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[Carlos_PRO]

Hello, I am new to the world of programming and was wondering what the best programming language to start with C, Pascal, etc ...
Give me a light because I'm totally lost.

[Richard Kain]

This topic actually comes up pretty frequently. And the de-facto answer is...it depends. Your objectives are going to dictate which language is right for you.

If you want blistering fast performance, you are going to need to go low-level. For that you will want to use either C, or C++. Both of those languages are low-level, involve lots of memory management, and are good for cross-platform development. The technical memory management will make it possible for you to squeeze every ounce of performance you can out of most hardware. The downside is that both of these languages are extremely technical, and will take more time to learn than most. (as well as more actual coding than most)

If you want something easier and faster, but not as performance intensive, than you could go for Java, C#, AS3, or HaXe. All four of these languages adhere to very similar object-oriented design principles. Learning how to use any of them will make it easier to pick up the others. Most of them have options for cross-platform development as well. Java's run-time can be installed on almost any OS. C# can be used cross-platform with the Mono library. AS3 compiles to flash which can be installed on most systems, as well as taking advantage of the AIR run-time. And HaXe has exporters for numerous platforms.

Of course, there are also even higher-level solutions that you might find advisable. Some of the most common game engines used are the UDK, Unity, and GameMaker.

The UDK is produced by Epic Games, and is easily the most feature-intensive option. It is commonly used to produce AAA game titles. The UDK is free to use for non-commercial projects, and Epic has reasonable rates for small teams who want to sell games produced with it.

Unity is not as powerful as UDK, but is notorious for very solid rapid prototyping. It is fairly easy to program for, and has a great user interface and visual editing system. It also has a free licence for anyone who is just trying to release their game on Windows or Mac OSX.

GameMaker is primarily focused on 2D game development. (while the previous two engines are very much 3D-centric) It has a graphical user interface to distance most users from the code. However, it does allow you to access the code for fine-tuning and more advanced programming. The initial ease of use makes it a popular choice among beginners.

[tesselode]

Also, Python is supposed to be pretty simple. If you find a game engine with Lua scripting, that would be good too. However, Game Maker is probably the best choice if you're new to programming.

[Carlos_PRO]

Thanks for the replies I'll start with game maker and then go to C # using XNA and then c - c + +, and also learn a little LUA.

[sorceress]

Also look at the editors included with the Blizzard games. Using these to make games with custom rules means writing custom triggers, which is similar to programming.

[C.A. Silbereisen]

GameMaker is primarily focused on 2D game development. (while the previous two engines are very much 3D-centric) It has a graphical user interface to distance most users from the code. However, it does allow you to access the code for fine-tuning and more advanced programming. The initial ease of use makes it a popular choice among beginners.

Not entirely true. GM is actually pretty code-centric. Sure, you can use the graphical drag & drop features but they're tedious to use and pretty limited in their functionality. If you decide to go for GM, I'd recommend learning GML right away and not bothering with drag & drop.

If you absolutely want to avoid writing code, Construct is the far superior choice.

[antymattar]

I started with Pascal and GM. I know, I would suggest you start with GM and then try to move to c++. I am quite comfortable with GM so I am not really learning C++ right now.

[Carlos_PRO]

I was reading some things on the internet and changed my mind to learn programming logic since I am new in this world I'll start with the pascal and I'm digging the game maker.
Will someone tell me what are the main things I should know.

[sorceress]

Will someone tell me what are the main things I should know.

Programming involves a lot of logic. And for games, you'll need quite a bit of maths,

I think the best way to learn programming is to start with something trivial and build upon it. Doing is more important than reading about programming in the beginning. This is what I've advised people in the past:

1. print something on screen.
2. create a loop which prints something on screen 10 times.
3. set a variable and print it on screen ten times.
4. change the variable each time in the loop (eg, experiment with N=N+1; or N++ or N=N*2; or whatever)

5. print out a 7 times table.
6. Make a program that tests if a number is divisible by 13.
7. Make a program that finds prime numbers.
8. Make a program that does numerical integration of a mathematical function (find the area under a curve)

9.  Find how to plot pixels on the screen.
10. Draw some parallel lines, an array of boxes or concentric circles using loops.
11. Experiment with wireframe graphics. Make a rotating cube.
12. Read from the keyboard and mouse to allow the user to change how the cube is rotated.