I'm planning on making a game but I was just wondering Which language would be best for a 2D Rpg Game and which languages are recommended to learn. Eg: C++,C#,Java,VB.Net..etc. +why? +what for? Is more than one language required to make a decent 2d rpg game with levels? Which would be the best and the most useful to learn?
I'm Very New to this forum but I do have a lot of programming experience but i'm planning on learning more on the language required to learn for game. Since I have been programming hacks in C++ and VB.Net and AS2, I know about how games are formed and how they can be interrupted. Can the languages i already know be used for the creation of my game? And what parts of the language do I have to mainly focus on?


(note: My friend got me into creating a game with him)

This post has been edited by Proz360: 12 Jun, 2009 - 11:19 AM

Hi there

A 2D RPG could be made in a lot of languages, it all depends on what you want from it.

I personally would recommend C++ with a library such as SDL or Allegro, this might not be the easiest route but it will put you in great stead for future projects and give you the freedom you need.

That said there are easier ways to create something like this such as the XNA Framework or even Java (actually not that easy).

Using SDL will give you cross platform capabilities relatively easily if thats something that interests you.

I agree with staycrisp. C++ is a good choice. I'm currently developing one in C#/XNA. Either would work. Don't know that much about Java, so I can't say to that.

Any will get the job done. C++ is more challenging than those other languages but is pretty much the industry standard and learning this will make other c related languages easier to learn in the future. Good choice if you want to be a career programmer.

C# has XNA and even an RPG template you can play with. You'll get into the meat of game development faster and it's good for getting projects up and running quickly. Also, you can release it under xbox's community games and make a bit of money. It's easier to learn than C++ but the big disadvantage is your limited to PC and Xbox platforms.

Java is easier to learn than C++, it's similiar to C#, and can be used on just about any platform. I don't know what kind of support there is for those kind of games as far as tutorials, etc. goes. I've only had about 2 lessons in this language :-P Stanford's free online computer science intro course uses Java though and is an excellent place to start. You learn game programming basics too with an invaders and breakout game (at least that's what I see from looking ahead in the textbook).

http://see.stanford.edu/see/courses.aspx

which is better c++ or java? And why? Pros And Cons ?

If you read through the other posts your question has been answered already, neither is better its up to you, C++ is the industry standard yet I'm guessing you aren't in the industry so you can take your pick.

I personally would say C++ yet I'm sure there are people here who would say Java, neither is better, each one is good in there own way.

Like staycrisp said, when it comes to programming languages there is no better +1. If you have worked with both, which do you like better, that will answer your question. Each is quite capable of doing the job. It is a matter of preference.

i'll assume you're asking which is easier. consider that putting text on the screen in games will require tricky parameter passing and setting up bitmaps, or if u use SDL, truetype i think its called. java's libraries for that stuff would probably be simpler for u because class pointers arent abundant in it. the class usage is fairly straight forward rather than C where there are numerous ways to make objects

i'm still deciding on if i should use c++ or java but if i do decide to use c++ which library should i be using? SDL or Allegro or DirectX or OpenGL? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

And also What's the disadvanatage of using XNA Framework instead of C++?

C++, with SDL and OpenGL will be cross-platform. DirectX is Windows only, not really a problem if you are developing for Windows only. I haven't used Allegro so I can't say about that.

C#/XNA are good tools to use to create a game and I use it almost exclusively. It is a great help in learning how to program games. With a membership in the XNA creators club, and an XBOX 360, you can write games for the XBOX. You can also write games for the Zune with out restriction.

There are a few disadvantages. For one, the target computer has to have Vertex/Pixel Shader 1.1 or better. This is not a big problem in developed countries where people can get the latest and greatest technology with out a problem. In developing countries these cards can be expensive and hard to find, keeping your game out of the reach of some. So, this isn't really a big disadvantage.

Another is, it is in managed code and requires the .NET framework, in particular version 3.5. There are programs, like Reflector, that can allow others to see your code. This can be hard to work around. A C++ program will of course run faster, because it is native code. This may not be a big issue in a 2D game.

Lol. I still remember when I started programming in VB.Net, people started viewing my sources with .Net reflectors/Decompilers. then leeching my work. I got really pissed. Good times Same goes for AS2 untill i found out about encrypting my work*

Anyways, I heard Allegro is cross-platform as well. Even though i have no clue what it means... I was thinking of using allegro but i don't really get how to install it. Can someone help?
@SixOfEleven Your Description of the libraries + the Advantages and Disadvantages of them are Very specific and well explained....It was Very USEFUL pfft

One thing i noticed about this site is that noone really Insults anyone or complain about people. like a "bitch". I like this community. Much Better then the community i was with before.

This post has been edited by Proz360: 17 Jun, 2009 - 08:32 PM

Cross platform means that your game will be able to run on Windows, Mac or Linux machines with very little or no change to your code. If you are developing using Windows there are some libraries that are not available on the other platforms. (Just woke up so can't think of one at the moment.)

@Proz360
Why did you give me ?

So the only difference from those libraries are that some are cross-platform and some are not? I started learning allegro.... but can someone seriously help me install it on to my compiler? Also.. can someone recommend me a Good compiler?


@SixOfEleven
C++, with SDL and OpenGL will be cross-platform. DirectX is Windows only <=== 2 short sentences

If you are devloping for Windows, the best free compiler you can use is Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition compiler. It is almost the same as Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition. There is no support for MFC, ATL and a few other things. You can find it at http://www.microsoft.com/express

I didn't go too much in depth on C++ because I haven't used SDL much or OpenGL at all. SDL is a library of functions that makes programming a game easier, especially in Windows. Windows programming uses the Win32 API. If you look at it, it takes a lot of time to even set up a Window to work in. You have to create a window class, set up a procedure to respond to events, etc. Creating a Window with SDL is easy. There is even support for using DirectX.

DirectX is Windows graphics SDK. The most used part will be Direct3D. There is also a support library Direct3DX that has a few helper classes to work with, such as class for drawing sprites.