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[Inzaniak]

Hi guys. I'm a 19-years old boy, who always wanted to become a video-game developer. Unfortunately, i live in Italy which, in my opinion, is not one of the best country in game-developing. I've also tried a few times to learn programming by myself, but i always think that is too difficult for me or just a waste of time. Then in 2009 i found this awesome community and i started developing games using the tools: Multimedia Fusion and Construct. It has been fun, but i think that if i use only these programs i will never learn anything new. In the last month i found a thread on a forum (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=870) in which a boy wanted to learn how to draw and by posting on the forum and getting suggestions by others members in 4 years he reached his objective. I'd like to reach MY objective, but I need your help.
My first question is: “What's the first programming language you've studied?”
The second one: “Do you know any tutorial/books which can help me at learning it?”

Thank you for your help.

P.S. I'm sorry for my bad english. I dont' know if this is the right board.

[impulse9]

What's the first programming language you've studied?

I never really "studied" any programming languages. I pretty much learned by coding. First language I had to learn relatively well was Pascal (it was a part of two high school courses).

Do you know any tutorial/books which can help me at learning it?

The internet, pretty much. Try to create few simple games first, then move on. The key thing is to be persistent. You will learn as you go. Good luck.

[omgnoseat]

Just to be clear, I'm not an expert programmer or anything, I just graduated and am finding my way into the game industry myself.

I've also tried a few times to learn programming by myself, but i always think that is too difficult for me or just a waste of time.

When I first tried programming, I had the same attitude as you. I was convinced that I would never understand any of this crap. I'm pretty bad at math and I was sure that that was my downfall. This is already a bad start, thinking about failure will result in failure.

I had an actionscript class in school, where I had to get a positive grade or else I'd be kicked out of school. This pressure was what made me push through. The beginning is horrible, where you don't understand anything, but once things start coming together it's great.

You just need to pull through, it can take anywhere from a month to a year before it becomes enjoyable, but as long as you keep trying it will work out.

My first question is: “What's the first programming language you've studied?”

I started which actionscript 3 in school, which still seems to be the best language to start in for me.

The second one: “Do you know any tutorial/books which can help me at learning it?”

Not really, you only need tutorials when you want to figure out a certain technique, like collision detection or physics. I don't think a book can help you start with programming, you need experiment with it yourself and go at your own pace.
I was lucky that I had a great teacher to help me with the basics. As soon as you understand those, you move on on your own.

[sigfarter]

there is a torrent floating around on the internet containing like 6 gigabytes of game development books. its a treasure trove. download that.

[eyeliner]

Just get a development engine, even GameMaker and start hacking. Never stop until you get something playable, even in ugly form.

there is a torrent floating around on the internet containing like 6 gigabytes of game development books. its a treasure trove. download that.

Link. NOW

[sigfarter]

i'll get vanned

[eyeliner]

PM me, then.

[HitStop]

I'm guessing that as with any other skill that requires long-term persistence, the secret is long-term persistence. Uh... I'll elaborate. Like mastery of a musical instrument, programming and game development are lifelong journeys that never end. There will be ups and downs, there will be times when progress seems nonexistent, but stopping altogether is guaranteed failure.

[Garlicguy]

First program was game maker, messed around with it since I was 13.

Then there was mugen, which I messed with and got tired of at 15.

I'm 21 now

My point is that I was young enough to waste time, and I'm still pretty young. If you really want to make games it won't BE a waste of time.  

[SuperDisk]

If you were to go for a nice language, I'd recommend first writing some software, then moving on to games. Really games are just software with graphics and fast input.

For a language to learn the concepts, I'd try out Python, which is really great in my opinion, and then when moving on to games, perhaps C# or Java, because they are easier to learn than low level things like C, C++ and Pascal, but still execute pretty quickly.

[Graham-]

I started with VB in high school, then Scheme and Java and C++ in University. Then I was paid to work in php, then Objective-C, and now python. My game coming up will be in C++ so I can use the Unreal Engine.

Programming is my strong suit in game dev, followed closely by design. Art, sound, music are newer to me. I've spent a lot of time studying story construction, cinematography, filmmaking.

Ok. Learning to program really isn't that hard. A book doesn't make any sense until it does. What it does take is a lot of practice. There are a couple of torrents you want to get. Just pump "game design" into isohunt and piratebay and you'll get gigs of stuff. Then search for programming books and you'll get gigs of stuff. There are literally hundreds of C++ books on my hard drive. You'll have to flip through lots briefly to hone-in on the one you want. There's really no good starting place. You have to find what works for you.

C++ is the closest to a production language. If you want to work on big games, with big engines, C++ is the most universal. Scripting is coming about, slowly. Games get written in action script (Flash) and Ruby or whatever. Scripting is definitely easier to learn, but lower-level stuff, like C, is more powerful. Learn whichever is the most interesting to you. It really doesn't matter. Your engagement is what matters.

Java is if you like C++ but want a little more safety. It is partway between a scripting language like Python and a lower-level one like C++. PHP is a little more like Python than Java. It's used commonly for web-dev. If you want to build websites your best bet might be Ruby, which is even simpler than PHP and has a lot framework support and associated communities.

Lisp and Scheme are off to the side. Perl is a hack-a-thon. I don't know much about it. Lisp/Scheme are great theoretical languages. If C/C++/Java are about power, Python/Ruby/Perl are about ease, then Lisp/Scheme are about theoretical purity. They bend to your will. They are like standard scripting languages with more flexibility. You use them if you want to understand theory.

The internet is literally flooded with programmer shit. Stack Overflow and torrent sites and Google have you covered forever. What you need is a project that attracts you, and experience navigating the waters on your own. You can browse SourceForge for open source projects to contribute to, if you'd like, but that's a better middle-stage option.

The best starting point is to start creating actual things. If you want to make games then start making games. You'll have to ratchet up your other skills, like design and artwork, but it will be worth it.  As you improve, and advance your project, whole books will start to make a wonderful kind of sense to you that didn't before. Before you know it you'll be good enough to get hired somewhere, and you'll have a list of projects that prove your skills.

[Inzaniak]

I've decided to start with Python. I've found this book: http://inventwithpython.com/index.html and i think it's a pretty good introduction to programming. I've already understood the basic functions of this programming language and at the moment i'm at chapter 9 (which i find a little too difficult.). So i think i will practice again with the other chapters before going on.

[Graham-]

Looks like a good book.

The secret to working through a hard chapter is to do all the examples yourself on a computer. If the book teaches you to use a doubly-linked list or whatever, first copy the example, run it, then change it. Then build something stupid using your doubly-linked list. Invent a use for it, then program it.

It's like if I give you a bunch of Lego to work with. I give you square orange blocks. Then I give you 3 more colors and start talking about design theory. If it's confusing, just take one of those new blocks and start experimenting on your own by combining it with whatever you know. Take a concept, invent a bunch of uses for it, implement those inventions, and you'll understand the concept.

[HitStop]

Python, eh? Hope that works out well for ya. I tried a bit of Pygame and got hammered by trying to implement collision detection and input detection, heh. Heck, I think I'm still interested in Python. I haven't checked out the other Python game frameworks/libraries/engines/tools. Cocos2D seems to be rocking iPhone/Mac pretty hard, but I'm not sure what its original Python version is like.