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[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Yeah, this seems like mainly a motivation problem, which is the biggest problem in most people.

I suggest taking part in contests. Those have limited time frames and force you to finish games. The first games I actually finished were all for contests, and that got me in the habit of finishing games.

Working with others on larger-scale games is a necessity, at least for me. I could never finish a long-term game project without other people working on them with me, because there's just too much to do and it's way too easy to get side-tracked if you aren't working as part of a team, even a small team of two or three people. And it'll be easier to find a team once you've finished some small contest games.

So my advice is to try entering the TIGSource contests, those YoYo Games contests, etc. and then forming a team after that. What you use to make games is often irrelevant, because you can make a great game using any language or engine -- I've seen really great games made in every language and every game engine, except for MUGEN -- not to say it isn't possible, I just haven't seen a great MUGEN game yet.

[cmspice]

I kept telling myself I'd learn C++ and only did when I took a C++ class in college. That's probably the cleanest easiest route. I know how hard it is to try and learn a programming language like c++ especially since it's impossible to learn without practice and yet you're always tempted to make something big right away. Also, you'll learn some incredibly useful programming practices in a course.

[bateleur]

I obviously can't do this, and I was hoping by moving to a programming language other than GML, I would have more options and opportunities to choose from. I've been making games since 2003, since then I've became a more skilled programmer in GML, but like I mentioned above...I don't really know if anything can help me achieve my goal.

It does sound like you've gone far enough with GML to know what you're talking about. There's a few things which spring to mind here as options...

1) You could try writing some stuff using C#, most likely using Microsoft's XNA system. C# is much less wild and woolly than C++ and will behave itself while you get on with making games.

2) You could have another try at C++. If you're serious about writing good 3D games you have to realise that learning C++ is the least of the obstacles you'll face. Most probably you're more than capable of learning it if you're patient.

3) Try modding an existing 3D game. This is a great way to learn stuff and has the advantage that you'll see results early, which may keep you motivated a bit more.

[Disclaimer: 3D isn't really my area of expertise - I might have missed better options]

[theparticleman]

I'll chime in, basically to agree with what everyone else here has said.  Make sure you expectations are realistic.  I've also been in the "I'm going to make the coolest game ever!" boat.  That doesn't work out very well for your first game (and in my case not even for my tenth game ).  Take some time to learn how to make games in whatever language you choose.  One thing that was very important for me was to actually finish some games.  Not just start on something cool and stop when I got to a hard spot.  But hit that hard spot and push and push until I finally get through it.  I think that's where I've learned the most and my skills have really improved. 

My recommendation would be to try a few VERY simple tests with a few different languages/platforms.  Find out how easy it is to actually display an image on the screen and move it around (like others have suggested, I'd recommend starting with 2D rather than 3D).  Once you pick a language/platform then start with a VERY simple game (maybe Tetris or Pacman or a simple platformer like has already been suggested) and finish it all the way through.  Don't worry if it's not the best game ever.  If you have someone play it and they only play it for 10 minutes before getting bored, hey, that's 10 minutes of entertainment that you gave someone.  Once you get past that point, get a little more ambitious.  Start creating slightly longer games, with slightly more features.  Not too much at once, but a little at a time.  Keep that up and soon you'll be a game developer guru!  (I'll let you know how it is once I get there )

As for suggestions on a language, I personally have done game development in Java and C#, both of which are very capable.  I've heard good things about PyGame, but haven't tried it myself.  I know a lot of people recommend other game development platforms, but I haven't used any of those so I can't give you a recommendation about them.

Good luck!

[Powergloved Andy]

C++ is one of those languages that just "click" one day and then you're able to learn it. It's really intimidating to begin with it, I wasn't even able to really understand it until I took a class on it and my instructor ended up going, "Look Andy, it's like this..." and I just go "Ohhhhhh, it makes sense now"

As for Game Maker, I know a lot of people who can make masterpieces with that program. I actually want to learn game maker language, and from what I've seen it's really simple. Also, Pascal is worthless, in my opinion.

[increpare]

Also, Pascal is worthless, in my opinion.

Gosh that came out of nowhere.  Worthless in what sense?

[Hideous]

Also, Pascal is worthless, in my opinion.

Gosh that came out of nowhere.  Worthless in what sense?

I agree with Andy. Pascal is a horrible mess that will rot your brain.

[increpare]

I agree with Andy. Pascal is a horrible mess that will rot your brain.

That's a bit harsh dude.  Syntactically it's not much at all different to C (or object pascal to C++ (without template stuff).  I did directx stuff quite happily with Delphi back when i started off programming.

[Hideous]

I think it's ugly and hard to read.

[Robotacon]

Dammit Hideous, you've been so negative lately!
What's eating you?

On topic:
I don't like any language with the -> operator. That doesn't mean I won't use those languages and with the right IDE and color coding most are easy to read.

It's mostly up to the programer, but perl can be almost write-only in the hands of the right (i.e wrong) person.

[Hideous]

I'm not any more negative than any other time

It's just that I've been posting less and when I see something that makes me mad I want to say that

[Hajo]

If C++ seems too hard first, but you can get a grasp on Java, the step to C++ will be fairly easy later.