A basic understanding.

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Original post by AtticusBixby 1)What is the most common language used to program modern games? 2)What are some good reads that I could get insight into these languages? 3)What are the chances of getting a job in the industry with no college? 3)What would be the first step to getting into this whole mess? Once again, Thank you!

1) C\C++
2) C++ primer plus
3A) Better than becoming a doctor worse than becoming a fast food jockey.(Edit: it used to not be a big deal that seems to have changed how far it has changed really depends on the company)
3B) Learn something/ make a mod.

3A) Depends on your geographical location and one your willingness to move to where the jobs are. Then, it depends on how saturated the market is with developers. A college degree helps at that point, as well as relevant experience in the field (or programming).

Haha, thank you very much for getting 3A and 3B. My mistake, really.

Also, what age do most programmers start? Im sure you can start any time and learn languages and such, but do most start earlier in life than I am planning now at 19?

I can't imagine anyone posting that they went to college to start a racket, get some cheese, play with the toys there and ended up over seas with a poorly Xeroxed degree that never got checked because of a language barrier..but it happens, I think they're refered to as "professional students"?

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Original post by AtticusBixby Also, what age do most programmers start? Im sure you can start any time and learn languages and such, but do most start earlier in life than I am planning now at 19?

I started at 18.

Game Maker as a tool does not produce crap. That is dependent on the developer using the tool. AM2R and Iji were made in Game Maker and are definitely not crap.

Starting as a beginner with C++ is not a great choice and it is recommended that higher level languages such as Python and C#. If you want to do something more applicable with Consoles then using C# with XNA would be perfect as it allows you to develop games for the 360 using a good high level language.

I bought a "game programming starter kit" when I was ~11, and I'll be 22 in a couple of weeks. I'm fortunate to have started so early.

In your case, it should be a non-issue, because the only options you have now are to start right away, wait longer, or drop the idea completely. As a matter of fact, I think my childhood enthusiasm is atypical, comparatively. There are plenty of people in my school who did not start programming until they took a class in college.

A better question might be: "How do I make up for lost time so that I can get caught up quickly?"

And I'd respond by saying that there is no way to learn quickly. However, it is definitely possible to learn faster than normal. To do that, you'll have to devote the majority of your free time to learning, programming, and reading. On top of that, work intensely, and choose the path of "least resistance."

Let me describe a scenario and pose a question:
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Two students are trying to learn how to program, and they decide to buy a book to help them in their pursuit. One picks a generic book that has no advantage over another. The other asks his professor to tell him which books are of the highest quality, and he is fortunate enough to receive good advice.

All other aspects being equal, who will learn more quickly and gain a better understanding of the material? The student who uses the better book.
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Simply choosing a good book might seem trivial, but it is not. Small changes early on have amplified affects as time progresses, just as finding a problem with a system's requirements document will have an exponential cost if discovered in the maintenance phase (you'll learn about this in a software engineering class). Along the same lines, there are many "small" decisions that can affect the quality of your progress. Try to improve your overall learning abilities, and do no forget to eat well, exercise, and read. Find a friend who knows how to program, and tell him that you'd like to set up a subversion server so that both of you can do a project together. If you don't know what subversion is, research it and post on gamedev with your questions.

The point is, you should follow Vince Lombardi's advice, "Perfect practice makes perfect." Whether or not someone can practice perfectly is debatable, but there are definitely some choices that are better than others. If you're aware of this, then you might have an advantage over those who started young.

Oh, and start small.

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Original post by AtticusBixby I have decided, one year after graduating highschool, that it is what I want to do. Game design and development

That is rather shoddy timing. Why are you not in college already? Do you want to do design (tends towards level building and event scripting at most studios) or development (programming)?

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1)What is the most common language used to program modern games?

If you only consider games at GameStop, it's probably some subset of C++. If you include web or cell phone games, it's a bit more varied. Either way, that is not a good question if you don't know anything about gamedev.

If you want to go into development, you'll need to learn how to program. You can do that with any language, and it translates to other languages pretty well. C++ though is not a good language to learn with (why it is terrible is a lengthy matter, discussed at length in many threads).

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2)What are some good reads that I could get insight into these languages?

A number of the threads here about this vs that are... insightful though a bit biased due to personal favoritism. Something like wikipedia tends to have a more even approach, but perhaps provides less... texture to the arguments.

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3)What are the chances of getting a job in the industry with no college?

Worse than if you did. More importantly, how long will it take you to learn enough to be employable on your own vs college?

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4)What would be the first step to getting into this whole mess?

Without more information about your background, I can't say.

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Original post by yaustar Quote: Original post by AtticusBixby Also, what age do most programmers start? Im sure you can start any time and learn languages and such, but do most start earlier in life than I am planning now at 19? I started at 18. Game Maker as a tool does not produce crap. That is dependent on the developer using the tool. AM2R and Iji were made in Game Maker and are definitely not crap. Starting as a beginner with C++ is not a great choice and it is recommended that higher level languages such as Python and C#. If you want to do something more applicable with Consoles then using C# with XNA would be perfect as it allows you to develop games for the 360 using a good high level language.

Just curious, what do ya think of the blender game engine/physics engine for beginners? I got a couple books on it and been reading but haven't actually got around to using it much..

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Original post by jhypsyshahJust curious, what do ya think of the blender game engine/physics engine for beginners? I got a couple books on it and been reading but haven't actually got around to using it much..

I personally haven't used Blender as an engine but always found the interface for the modelling side a little confusing.

Personally, I would start off with something more approachable such as Game Maker. I started with a copy of Games Factory.

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Original post by yaustar Quote: Original post by jhypsyshahJust curious, what do ya think of the blender game engine/physics engine for beginners? I got a couple books on it and been reading but haven't actually got around to using it much.. I personally haven't used Blender as an engine but always found the interface for the modelling side a little confusing. Personally, I would start off with something more approachable such as Game Maker. I started with a copy of Games Factory.

I find modelling in it confusing as well..

*spins a cube around frantically*

..ironically the book I have on the game engine looks awesome..I've imported some stuff into it. Thought something like vehichles would be easier to work with than characters, but it's more unpracticed theory for me at the moment..