Hi, im starting a level 2 college course in september on games development and we will be using gamesalad (wanted to join level 3 as you use unity but didnt have some gcse)

Im wondering if gamesalads drag and drop engine would make it easier to learn programming once you get the hang of things? As since i have a tiny bit of exp in programming i can see where gamesalad is pretty similar with how its drag and drop works.

Also with learning programming has anyone used www.codingame.com could you say anything about it, was it good, did it help learn your chosen language etc.

And with this course it will most likely be 2d (i think you can do 3d in gamesalad) so im looking into using gimp or inkscape for the artwork/animation.

Which program do you think would be better to learn for the future, or should you learn both? As in the future i will be looking into dong 3d artwork and will be wanting to try making textures etc.

Thank you to all that help.

If you just want to create games for fun or just wanna give it a try, then using game salad will get you started fast.

But, I would say, if you are serious about game programming and are planning to get a job in future or something like that, then you would better start with learning programming directly.

They say that coding is hard and all that, but its not at all that way.
If you still want to go some easy way, then start with python (its very easy to learn).
You can get this book Head First Programming (it teaches python) or read this free online ebook.

Your college course will definitely benefit you, since, it will build your game development concepts, which will always be helpful even while game programming.

Also with learning programming has anyone used www.codingame.com could you say anything about it, was it good, did it help learn your chosen language etc.

CodinGame is for developing your problem solving skills while developing games. It probably assumes that you have prior programming knowledge and already develop games, so its not very good to start with.

And with this course it will most likely be 2d (i think you can do 3d in gamesalad) so im looking into using gimp or inkscape for the artwork/animation.
Which program do you think would be better to learn for the future, or should you learn both?

Gimp is for pixel based art. Its a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop.
Whereas, Inkspace is for vector based art. Its a free alternative for Adobe Illustrator.

Gimp will probably be easier to start with. But with Inkspace, you will be able to scale your work to whichever size you want (since its vector based).
So, you can learn both.

As in the future i will be looking into dong 3d artwork and will be wanting to try making textures etc.

You can create 2d textures for 3d artwork using them, but you might also need Blender.