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Language selection help for 2D beat em up

Started by Tantalus45 Sep 4, 2012 at 1:01 AM 6 replies 2.7k views

Original Post

Sep 4, 2012 at 1:01 AM

I am an experienced Electronics Engineering technician with a fairly strong background in programming, I took programming classes all through high school and even took a few years of programmer/systems analyst in college before switching to electronics. Recently an old friend of mine from my childhood has looked me up and it seems he has taken a year of programming in college and has an idea for a good 2D beat em up game. We have always dreamed of making video games since we were kids and now that we are both 24+ and have the skills and capacity to actually make our game we have gotten back into working together and have come up with some pretty original and exiting ideas for our game.

The problem is we both use different languages and techniques cause we went to different schools in different countries. I am not experienced with game design as I have only ever made pong or arknoid back in high school. I still have a lot of researching to do. My friend on the other hand seems to know a bit more about the industry. With all that said on to the game stuff.

We plan on making a beat em up style game with a lot of mini games and items. large story lines and areas with live instrument music. we want the graphics to be similar to later m.a.m.e. beat em ups or almost like a super nintendo or GBA style but better. We just dont know what language we should both learn together to start making the game.

many websites say python, or xna with c++. some say c#. I dont want to waste my time learning a language that is way too complicated for our needs. Can anyone point me in the right direction of which languages are best for a metal slug/streets of rage beat em up with a long story? the game is not online mmo or anything like that.

jbadams

Sep 4, 2012 at 1:23 AM

Any language -- and just about every library -- will be suitable for the type of game you've described, so a better approach might be to look at the languages you already know.

So... what languages do you already know, and what languages does your friend already know?

Some commonly suggested options include:

C# with XNA
Python with PyGame
C++ with Allegro, SFML or SDL

Given the relatively simple nature of your game idea, you could also potentially use a solution such as Game Maker or Construct 2, both of which take the majority of the work out of getting the basics up-and-running, allowing you to focus on the specifics of your game.

So... what languages do you already know, and what is your target platform? Do you just want to get this running on PC (I'd recommend it for a first project!), or are you interested in mobile platforms, or do you want a game that runs in a web-browser?

Daaark

Sep 4, 2012 at 1:25 AM

It really does not matter.

Use any language you feel comfortable with. As long as you have a library that can play audio and blit your sprites, you are fine. Everyone will recommend a different language, and everyone will be right, because whatever they are using is working fine for them.

The important part is your content. As long as you have the ability to create all your sprites, backgrounds, and sounds, you'll be fine. If you ever decide to implement it in a new language later, everything will port over fine, as it's all just media player API calls, input polling, and simple AI anyways.

Tantalus45

Sep 4, 2012 at 1:40 AM

Well I started with QBasic and turing learned C# and C++ later in high school and college. I learned .NET, SQL and a few others where as my friend knows java, turing, and a little C++. we both know xhtml. I dont consider myself a great programmer but I am able to learn quickly as Ive made a wide breadth of programs over my lifetime. I will admit I'm no game programmer... yet. But I am great at designing levels and deep stories. My friend is really good at mechanics and how the game will play, and we both can see exactly what the game will look and feel like. I have a musician as a brother who has custom made all the music already and is working on the sounds. We dont have a professional artist yet but are planning to hire one in the next 6-8 months once we get the whole idea on paper in its entirety with a crude storyboard to give the artist a feel for the environment we are looking for we are going to have interviews.

thanks for all the info guys if you have any other tips please let me know I appreciate everything. I've been doing electronics for so long im like out of the loop. its been about 6 years since i sat down and wrote any code freelance. Its really fun to get back into it after so long.

Tantalus45

Sep 4, 2012 at 1:44 AM

and what is your target platform? Do you just want to get this running on PC (I'd recommend it for a first project!), or are you interested in mobile platforms, or do you want a game that runs in a web-browser?

yeah we will probably have it on PC to start. eventually we would like to get it on some sort of console or handheld device i guess.

jbadams

Sep 4, 2012 at 1:55 AM

Based on what you already know and your goals I would suggest C# and XNA, for the following reasons:

C# is quite similar to Java, so your friend should have relatively little trouble adapting. You already know the language, so you'll just be refreshing rather than learning from scratch.
They're popular, and therefore have plenty of documentation, resources, and help available.
C# is generally considered to be a bit more beginner friendly than C++.
XNA games can be deployed to the XBox 360 and Windows Phone as well as PC, and the open-sourced alternative MonoGame is making good progress towards hopefully allowing targeting of other platforms including Linux, Mac OS X, iOS and Android.

If you wanted an alternative, you might try Java, which your friend already knows and you could pick up relatively easily given your C# knowledge, and would allow you to later target Android phones. You would probably look at something like Slick2d as a library for use with Java.

Honestly, just about any language will do, but I would recommend C# given the specifics of your situation.

Tantalus45

Sep 4, 2012 at 2:20 AM

thanks ill look into this stuff for a few days and if i have any more questions ill check back with the site. Super helpful community thanks guys!

t-boy

Sep 4, 2012 at 4:34 PM

Hi Tantalus45,

Have you considered downloading a copy of BlitzPlus, goto: http://www.blitzbasic.com/Products/_index_.php

It shouldn't take you and your friend long to learn, so your productivity could be increased, it's free for a limited time.

see what you think.

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