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Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have learn Windows development first. Oh well games are cross platform anyway, so developing games for Windows as well will at least pay the bills.
Any thoughts or advice?
Sadly, you mention getting back to school... if you are 40+, don't expect to get hired in programming... especially if you have a lack of experience. At least here in the US. While age discrimination is not legal, it happens all the time in this field.
Sorry if I sound cynical, but it is true.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Games
To develop (other than a programming language, of course) you need to know the basics of data structures: stack, queue, lists, hashtables, graphs. The more you know, the better.
So in a year you can cover just the basic needs for a serious experience. That's a lot of work, I know.
That said, to start the easy way you can try Lua and the Love library [https://love2d.org/](https://love2d.org/).
The hard way is: the C language with SDL2 library [https://www.libsdl.org/](https://www.libsdl.org/).
Then you can move to (much needed nowadays) Object Oriented Programming and beyond.
Fortunately there are lots of books that will guide you step by step.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ghOyPX820
I think it is generally a good introduction to learn how to program on the basis of a game. The prerequisite is that you may already have some basic knowledge or you know someone.
From experience I can tell you that Linux is excellent for learning programming and other things. I became aware of Linux over 20 years ago because of my computer science studies. Thanks to Linux I made a huge leap forward. Because there were all the compilers, interpreters, editors and whatever I needed. I developed for Windows once. But it was difficult to exist outside a company where all the (expensive) development environments was available.
Well, maybe we'll get the Flappy Bird programmed. But first I have to do something with my CSGO addiction, which eat up almost all my free time. Which Satan had the idea of making Steam available for Linux?
Last edited by LoganKing on 14 Jul 2022 at 8:01 pm UTC