[jonnimark]

Do you think that programming simple games would be a fun and good way to learn java programming?

[farrell2k]

NO!!!! Game programming is HARD! You're going to become confused very quickly, then you will lose motivation. It's a lesson I am now just recovering from. The best way to learn Java is to force yourself to learn the boring stuff, then you should move to game programming.

[macosxnerd101]

It depends on what you define as "simple." I think students should have a solid handle on loops, Strings, and arrays before writing games. And at that point, the games should be limited to console or JOptionPane versions of things like rock-paper-scissors, number guessing games, etc. Games like Tetris, Asteroids, etc., are too complex, though these are the games everyone wants to jump into.

[ILoveJava]

As Mac stated above, if you have a decent grasp on the basics, programming simple games can be a breeze, and can be a good way to learn. Or you could just go out and buy a book on Java (I'd suggest buying Core Java I & II) and just progressing with examples they have in their. Just don't do what most people do, and jump into bigger games, getting extremely frustrated when they don't compile/run properly, and giving up on Java completely, start small, and then progress big.

[pbl]

No. Starting to learn basic stuff like Collection frame work is a better idea. And difficult to integrate into a game

[Gungnir]

Designing games is a great way to practice and implement the skills that you learn whilst studying Java.

The caliber of game that you'll be able to produce correlates directly to your level of proficiency in the Java language.

Gaming is a project, and Java is your tools. You need some tools before you can get started on the actual work.

[v0rtex]

No, I do not think that starting out Java with game programming is advisable, but that does hinge on if you have any other experience in programming. If you have done C++ for example and have a good handle on the basics like variables, loops, decision structures, arrays etc... Then I think that making a very simple game like a number guessing game or the like.

On the other hand, if you are completely new to programming and have not even gone through the basics before, then I reckon stick with the basic examples and preferably buy a book on Java programming.

[TheCoderNextDoor]

Like most others have said, I would say no. But it sort of depends on what kind of game you want to make, for example if you want to make a game like MineCraft, then definitely no, but easy simple text games or displaying a little login screen with a few buttons is easy to understand whilst learning Java. You should really just get through all of the boring crap and then get into graphics.