I am interested in programming for games. I am currently building an iphone game with Shiva using Lua as the scripting language. After that, I am not sure what I should do or what languages I should learn. My goal is to keep building games but I also want to build my own game console. Of course, that won’t be for years but I need to learn something right programming now. I know that programming games vs applications is totally different and that’s why I need some help. What languages or things do you recommend for me to learn? I also want to be able to create applications but programming applications and programming games is a whole different thing.
Share
Having worked in the industry for several years, this is the best summary I can find:
http://gamesfromwithin.com/so-you-want-to-be-a-game-programmer
My advice:
Learn C++ inside and out. Program in it every day. If you’re already set up for iPhone development, learn OpenGL. It wouldn’t hurt to learn Direct3D as well if you have access to a PC ( also have a look at XNA ). If graphics isn’t your thing, make sure you know how pathfinding (A* algorithm) or collision detection works.
Keep building your own projects, and find a good online community that can support you if you have questions. Employers want see that you are smart, but more importantly, that you are dedicated – game programming is very hard, don’t let anyone tell you differently.
You can download free development tools for Windows here:
http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/
The one you want is Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition.