Hey everyone.

I'm thinking of getting into game development just to try it out and see what it's like. I've done some research and it seems like a language like C# is a lot better for developing video games than java, although it can still be done in Java. I would probably choose C# in a vacuum, but we're using Java at the university where i'm studying at, so it kinda makes sense to do it in Java, so I can learn more about Java while making simple games.

What would you do? Should i just start C# now and try to learn Java and C# at the same time? Or should I just do it in Java, and then try to learn C# game developing later on? Would it be hard to transition from Java to C#?

Thx in advance

I never looked much at C#, so can't tell you much about how they relate (other than that C# started as a “better Java” in an attempt to grab a piece of the Java market), but obvious there are many websites that are willing to explain the differences and similarities I am sure. The general look and feel isn't that different, but the devil is in the details, as always.

As for your game development question, I'd say just use Java. Basically, you can write everything in all languages, so there isn't much you cannot do due to choice of the programming language. As you master a language and move into making more challenging games, you will find that the programming language is the simplest part of the game development problem ?

There is one caveat in picking a programming language for making games though, and that is use of a game engine. A game engine typically has a small set of supported programming language, eg Unity can be programmed in C#, Unreal can be programmed in C++, and so on. So if you want to make games with a game engine, you either pick a language and then find a game engine that supports that language, or you pick a game engine and then choose one of the languages that it supports.

If you want to make games in Plain Java (ie no game engine) you obviously don't have that problem, but writing games without game engine is (often much) more work as a game engine aims to provide many things you typically need in a game.

Thanks a lot for your answer!

Learning to create games without a game engine will also make you a better programmer and game developer.