[blogwhodle]

sparkart, on 11 December 2011 - 04:25 AM, said:

Learn C#.

Windows Phone 7
XNA
Unity3D
Playstation Suite

For iOS and Android you could also use ExEn with XNA.

...just to name a few.

C# Rules!!!!
Microsoft's XNA Framework is the ultimate framework for game production. But it is only accessible in C#. Windows Phone, PC, XBox... all covered in XNA. C# Is also much simpler than C++, that's why I use it. However, If you don't know C# and want to learn it, you should try Console and WinForms before Games, because Games are one of the more advanced things in C#.

This post has been edited by blogwhodle: 19 January 2012 - 06:34 PM

[Serapth]

Regashi, on 20 January 2012 - 01:30 AM, said:

I think "time wasted" was the wrong thing to say. I think "time misused" would have been better, in my only probably. Im only going on facts i know, so i appreciate someone with 15 years experience correcting me on this. I just though most of the game industry's standards where mainly C++ based. But like i said im just going on the facts i have been told, so thanks.

For clarity, what you have heard is very much not wrong.


If you work in the industry, there is a 90+% chance you will be required "to know" C++. This isn't say that you will actually be working in C++, you probably won't. But if you wan't a job, learning C++ is very much a good idea for you.


Increasingly, C++ is used by less and less people within a development team, but it is still pretty much the underpinning language at pretty much every single triple A studio. That doesn't mean they use exclusively C++, almost nobody does these days ( and if they do, that should be a red flag of sorts! ), but they use C++ and thus put it as a requirement for employment. Take for example Firaxis, the makers of Civilizations. Their engine is coded in C++, while I believe the majority of their game logic is actually coded in Python. That said, if you want a job there out of school, they no doubt are going to ask for C++ experience, then put you to work doing non-C++ work.

So, why the hell is this? Well frankly, for good or ill, stupid or otherwise, C++ is the lingua franca of professional AAA game programming. On the other hand, a day 0 coder know shit... they've been exposed to C++, but don't know it. Obviously this is an area where Butch and I disagree.



Now though, on the topic of learning, C++ is a horrid choice, and nicely Firaxis agrees. If you want to get a job in the games industry, it is something you are going to have to learn eventually, but it is not an efficient way to learn. I will let them explain it, they've done a good job.

Their summary is exactly what i've been saying:

Quote

And while you're in college, you should be applying what you've learned to make your own games. Making your own game is the best way to impress a potential employer if you want to work in the industry, and it's an excellent way to put what you've just learned into practice. Working on a mod is a good way to show off your skills, but make sure you can identify your contribution to the project.

Once you've learned to program well, you'll find the question "what programming language do I need to know" doesn't matter as much as having a solid understanding of programming fundamentals.

This post has been edited by Serapth: 19 January 2012 - 07:09 PM
Reason for edit:: They're is not their...