generic question about game programming

[casper_wang]

Hello all, my first post on these boards.

I have spent the last few hours reading this section of the boards and I have noticed many new to programming people ask the same question:
What language should I use, where should I start, what should I learn, etc etc.

All beit those are generic questions with no real single answer, however it is the answers I found that brought a question to my mind that I would like some of the more expeirenced game programmers to think about and answer:

Most of the replies I read told the op they should learn c/c++, a few other languages were mentioned.

Is it that c/c++ are the older language and more widely used?

My question:
Is there any specific reasoning one would not recomend vb or more specific to my needs Delphi using DelphiX to design games?
I have been playing with Delphi for about 2 years now (I find it much better than vb) and it uses Pascal as the base language (making it close to c++ in coding)
Is it lack of information on the web about Delphi that it is not mentioned on the more prominent websites dealing with game platforms or game design?
Should I move out of Delphi and start learning another language (although knowing more languages is not a bad thing)
I can do simple games but am looking to get more complex by creating a multiplayer game allowing users to connect to a single databse hosting the game engine/rules engine, while the users hold the graphics, sounds, locally.
Would I be better switching languages?
I am currious as if I should switch I would like to do it now before I dive into this game developement and just become frustrated and give up on what seems to be a fun hobby and career for some.
thank you for your time and hope to see some real support and not trolls as I have seen on other forums.

[Narue]

>Is there any specific reasoning one would not recomend vb or
>more specific to my needs Delphi using DelphiX to design games?
Most of the questions are far too general to recommend anything but the most common and widely used languages. Due to their saturation of the field and the fact that many modern languages are based off of them, C and C++ are pretty much required if you want to be a professional game programmer and still remain competitive. Whether you actually use them depends on the games you intend to write.

>Should I move out of Delphi and start learning another language
I always recommend a firm background in C, period. I also recommend at least rudimentary assembly experience. Beyond that, learn what interests you and what you think you'll end up using.

>Would I be better switching languages?
If you aren't in a position to objectively compare the languages for your needs, you would be better off not switching.

[casper_wang]

not sure what you mean by "in a position to objectively compare the languages for your needs"

mainly asking since both delphi and c are products of borland.

Delphi is a pascal based language "much like c"
I do have a copy of borland c, played around with it and found the Delphi GUI more user friendly and simplified to code in... I would be happy to take up c as well but if the 2 are capable of doing basically the same thing.
Don't understand why there isn't much help in the way of game code for Delphi as there is for c.
But I do understand your point " it is the older generation, and some people don't like to change esp when the current language (c/c++) has been proven successful.
Thank you for your response.

[Narue]

>not sure what you mean by "in a position to objectively
>compare the languages for your needs"
Basically, if you don't know both languages well enough to choose the right one for what you're doing.

>mainly asking since both delphi and c are products of borland.
Delphi is specifically a Borland product. C is an internationally standardized language with many implementations, one of them being a Borland product. If you don't like Borland's IDE for C, you can choose among the others. A bunch of them are free.

>I would be happy to take up c as well but if the
>2 are capable of doing basically the same thing.
Put simply, C can do everything Delphi can and a great deal more because it's not restricted to a single platform (unless you count Kylix, which I would not).

>Don't understand why there isn't much help in the
>way of game code for Delphi as there is for c.
I don't understand how you missed the masses of links to help on google.

>But I do understand your point " it is the older generation, and some people don't
>like to change esp when the current language (c/c++) has been proven successful.
It's nice you understand, but that wasn't my point at all.

[casper_wang]

oh no no, dont misunderstand my intent. I have done massive seaches for Delphi game programing and have found many myself, in fact I use many of them but they are however limited (meaning there really is no major source of information such that c and c++ have)
My question here is why hasnt Delphi been mentioned here as a language to learn for coding games, you answered that in your first post
"Most of the questions are far too general to recommend anything but the most common and widely used languages. Due to their saturation of the field and the fact that many modern languages are based off of them"

In this particular section everyone is being pointed to c and c++ I am simply adding in that Delphi and VB are capable of doing games, but was not sure if the reasoning for not mentioning them was due to lack of help (in this particular forum), or if c/c++ were the better choice.

Maybe I did not make it clear I was refering to DaniWeb>game development section of the internet.

my original question "Is there any specific reasoning one would not recomend vb or more specific to my needs Delphi using DelphiX to design games?"

you have answered and in a way that is understood, unless I am still missing your point - that one is more widley used and therfore more widley accepted.

[Narue]

>I am simply adding in that Delphi and VB are capable of doing games
Any language can be used to make games. Any language that has access to a graphics API can write graphical games. This doesn't make all of those languages well suited to making games.

>but was not sure if the reasoning for not mentioning them was due to
>lack of help (in this particular forum), or if c/c++ were the better choice.
It's the latter. Invariably, the people asking about writing games aren't thinking about Flash games or simple Java applets. They're thinking about World of Warcraft, Halo, or something along those lines. And for those type of games C, C++, and assembly are the kings both in common use and prerequisite knowledge.

[casper_wang]

"Invariably, the people asking about writing games aren't thinking about Flash games or simple Java applets. They're thinking about World of Warcraft, Halo, or something along those lines. And for those type of games C, C++, and assembly are the kings both in common use and prerequisite knowledge."

thank you, thats about as clear an answer one could ask for :)