx

Awesome feedback guys

Currently I'm following along with this 11 hour video tutorial, I'm only 4 hours deep and already have a much better grasp on the concept and even know how to execute some simple programs myself. The spokespeople are sort of awkward at times but they're super good at getting the point across and relaying information clearly! If anyone is new to programming like me and/ or just interested in learning Python I would definitely check it out.


This post was edited by eazyBEEZY on May 23 2016 09:11am

Another question that comes to mind is if I wanted to persue this and take a school based approach, which courses would that apply to?

School for what? Game design is a huge field with many sub fields. Programming in general is a even larger field with many more sub fields.

You will have to be way more specific for what you would want to do in school or for a job.

I'm not entirely sure what exactly I do want, some suggestions would be cool!
All I know is I spend a good amount of my free time behind a computer screen enjoying various titles and I feel compelled to be able to recreate that for others.
I'm really interested in the coding aspect but I've always had a knack for art so I wouldn't mind incorporating that as well.
I also want to understand components of a computer and what they do and feel comfortable building and upgrading my own system and I want to be able to understand what people are talking about when they discuss overclocking, CPU and other terms that deal with the functionality of the system.

I want it alllll.

This post was edited by eazyBEEZY on May 23 2016 08:46pm