This is so newbie question...

[gamaliel]

just wanna ask...if how can i create a game? in wat platform? is it only on C++? or i can use other platforms??:$

[Sodabread]

You can use most any language anymore to create a game. The most popular ones I see right now are C#, C++, Java and Python.

[gamaliel]

ahhh i see.. but which one of those is the easiest or the hardest to use?

[SgtMe]

It depends what you want to do. If you just want to start making basic 2D games, then you would want to learn C++ and Allegro.
http://www.cppgameprogramming.com/cgi/nav.cgi?page=index
(Double click anywhere on the site to bring up a menu).
Start with the C++ tutorials and make some demo programs, then move on to using allegro to make games.

If you want to make more advanced games with C++, you will have to use DirectX or OpenGL, or one of the many game engines. However, this is entirely different from allegro and is a steep learning curve.

If you want to make fairly advanced 2D games, you should use Python with PyGame. PyGame is like allegro, but it also contains functionality for music and sounds, video etc.

If you want to progress further than that with PyGame, you can start using PyOpenGL (the python binding for OpenGL). This works through PyGame, so you are building on your existing knowledge. PyOpenGL is a fair bit easier than C++ with OpenGL, though it isn't as well documented and there are less tutorials.

It depends which way you want to go:
C++ and Allegro
Python and PyGame

My advice is to watch a tutorial for Allegro, then one for OpenGL (C++), then one for PyGame, then one for PyOpenGL.

[gamaliel]

hmmm i think i wanna try both... but how or where can i download C++ and Python?

[gamaliel]

i have visual C++ is this fine?

[Sodabread]

For the easiest way to get up and running, I would actually suggest using C# and the XNA framework.

See this site for the XNA Game Studio: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=9ac86eca-206f-4274-97f2-ef6c8b1f478f

MS has put out a lot of tutorials on how to do the basics for both 2D and 3D games using that framework. As much as I love C++ and I'd rather develop in that than any language, I can't say enough about the ease with getting stuff up and running with XNA.

[SgtMe]

Here's the stuff you need for C++ with Allegro (you won't be able to do OpenGL yet, trust me). These are downloads and a couple of tutorial links. Go on them in order.

http://prdownload.berlios.de/codeblocks/codeblocks-10.05mingw-setup.exe
http://sourceforge.net/projects/alleg/files/allegro/4.4.0.1/allegro-4.4.0.1.zip/download
http://wiki.allegro.cc/index.php?title=Code::Blocks (GO TO STEP 2!!!)
http://www.cppgameprogramming.com/cgi/nav.cgi?page=index

And here is the stuff you need for Python and PyGame. Again, follow in order:
http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.6.6/python-2.6.6.msi
http://pygame.org/ftp/pygame-1.9.1.win32-py2.6.msi
http://docs.python.org/tutorial/
http://www.pygame.org/docs/ (LOOK AT THE TUTORIAL LIST!!!)

If you want to easily make an awesome game, then go onto www.yoyogames.com and download Game Maker 8.0 Lite Edition. This free game creation package has a simple drag-and-drop system, so you can create your own game using no code at all! It also has the ability to use code in GML (game maker language).
Did I mention that this was FREE! [If you wish to purchase the pro edition, then do so and you will be able to create multi-player, online, and even 3D games!]

[SgtMe]

Yeah, but it's very limited. Your best off starting with simple game programming like C++ and Allegro. Nobodies gonna stick with GameMaker their whole life, so you may as well start programming now ;)

[Sudo Bash]

If/when you learn c++ try using SDL if you want to make a 2-D graphical game. It has some excellent tutorials at http://www.lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/

SDL is cross platform and can be used with many different programing languages.

If you want to start programing I would start with some form of BASIC to see how programing works and then progress to C++, java, or python.

Good luck! :)