what is the best way to start as a gamedeveloper and/or designer?

The best way is to start making a simple game asap. Start small, and start simple. Also check out the FAQ for this site which contains lots of useful advice.

If you get stuck, you're in the right place to ask!

Good luck!

what is the best?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women.

what is the best?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women.

Yaaaa! Conan spoke!

what is the best?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women.

This might be the single greatest thing I have seen on these forums. And on a more focused note a good place to start would be to decide exactly what kind of developer you want to be (programmer, art, music & SFX, design, etc). I know you mentioned designer above, but you might want to put a little more thought into it. Choose whichever role best fits your current skillsets. If you have no skills at the moment then do not fret. Do some Googling and read about each position. From there pick whichever one you like the most. Once you have got that out of the way do as much in depth research on the chosen role as humanly possible. Read articles about them, find lessons online, and begin to act upon that knowledge. If there are any local game studios then you might want to get in contact with them and try to get a feel for how the professionals go about their job. So pretty much be a sponge. Soak up any and all relevant information, then once you feel you've learned enough start applying that information to real world game development. Hope this helps you.

The best way is to start making a simple game asap. Start small, and start simple. Also check out the FAQ for this site which contains lots of useful advice.

If you get stuck, you're in the right place to ask!

Good luck!

This! Unity recently teamed up with the crew from Extra Credits to make this short video series on making your first game. I have found this series (especially video #3: "How to Scope Small and Start Right") to be very helpful and inspiring for myself and others that are trying to get their feet wet with game development and design.

The best way is to begin learning every aspect of game development such as rendering, physics, design, etc. Make sure you are applying this knowledge to making a game as well because it can become discouraging if you do not see any progress(I have been there). I suggest you begin with a game engine(Unity and Unreal Engine 4 are both free) to get a feel of what game development is like. There are numerous tutorials online to help with making your first game.

what is the best?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women.