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Narrrz Jul 3, 2023

What programming language would be the best to learn to develop a game from scratch?

I have very limited background in programming. I quite want to develop the game myself, or with only minimal help. Is there one language that is better than others for game development, or is more versatile?

https://kbin.social/m/nostupidquestion[email protected]/t/130937

What programming language would be the best to learn to develop a game from scratch? - nostupidquestions - kbin.social

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wagesj45 Jul 3, 2023

I'd highly recommend you start with a game engine like Godot. Very few studios, let alone individuals, code games from the ground up. Besides having lots of functions and libraries specifically designed to do the math required for games, these engines will have lots of tools that will be useful for performing all kinds of game-related work.

If you're looking for a true challenge and really hate yourself, and you really want to go from scratch, you could write your own engine in C or C++. Again, this is a Bad Idea™.

Godot Engine - Free and open source 2D and 3D game engine

Godot provides a huge set of common tools, so you can just focus on making your game without reinventing the wheel.

Godot Engine

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Calcharger Jul 3, 2023

How is Godot compared to Unity?

I'm on my language journey, and I've made stuff in Python, and I've also got some work in javascript and html. Eventually I'd like to learn C# as my main, working language so that I can make efficient windows apps and maybe hopefully create a game in Unity.

But if Godot is strong and it takes (practically) python, maybe I'll give that a go.

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ATwig Jul 3, 2023

Honestly the biggest issue you're gonna run into when swapping into C# (or Java) is how truly object oriented they are.

Yes python has objects but it's not the same.

Personally I'd recommend starting with pure Java first and doing the basics like Pong, pinball, whack-a-mole before migrating fully into C# then try to add Unity.

Java is a lot easier to compile and you'll get to skip all the annoying C based compiler problems you'll get with C#

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Calcharger Jul 3, 2023

Thanks for the tips! Is it really that difficult to go straight to C#? I just don't see myself using Java in any of my own projects

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ATwig

(Sorry for the delayed response!)

That's a good question that I find a lot of newer programs ask. The short answer is yes because the Java runtime environment abstracts out all of the platform specific things you'll have to be aware of in C# to some extent. Long answer is you can probably figure it out with some extra struggle that's going to be C# specific.

I fully understand that Java is not supported in Unity and that you will probably not use Java once you figure that out however, Java is still useful as a learning tool. I think that people focus on specific language too much (ie c# vs java) when in reality they are 99% the same. I think it's more important to learn the data structure and logic behind object oriented programming over the specific nuances of a language. When to use an if/else vs a switch. When to for vs foreach. Abstract classes vs interfaces. These things are all the same amongst all object oriented languages and are the real things you should be focused on. Once you figure out how to do it on one language it's a 30 second Google to look up the key words for whatever language you want to swap to.

So in summary use Java for it's ease of compiling to learn (and there's a lot of good java tutorials online for this) then be amazed when you swap to C# and how much worse the compiler is lol.

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Calcharger Jul 10, 2023

Thanks for the response!

My main desire towards C# is that i'm 100% a microsoft guy. I've always used Windows OS. I've tinkered with MacOS and Linux but I just, I cut my teeth from when I was a child to well in adulthood with Microsoft and it just feels like a natural fit for me. So I'd like to have as my main language be the #1 supported language by Microsoft because I want to make Microsoft applications. I wouldn't necessarily call it a fanboy thing, it's just a comfort thing. I know my way around the OS like riding a bicycle