massively multiplayer question

[Chadman]

hi all-

i'm not yet a computer programmer but i want to be soon, so i can make a massively multiplayer online computer game.

i was wondering what computer language would be best to learn for this, or indeed if i would need to learn more than one language...

the game would need to be very secure so people can't hack into it, but also flexible so that people can make their own items (from templates).

it would be 2 dimensional and in real time.

i suppose a more important question is: would i be able to do this all by myself? from scratch will it take months or years to learn a language and programme an online game?

thanks for any help or replies

-chadman

[Narue]

>i'm not yet a computer programmer but i want to be soon
Okay, be sure to start small and work your way up to what you want to do. Most people jump into programming and expect to write the next killer app after a few months of learning. Then they quit because programming "isn't what they expected".

>if i would need to learn more than one language...
More than one, and a few APIs too. C and C++ would be good all around languages to learn. You probably want a scripting language or two under your belt, such as Perl and Python. Some people swear up and down that you don't need it, but a strong foundation in assembly is critical for a game developer.

>the game would need to be very secure so people can't hack into it,
>but also flexible so that people can make their own items (from templates).
By its very nature, security places restrictions on software. That means that security and flexibility are often mutually exclusive.

>would i be able to do this all by myself?
Unlikely.

>from scratch will it take months or years to learn a language and programme an online game?
If you're doing it all by yourself, it could be well over a decade. Of course, the complexity of the game is a big factor in how long it will take, but consider that a team of about 15-20 developers could take three or more years to create a reasonably complex MMO. And then you have to factor in other aspects of the game such as sound and art, all of which are a discipline in their own right that could take as long to learn as programming.

I'd recommend that you start simpler to get a feel for the problems involved. A MUD is text based and can be created by a single programmer in a reasonable amount of time while still introducing many of the problems faced by an MMO developer.

[Chadman]

heh- thanks for your help and the reality check... starting off small seems a much better idea.

first i'll try to learn C and see what it's capable of, give me a feel of what programming's like- and then i can ask more specific questions.

cheers