what language is best for game programming and which Game Engine

[Hydrogenfussion]

I got into programming so i could program games.At first i just wanted to make simple games like Astaroids and stuff.Now I would like to learn to make Pro games.
I still am not even good enough to be called a noob but,i was woundering...
what language should i learn for gameprogramming ?
Also i love playing PC game and i was woundering what is the difference Between the "Game Engine" and the "graphics engine" and the "physics engine"? And is there a "audio engine"?
Ty for reading this.

[ilikepython]

I got into programming so i could program games.At first i just wanted to make simple games like Astaroids and stuff.Now I would like to learn to make Pro games.
I still am not even good enough to be called a noob but,i was woundering...
what language should i learn for gameprogramming ?
Also i love playing PC game and i was woundering what is the difference Between the "Game Engine" and the "graphics engine" and the "physics engine"? And is there a "audio engine"?
Ty for reading this.

As far as I know, all or at least most of the commercial games are programmed with C or C++ but if C++ seems too confusing at first it is not a bad idea to learn an easier language like python or something else. And even if you know one language, don't be afriad to learn another. Also, what kind of platform are you most comfortable with? If you like Windows, you can use DirectX and Direct3D. You could also try SDL which I think is easier and multi-platform.

[Ganon11]

As far as the engines (The following is all my impressions, and should in no way be taken as researched fact):

(For explanation purposes, I will use examples from a First Person Shooter game, Half-Life)

Each engine is a separate piece of code that describes certain actions. For instance, the Game Engine describes what guns exist, how much ammo they can hold, their damage, etc. The Physics Engine describes exqactly where your character ends up when he jumps, crouchs, climbs a ladder, etc.

A programmer making the Game Engine can assume that the Physics Engine will work correctly. Say, for instance, a certain portion of the Game Engine requires your character to jump. The Game programmer can assume that there will be some function jump() included in the Physics Engine. The specifics of that function are left to the Physics programmer.

Of course, there are many more 'engines' than physics and game. The audio engine, which you referenced, likely has some methods for which objects make which sound at which times.

(Here ends my theoretical rambling :)).

[RedSon]

As far as the engines (The following is all my impressions, and should in no way be taken as researched fact):

(For explanation purposes, I will use examples from a First Person Shooter game, Half-Life)

Each engine is a separate piece of code that describes certain actions. For instance, the Game Engine describes what guns exist, how much ammo they can hold, their damage, etc. The Physics Engine describes exqactly where your character ends up when he jumps, crouchs, climbs a ladder, etc.

A programmer making the Game Engine can assume that the Physics Engine will work correctly. Say, for instance, a certain portion of the Game Engine requires your character to jump. The Game programmer can assume that there will be some function jump() included in the Physics Engine. The specifics of that function are left to the Physics programmer.

Of course, there are many more 'engines' than physics and game. The audio engine, which you referenced, likely has some methods for which objects make which sound at which times.

(Here ends my theoretical rambling :)).

At a very high level this is true. There are different components that dictate the logic in a game. But it is much much more complicated then this. When people talk about physics engines like havok and quake what they are actually talking about is a type of middle ware that will allow them to calculate the path of objects in the game to more closely resemble real life. For example if I wanted to create a character that was throwing a baseball, I could describe that baseballs movement given freshmen level physics equations. I could input those formulas into my game or call on a physics engine to do it for me. You can imagine how useful a physics engine would be if more then 1 or 2 characters were running, jumping and shooting stuff.

A game engine is a bit of a different animal. When people talk about game engines they are usually talking about the whole thing: client, server, physics, scripting and mechanics, plus more.

If you want to get into games, check out the DirectX SDK and start working through the tutorials.

[ayan4u]

why not u get a middleware and give it a try....sum proff engines like A6,TGE r there for evaluation..... .and better even freeware engines(just google it..thrs a lot)even if u r not a pro coder u can rely on scripts provided by those engines...they can make ur life thousand fold easier......... .

[Hydrogenfussion]

Thanks everyone. But i have one question,i though that DirectX was like a driver.Well not a driver but like a driver helper.
...A program that tells the graphics driver what to do..or how.
So are you talking about a different DirectX?
Oh and where can i go to learn about DirectX?
One more thing,when will DirectX 10 be released?
TY

[ayan4u]

Thanks everyone. But i have one question,i though that DirectX was like a driver.Well not a driver but like a driver helper.
...A program that tells the graphics driver what to do..or how.
So are you talking about a different DirectX?
Oh and where can i go to learn about DirectX?
One more thing,when will DirectX 10 be released?
TY

DirectX is not a driver not like a driver but an API...neways thrs only one DirectX tht released by M$....

thrs a plenty of tutorials on DirectX...u can as well download DirectX SDK and documentations from microsoft website.....

book recommendation : Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 9.0

and ya DirectX 10 is well released with Vista and i heard it is stuffed with quality features......

[RedSon]

The reason that you are getting DirectX confused with a driver is that video card manufacturers must create drivers that are compatible with DirectX. So when they say that you should get the latest DirectX drivers what they mean is you should get the latest DirectX compatible drivers.

[Hydrogenfussion]

Thanks for clearing that up.
One more thing,is DirectX a compiled language.And is it an object oriented language.

[RedSon]

Thanks for clearing that up.
One more thing,is DirectX a compiled language.And is it an object oriented language.

DirectX isn't a language, its an SDK a library of APIs that you can use. It is implemented in C/C++ and also some in C#.

[Atli]

DirectX isn't a language, its an SDK a library of APIs that you can use. It is implemented in C/C++ and also some in C#.

To be fair, you can use DirectX in C# just as you would in C++, and then some.

If you are new to DirectX and game programming I would reccomend starting with C#, mainly because it is so much easier to learn and use than C++ and also because the native DirectX support which is used in C++ is rather confusing and annoying if you'r not used to it, and even then.

DirectX is offered as a managed version in .Net which simplifies it extremly much on languages such as C#, VB.NET, Visual C++ and so on.

I would also look into XNA, which is a managed enviroment built by Mircosoft specially to make game programming easier.

This is a tutorial on most of the methods mentioned above here.
Reimers Tutorials

[Hydrogenfussion]

Well thanks everyone,that cleared one or two hundred things up. lol

your luck has been increased by +10!
but since you helped a noob you coolness has decreased by 95 so drink a potion! lol

if you got that FF reference thanks.

[Ganon11]

Crap, crap! I'm out of potions! SOMEONE SPOT ME A HUNDRED GIL.

[TRScheel]

I got into programming so i could program games.At first i just wanted to make simple games like Astaroids and stuff.Now I would like to learn to make Pro games.
I still am not even good enough to be called a noob but,i was woundering...
what language should i learn for gameprogramming ?
Also i love playing PC game and i was woundering what is the difference Between the "Game Engine" and the "graphics engine" and the "physics engine"? And is there a "audio engine"?
Ty for reading this.

If you are fairly literate in C#, or VB for that matter, this might interest you. Its a nice tutorial walking through how to create a simple game.

http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2006/11/02/938703.aspx

I also like this guy's site, its pretty neat.

http://www.c-unit.com/tutorials/

Plus his blog entries are awesome, and the comments can be pretty funny.

[Hydrogenfussion]

Sorry Ganon 11 i only have 50 gil,oh but i do have 50 federation credits. lol
TY everyone!