I’ve had my share of questions about the best programming languages for game development over the past few years. After contemplating about it, I decided to put this article together. I’m hoping to shed some light on the best programming language for game development.
It’s something that new programmers are often interested in, but at the same time, becoming a programmer is more than just choosing a language. You have to decide what you want to accomplish with it—do you want to make mobile games, PC games, 3D animation, etc?
HTML5
While CSS3 is used for visual display elements, HTML5 (https://www.w3.org/TR/2017/REC-html52-20171214/) is used in the web to give a page structure. A powerful language, HTML is – along with CSS and JavaScript – one of the three core technologies of the World Wide Web. It is easy to learn and is very useful for those wanting to pursue web designing. Also, almost every browser supports the HTML language; it is by default in every computer with Windows OS, so no extra software has to be purchased to work with this programming language. In some cases, HTML5 can even be used in place of JavaScript.
HTML5 game development allows for the creation of cross-platform and cross-browser mobile apps and games. With developers no longer preferring Adobe Flash Player, HTML 5 has become more popular among them. The language boasts out-of-the-box functionalities that make games accessible across many platforms and devices. Other advantages include ease of updating and maintenance. Games made with HTML 5 include Kingdom of Loathing, Cookie Clicker, Nothing to Hide and Gods will be watching.
Java
A dynamic coding language with lots of applications, Java (https://www.oracle.com/java/) continues to be hugely popular. Be it printers and microwaves or video game systems, Java is in demand, which makes it a good programming language to learn. It also helps that it is closely related to C++, so learning the two together is not a bad idea either.
It is indeed a commonly used programming language among game programmers, especially because it supports multithreading and sockets. Sockets help in building multiplayer games and multithreading takes up less memory and uses the available CPU well, without blocking out the user when heavy processes are running in the background. Also, Java running on a virtual machine is a big plus, it makes distributing the game easier. Java is also said to be a good bet for making Android games. This is why Angry Birds Chrome (for mobile devices) was made using Java.
Other games made with Java include Tom Clancy’s Politika, Star Wars Galaxies, Runescape and Roboforge.
About Java
Created in 1995, Java is an object-oriented programming language created for general computer programming. The design principle behind the language was to have it require as few dependencies as possible – especially compared to other programming languages at the time and even now. In so doing, this meant that programs created with Java could easily run on different systems as they weren’t as dependent on the underlying computer architecture.
Given this cross-platform nature, Java is used fairly extensively for application development. However, in the realm of games, it also finds a place. Though not as extensively used as other programming languages on this list, quite a number of desktop games are still made with Java. In addition, as the top choice programming language for Android devices, Java is commonly used by a number of developers for mobile games and apps.
Pros
- As Java is the foundation for Android devices, it is well-suited to making mobile games.
- Despite its age, Java is capable of utilizing modern technologies like multi-threading for better game performance.
- As long as the platform supports JVM, Java games can be run almost anywhere. This includes systems like Linux.
- It is well-suited to server development, so multiplayer games can be made fairly easily with Java without the need for extra libraries and so forth.
Cons
- Even though successful games have been made with Java, it is not the standard choice for game development in the eyes of most developers. Thus, community support for it in this field is limited.
- Though it does have automatic memory management, it is known to have some latency issues for games because of that.
- Few engines or libraries specific for game development exist for Java compared to other languages.
- Most modern consoles do not support JVM, so despite its ability, Java games are often platform limited in this regard.
JavaScript
JavaScript (http://www.ecma-international.org/ecma-262/) is not the most popular coding language when it comes to building video games. That said, both 2d and 3d libraries can be used with JavaScript to create fully-fledged games in the browser or external game engine platforms. JavaScript is basically used to make things happen on a page, such as to make things move across the page.
The popular game development engine, RPG Maker (https://www.rpgmakerweb.com/), for instance, runs on JavaScript, and Unity 3D engine too accepts JS. CrossCode, HexGL, PolyCraft, Gods Will Be Watching and Underrun are some of the games made using JavaScript.
There are also several tools – think WebView mobile development frameworks – available that help make a JavaScript game mobile friendly. Developers basically use these frameworks – built with HTML, CSS, JavaScript – to create mobile phone applications.
About Javascript
JavaScript is commonly known as one of the core pillars of web development. It first appeared in 1995 and was designed to suit the new ECMAScript specifications that were attempting to standardize the web and web browsers. While HTML informs web layouts and CSS informs web aesthetics, JavaScript is the true computer programming language that breathes life into websites, adding most amounts of interactivity you see on a day to day basis.
However, with the emergence of HTML5, JavaScript has also become the core pillar of HTML5 game development in terms of programming languages. As it was originally designed with both object-oriented and event-driven systems for web user interaction, this made it the perfect choice to extend for games. Additionally, with Flash now being obsolete, it also made way for these sorts of HTML5 games to rise up and become the mainstay of browser-based game development.
Pros
- As HTML5 games are based on the web, JavaScript makes it easy to make browser-based games and mobile games.
- Given JavaScript is a core part of the web, it’s easy to integrate such games with JavaScript-based frameworks and libraries, like Node.js and Express, for multiplayer game creation.
- HTML5 games are generally the easiest to share since they can be hosted directly on a website for anyone to visit.
- JavaScript is generally less resource-intensive for game development, meaning it’s great if you don’t have a powerful computer to develop games on.
- Since JavaScript is an extremely stable programming language due to its need for the web, HTML5 games are easier to maintain and don’t require the same sort of updating games made with engines do.
Cons
- Options for 3D graphics are limited to specific frameworks, generally forcing most people to rely on 2D graphics for their games.
- It is a rather high-level programming language, so it isn’t as efficient as other programming languages on this list in terms of how fast it performs tasks.
- Due to not being as efficient, HTML5 games have more limits in terms of scope and size of the games you can make.
- While JavaScript itself receives lots of support for web development, HTML5 game communities are a bit smaller compared to other popular programming languages and engines.
SQL
SQL (https://www.iso.org/standard/63555.html) is used for back-end database work so that the player can access their account and do other things on the server. A good general alternative to just using regular files, SQL allows one to store preferences, save games, high scores, player actions, player profiles, inventory, etc and look for trends. It’s also good for analytics work, as in game developers can send game data to a server and then assess it to understand how the game is working. And since C# and C++ are not all that different, SQL is a great language to learn even for game developers.
CodeGym
CodeGym is an interactive Java learning platform that includes more than 600 mini-lectures and 1,200 tasks that help you learn from scratch. Taking into account that Java is one of the most popular programming languages for beginners, CodeGym may be a great start to your future career.
Programming languages available: Java
Pros:
- Practical and applicable exercises
- Combines theory and practice in a solid way
- Friendly style of teaching that is easy to understand
- Simple interface
- Perfect for beginners
Cons:
- Java only
Pricing: free zero level, then $49 per month or $499 per year.
CodeMonkey
Code Monkey is a popular interactive puzzle game that helps you learn how to program intuitively. It provides basic knowledge into practice coding as well as real programming languages and increasingly challenging levels.
Programming languages available: CoffeeScript (similar to FavaScript) and Python
Pros:
- Very easy to start and understand the basics
- Applicable for children (7+)
- Available in 20 languages
Cons:
- Sometimes lacks solid theory
- Only 90 lessons at the moment
Pricing: Starting from $6 per month
Code Hunt
Launched by Microsoft Research, Code Hunt is an educational game that lets you learn C# or Java programming languages. It is a browser-based application. Learners can go through a short tutorial for each section and then set the code fragments to get a passing score properly.
Programming languages available: Java and C#
Pros:
- Its way of learning helps find really elegant solutions and use them in your future work
- Code Hunt has a large supportive community
Cons:
- Too practical (lacks theory)
- You can’t skip levels
Pricing: Free
CheckIO and Empire of Code
CheckIO is a strategy game that teaches you Javascript. It is a web-based game that allows you not only to learn by yourself but also to use other people’s solutions to improve your score.
Empire of Code is a new project by CheckIO. It’s a world-building game that lets you defend your base by solving different types of problems.
Programming languages available: JavaScript and Python
Pros:
- Really engaging games with great challenges
- Are a good developer’s interview preparation tool
- Users may share their experience of how they solved a problem
- 10+ languages supported
Cons:
- Slow by some user reviews
- Navigation is not always easy
- It’s better to know some basics before you start
Pricing: Free
CSS Diner
CSS Diner is a simple yet fun game that helps you get started with CSS selectors.
Programming languages available: CSS
Pros:
- Very easy to start and learn
- Simple interface that takes no time to understand
Cons:
- It’s a simple game that helps you learn only some aspects of CSS
Pricing: Free
Conclusion
The best programming language for games is dependent on the type of game you wish to make. But if you are asking what’s the best language to start with, I would say that Python is hands down the best option because it is easy to learn, powerful, and relatively simple.