Member Avatar for Dedrus

Hey guys :D

I want some opinions on a few queries I have. Some background info: I'm adept at programming in VB, C++ and somewhat less experienced with Java and C#; considerably experienced in 2D graphical design; and I'm studying a minor course in game design and also game development.
I've had a huge dream to produce games ever since I was eight and ten years later, I feel as if now is the time to pursue it.

My first question is:
what would be the most appropriate programming language to use for a single-player roleplaying game with a 2D graphics engine, for the PC? Similar to the style of the SNES-era Final Fantasy games (top-down view - but higher resolution and more modern art).

Secondly:
what if I decide to use the above idea, but include multiplayer aspects to it? If I was planning on making a large MMORPG-style multiplayer, or just a simple "connect into a friend's game" kind of multiplayer, for example.

Finally:
if I want to make my games for the PC, Android, iPhone and Xbox Arcade, what languages would allow the easiest portability? I've no issue with manually porting the program if necessary, but I'm assuming that some languages are similar to others.


Unfortunately, my courses which I'm studying are not very practical experience for this level of development, so I'm sorry if I'm misinformed with some of my opinions.

Sorry that its a weighty post, but thank you for reading and any reply is welcomed :)

Edited by Dedrus because: Extra information!
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Member Avatar for deviantghost

I'm not pro at programming but here is what i would do. I would find a game engine that mainly does 2d and then find out what programming language it uses and then create my game from there.
here is a link to a website that gives you a list of game engines some are 2d others are 3d and some are free. It also tells you the special features the game engines offer.
http://content.gpwiki.org/index.php/Game_Engines

hope this helps

Member Avatar for ChaseRLewis

Unity and C# is a good fit. Have to learn a decent amount to get it to work, but easy platform distribution at low-cost and PC/Mac is free. Also Script programming in C# is pretty straightforward.

What you actually write in C++ would look almsot identical in C# in this situation so should be an easy transition.

Also plenty of dev tools you can purchase to make your life 100x easier. The NGUI one in particular is pretty nice as it gives you access to Atlas Maker and easy GUI design. Which lets you focus on making your game rather than the nitty gritty tech stuff.

Member Avatar for Dedrus

I know it's been a month or so since I asked, but thank you for the replies =P

However, in that month I've learned a lot more about programming and I think I'd like to start experimenting with some 2D engines, possibly DX9, OpenGL and I'll check out Unity (assumng that's an engine?). I've got a lot of the design documented for a game I'd eventually like to create but I don't want to delve straight in to it without prior experience.

The structure for the data though is something I'd need clarification on, but I'll start a new article for that.

Generally, I'm aiming for either C# or C++. By your judgement, neither is particularly beneficial over the other?
Thanks again :D

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