Where do I start? - Developers

So, I've been learning HTML, CSS and PHP for the past year or half year, and I think it's time I moved to programming languages since it has got me interested. I'm thinking of starting of with Python or Lua + LOVE2D. What do you guys think I should go with? And where's the best place to start learning?

What do you plan on doing? Do you plan on making something specific? Knowing this helps us pick the best language based on your goals...

I don't really plan on making something specific, but making a small game would be a nice start for me.

Excuse my lack of formating, I'm not at a computer at the moment. The most common choices for game programming are Lua, Java, C#, and C++. Lua is the only one of the 4 that is a scripting language, and like php, anyone who has a copy of the software has the source code. Love is used most commonly with Lua. Lua is on the easier end of the language spectrum and it is important to know that it is the least useful of the 4 as it isn't popular past game scripting. C#, like Java, is pretty easy and has a great number of uses. It is important to note that both languages use bytecode, which allows them to be somewhat multiplatform. C# specifically can be used to make games for the XBOX 360 and has a number of great frameworks for making games that includes SFML.NET, XNA, and OpenTK. I don't have much experience with Java, so I can't help you there. C++ is the hardest and fastest (in terms of performance)of the 4, and is the most popular in the industry. It is cross platform if coded correctly, but must be compiled for every type of device. PHP's syntax is similar to C's afaik, which is what C++ is based on. I have to mention that while C++ is faster, the development process is far slower, but you get a finer degree of control. That said, C++ is the most useful of the 4 because of the things you can do with it. Common game programming libraries are SFML, SDL, and DirectX. [editline]8th December 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Se1f_Distruct;38736056]C++: SDL - Popular game framework. Easy. SFML - Fast Multimedia Library, very popular for games Very Easy. DirectX - Microsoft's API for games, not common (at least not here) Harder. C#: OpenTK - Well written C# framework, you can get many things done with this. Easy. XNA - Microsoft's DirectX wrapper, can be used for the XBOX 360 as well. Very Easy. SlimDX - Rewrite of the managed DirectX api from Microsoft, Hard without prior experience. Java: I don't do Java, so I don't know. If you want a game that can be fast, lower level so you can understand what is exactly going on, go with C++. If you are new to programming, which you seem to be, I would recommend C# or Java (You seem to have a preference to Java in the OP, but C# is multiplatform when using Mono). I recommend Java (with whatever library, I'm not familiar with it) or C# and OpenTK. You really can't go wrong with OpenTK. [editline]7th December 2012[/editline] Also, if you want it done in the next century, go with C# or Java. [/QUOTE] Here is one of my earlier posts with more info. It also lengthens your life span because it's actually formatted. [editline]8th December 2012[/editline] Kinda formatted. :v:

I'd say if you already looked into Lua and Love, just roll with that. Self Distruct failed to mention Lua can be ran on different operating systems like Java. Don't worry about how [I]useful[/I] the language may be, Lua has a lot of users here on the forum and people in WAYWO have put it to use for more then just games. Once you understand programming concepts you can learn any language!

Lua can be ran on different operating systems like Java.

Where should I start looking to learn Lua?

[url]http://lua-users.org/wiki/TutorialDirectory[/url]

I would recommend you start by [URL="http://www.gamefromscratch.com/post/2011/08/04/I-want-to-be-a-game-developer.aspx"]reading this guide[/URL]. It covers most of the technical details you need to know, with resources, libraries and recommendations for each. Lua is also a good choice. Its an accessible and easy to learn language with only a few bad habits ( 1 based arrays...... ) to unlearn later. It's pretty powerful for being so simple, and is exceptionally easy to integrate into an application later on.