In this article I will share my knowledge about the best programming language to start with when you want to learn games development, so you can start building your own video games from scratch.
I will cover all the important things that will help you choose which programming language is going to fit for you, and once you have decided that, I will give a bunch of resources for learning that language. The main goal of this article is to save your time and present a few steps to take in order to build a successful career in games development through a selected programming language.
Python
Python undoubtedly tops the list. It is widely accepted as the best programming language to learn first. Python is a fast, easy-to-use, and easy-to-deploy programming language that is being widely used to develop scalable web applications. YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, SurveyMonkey are all built-in Python. Python provides excellent library support and has a large developer community. The programming language provides a great starting point for beginners. Talking about those who are looking for a better job, you should definitely learn Python ASAP! A lot of startups are using Python as their primary backend stack and so, this opens up a huge opportunity for full-stack Python developers. Here is a sample Python “Hello World!” program:
print('Hello, world!')
Yes, Python is that simple! If you plan to get into the data science or AI industry you must learn Python. However, the language can also be used in other areas of development example web development.
Difficulty level: Easy to learn. Best language for beginners. 5 out of 5.
Job opportunity: Huge! 5 out of 5.
Pros:
- Creating and using classes and objects is easy thanks to OOP characteristics
- Extensive library support
- Focuses on code readability
- Has the ability to scale even the most complex applications
- Ideal for building prototypes and testing out ideas faster
- Open-source with an ever-growing community support
- Provides support for a multitude of platforms and systems
- Very easy to learn and use.
Cons:
- Not suitable for mobile computing
- Slower by virtue of being an interpreted programming language
- The database access layer is somewhat immature
- Threading isn’t good because of GIL (Global Interpreter Lock)
Want to learn Python? Udemy course Learn Python Programming Masterclass will prove to be a great stepping stone for you.
Python is a defined, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic words. Built into a data arrangement mutual with active typing and dynamic compulsory, it is intended for high-level, rapid application development, as well as for use as a scripting or glue language to link existing scripts together makes it very attractive. As a language, Python is beautiful, clear, simple, sometimes complex but not complicated, and well readable. Because the language is simple and easy to read, it is important to have Python on your learning list.
Python Spokesperson and extensive standard library is available for all major platforms without any source or binary format and can be distributed freely.
Python is syntactically easier to read, and it’s the easiest to learn compared to C# and C++.
You can start developing games using python with very little time and it requires way less coding to get a finished product.
So Python is great, but oftentimes, it doesn’t work well for complex things. It is slow and inefficient for game development.
Python is an interpreted language and requires very little specification when it comes to variables, classes, and memory. Because of this, the interpreter has to pick up the load and define, handle, and declare everything for you in real-time.
So with all this in mind, Python is very good for simple 2D games.
So if it’s a side project that you would like to do, go with Python because Python may not be the best for game development, but it is good for various other reasons.
Even though game development using Python is largely unheard of in the industry, some of the top game development modules are PyGame and Pyglet.
If you are especially interested in 2D game programming, you can consider Godot.
Although the community is not that big compared to that of C# and unity, using python and go dot, the ‘idea’ to ‘finished product’ is smoother and faster.
React Native (Javascript)
React Native is a real JavaScript framework that offers real, localized mobile applications for iOS and Android. It is based on the response, Facebook’s JavaScript library, to make the user border, but instead of targeting the browser, it targets the mobile platform. JavaScript is also known as the cockroach of the Information technology industry. It uses a similar UI mechanism as native iOS or Android apps. Feedback applications are as free as any other native app.
It is considered to be the best framework for mobile app development for both native OS. This means that the JavaScript language is used to create a cross-platform app that is developed that runs on different platforms instead of creating separate apps for each system. It expresses the ability to reuse native presentation code and help build faster and cheaper applications Cross-platform development helps save time and coding heads.
Kotlin
Kotlin is an innovative and stable typing programming language that enhances productivity and enhances developer happiness. Kotlin can be used in conjunction with Java to create more efficient and high-performance apps. Kotlin has very clean syntax and easy code. It is varied and versatile. It produces compact and cleaner code than Java. The modern features of the Kotlin language allow you to focus on both expressing your ideas and writing less code. Less code is written to test and maintain less code. Overall, this is considered a clean and tidy version of Java.
Objective-C
The vital programming language for iOS apps, Objective-C was selected by Apple to make apps that are healthy and scalable. An expanded version of C language, Objective-C is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language that includes additional features such as small talk-style messaging. A well-updated and robust programming language, Object-C is primarily used for macOS applications and operating systems.
When writing software for OSX and iOS, you use the basic programming language you use. It is an objective- C programming language and offers object-based capabilities and active runtime.
Swift
If you are creating something specific for Apple products, search for Swift language. It has superior features with the least coding that can be easily maintained.
Swift is a state-of-the-art programming language to enhance Apple’s ecosystem, primarily considering its spread in written code for Apple’s latest APIs, Cocoa, and Cocoa Touch. Although it is a language intended to work with Objective-C, Cupertino is making it clear that it will turn to Swift for full programming for iOS developers. Designed to eliminate the potential for potential security risks from Objective-C, it’s time for mobile app developers to turn to Swift, as many businesses use this language to develop modern mobile apps. Swift is hiring developers with expertise in manufacturing.
C#
Now let’s move on to C#.
The learning curve is slightly higher compared to Python. But it is much easier compared to C++.
Compared to C++, it is faster to learn and program in C#.
Also, it is more frustration-free compared to C++. Unlike Python, C# is a compiled language and requires in-depth specification. declaring variables before you use them, defining the class type, and memory management. This is important for games because you need to run a multitude of functions at 60 frames a second.
C# is the main language used by the Unity framework which is a popular and well-developed game engine and it is widely used in professional studios.
Also, the community with Unity is huge with lots of resources to learn.
C++
Now let’s talk about C++.
C++ is a lower-level language compared to python and C#.
The learning curve is the highest for C++ because it is designed to make you do more as a programmer.
Thus it takes years to master. It’s fairly popular for gaming since it’s a bit closer to the hardware, allowing you to manage the memory directly rather than relying on the Operating System or the language such as C# to do it for you. And also a handful of other little tricks that you can only do in C++.
C# tends to be more frustration-free compared to C++, but C++ does give you a bit more control which makes you a more technical programmer.
A total beginner may find C++ a lot harder than C# so the best advice is starting from C# with Unity and then, moving to C++ with Unreal.
If you are looking to write a game from scratch then you can probably work with C++ and OpenGL or Direct X.
Java
Java is another popular choice in large organizations and it has remained so for decades. Java is widely used for building enterprise-scale web applications. Java is known to be extremely stable and so, many large enterprises have adopted it. If you are looking for a development based job at a large organization, Java is the language that you should learn. Java is also widely used in Android App Development. Almost any business today needs an Android Application owing to the fact that there are billions of Android users today. This opens up a huge opportunity for Java developers given the fact that Google has created an excellent Java-based Android development framework – Android Studio.
Difficulty level: Easy to moderate to learn. 4 out of 5.
Job opportunity: Huge! 4.5 out of 5. [Best Java tutorials and courses]
Pros:
- An abundance of open-source libraries
- Automatic memory allocation and garbage collection
- Follows the OOP paradigm
- Has the stack allocation system
- A high degree of platform independence thanks to the JVM feature
- Highly secure due to the exclusion of explicit pointer and inclusion of a security manager responsible for defining the access of classes
- Ideal for distributed computing
- Offers a galore of APIs for accomplishing different tasks, such as database connection, networking, utilities, and XML parsing
- Supports multithreading
Cons:
- Absence of templates limits creating high-quality data structures
- Expensive memory management
- Slower than natively compiled programming languages, like C and C++
If you want to learn Java from scratch, udemy course Java Programming Masterclass is highly recommended by Java developers.
Conclusion
Are you a beginner in programming and want to start it by making your own game? There’s no better place than choosing the right programming language. It will be easier and more enjoyable to do and learn.