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Best platforms to start game dev

Started by gamedevbeginner Apr 29, 2012 at 3:23 AM 4 replies 2.6k views

Original Post

Apr 29, 2012 at 3:23 AM

I am a C# and Java software developer who wants to start game development as a hobby. I have an idea for a simple puzzle game. What platform is the best for a beginner in game development, but not programming itself? In the past it was only PCs, but now we have smartphones, tablet, consoles etc. I see many popular games are on several platforms, but how do you know which platform to choose first?

AdrianC

Apr 29, 2012 at 4:37 AM

Well if you go with Unity you can deploy to both PC and mobile. Programming is in C#.

Serapth

Apr 29, 2012 at 1:35 PM

PC is still the easiest platform.

raphaelvanier@videotron.ca

Apr 30, 2012 at 1:45 AM

I second that, PC is easiest. If you're programming with C#, go with SharpGL:

http://sharpgl.codeplex.com/

jbadams

Apr 30, 2012 at 6:56 AM

I'd agree with the above users: PC is a good choice for a beginning game programmer, whether they have prior non-games-programming experience or not, unless they happen to have a lot of non-games experience with a popular alternative platform; someone experienced in making business apps for iPhone might choose to also develop games for that platform for example.

Why PC?

There are lots of really good tools, and lots of resources for learning how to use them. This isn't always true of other platforms.
There are lots of examples and tutorials for PC development that just work -- no messing around porting the ideas to your choice of platform.
There's a huge choice of useful libraries to make life easier for you -- many other platforms might not have so many available, or might require additional work to get them working.
It's simple to develop and test on the same machine, allowing for a quick feedback cycle.

Even with your prior programming experience, I would suggest at least one game for Windows PC before considering other platforms; this will allow you to focus on the particulars of developing a game without any additional headaches that targeting another platform can sometimes introduce.

Hope that's helpful!

Ronnie Mado Solbakken

May 1, 2012 at 10:38 AM

Hey is the SharpGL to C# as JVM is to Java? Sorry, focused on Java atm won't be looking into the Cs until latorz.

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