Hello fellow nerds!

I'm a Computer Science major in my second year with a bit of free time. For a few years I have been dabbling in game development and my intrest has only grown. A few years back, on a forum similar to this one, I asked what the best way to go about learning to code (games in particular) and was told to focus on programming basics in general. I've learned a decent bit of Java, C and Python. I understand objects, structures, and have a decent handle on memory allocation as well as Linked Lists. About a week ago I started messing around with concepts for a 2D tile based engine. Not wanting to do everything alone, (I like being able to share what I've done with people who semi understand it) I did it all in C because I have a close friend taking a C class and figured it would be easiest for him to help if it's a language he has a bit of experience with. You can create a grid of any size and move a player around on it. The player has somewhat of an inventory and a weapon with a small amount of damage modifers and such. It's nothing special but it's the first time I've started a project like this from scratch without watching or reading tutorials... Now that you understand my abilites somewhat, my question is this.

If my end goal was to devlop simple games that would possibly be put on a market such as steam or an app store, should I continue with C for the time being or am I wasting my time? I like Java (and from what I've heard the android os incorporates a lot of it) but have heard C# is used with Unity... Is Unity the way to go? Also, any guidance or opinions in general would be awesome. I'm looking for anyone who can relate to where I am capabilites wise, and has grown to have a decent handle of the field. My professors seem to have no intrest in game devlopment, and told me they're unsure of who to talk to... All in all I feel stuck - So here I am! Anyone with more knowledge than me please share opinons and ideas. I enjoy this a hell of a lot and have no problem putting in the hours, I just want to make sure I'm spending them wisely/effincently.

Thanks in advance,

Clobs

I think using the term "end goal" was probably a bit lazy. This is deffinitly not the END goal, but a goal I'd like to achieve. I'd like to get to this point, althought it is by no means the end!

I would suggest you focus on making games, and let the rest take care of itself.

If you are already using C, give SFML a try. You can start with their examples and build from there.

http://www.sfml-dev.org/

Personally, I enjoy learning how things work and doing everything from scratch. If that's not your idea of fun, there's nothing wrong with using one of the popular engines.

Unity is one, and LibGDX is another one.

As far as wasting your time, you are most definitely NOT! Anything you learn in one language can be applied to others, and an experienced programmer can pick up a new language in a couple of weeks. That's just syntax. The hard part is learning how to start with an idea, and finish it, fixing all the problems encountered along the way.

I would suggest you focus on making games, and let the rest take care of itself.

If you are already using C, give SFML a try. You can start with their examples and build from there.

http://www.sfml-dev.org/

Personally, I enjoy learning how things work and doing everything from scratch. If that's not your idea of fun, there's nothing wrong with using one of the popular engines.

Unity is one, and LibGDX is another one.

As far as wasting your time, you are most definitely NOT! Anything you learn in one language can be applied to others, and an experienced programmer can pick up a new language in a couple of weeks. That's just syntax. The hard part is learning how to start with an idea, and finish it, fixing all the problems encountered along the way.

Thanks for the quick reply! I'll be sure to mess with SFML when I escape this library and have a decent chunk of time. I checked out the link in your signature and found immediate interest. Is that site something you're involved in, or a just because kind of thing? I'd like to get my hands on the book it's promoting at some point. Thanks again.

Thanks for the quick reply! I'll be sure to mess with SFML when I escape this library and have a decent chunk of time. I checked out the link in your signature and found immediate interest. Is that site something you're involved in, or a just because kind of thing? I'd like to get my hands on the book it's promoting at some point. Thanks again.

That's my website, and I wrote the book. I feel funny telling anyone here to go buy my book, but if you get there on your own, I don't mind!

I'll be sure to get a copy, and I appreciate an honest answer rather than just trying to make money off me! Have a good evening.

If you are already using C, give SFML a try. You can start with their examples and build from there.

SFML is designed for C++. If you want to stick with C then I'd suggest looking at SDL instead. SFML is similar to SDL but takes advantage of C++ features.

If you are already using C, give SFML a try. You can start with their examples and build from there.

SFML is designed for C++. If you want to stick with C then I'd suggest looking at SDL instead. SFML is similar to SDL but takes advantage of C++ features.

Thanks man. I just setup everything I need on my linux machine for SFML. C++ isn't an issue but I'll take a look at SDL when I get a chance!

If you are already using C, give SFML a try. You can start with their examples and build from there.

SFML is designed for C++. If you want to stick with C then I'd suggest looking at SDL instead. SFML is similar to SDL but takes advantage of C++ features.

I just thought I'd note that sfml does offer official bindings for C, and a lot of "unofficial" community supported bindings.

http://www.sfml-dev.org/download/bindings.php

I also recommend downloading Unity and giving it a try. Since you already have some 2d tiles drawing to the screen in C, I'd say you made it past the initial learning and motivation hurdle. The video tutorials are pretty darn slick and you'll be surprised at how quickly you get something moving on the screen.

- Eck