HI,
I am new to games programming. I know some python (which I have used mostly for bioinformatics regex) and am learning C++ at the minute for games programming. I would like to design 2D RPGs, rather than 3D games. I notice that a lot of coders in game design competitions with a short development schedule such as LudumDare and Pygame use Python and Ruby as their language of choice , with Ruby being used alongside libraries such as SDL, Gosu etc. I think I am correct in saying that Pygame is a python based wrapper for SDL.
Are games quicker to develop in Python and Ruby than in C++, or is it just that the programmers in these comps just know the language? I don't want to spend a long time learning C++ if I am going to run into loads of technical problems when it comes to implementing the 2D libraries for game programming. To be honest, I'm already running into problems with incorporating external libaries into C++. This would be my major moan about C++ at the minute. The libraries seem so hard to work with!
If the skills required are at a similar level, I'll maybe just stick to C++, which I am starting to get to grips with, at least in console apps.
I have seen a particularly interesting game, however, Nebular Gauntlet, written in Ruby, which I thought of mostly as a cross between Java and Perl as a scripting language. I'm now wondering if I underestimated Ruby.
One last questions - Are Ruby and Python both equally well documented in regards to games coding?

Thanks for any help,

Tim

If you want to do 2D RPGs I recommend XNA Game Studio. Check out the RPG Starter Kit they have there.

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Microsoft XNA MVP

You get a kickback every time you push Microsoft, yes?

The speed of C++ development depends on how much you depend on libraries. The more library code you use, the less code you write yourself. Following that, I expect you have more library options in C++ since C++ is well-established, while Python came into popularity recently. I know nothing of Ruby so I cannot comment on it.

Nope. I just like to see people actually finish a game instead of wasting time.

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Microsoft XNA MVP

Don't waste time cooking for yourself, just buy fast food.

the problem with c++ is that the libraries people use are normally low level C libraries like SDL. sfml could be the solution to that, so you might want to have a look at it. (And of course one day my library will be amazing and everyone will love it )

From what I understand about XNA Game Studio, it isn't like it tries to hide the programming(*), it just tries to provide a pleasant environment to program in.

(*) I'm using "programming" to mean "the interesting stuff at some level of abstraction which I don't know how to define". i.e. XNA Game Studio is not Click 'n' Play, it is more like a standard development environment.

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b

I like to think of XNA as more of just a collection of classes you can use. If I want, I can easily write my own class to batch-render sprites or draw bitmap text, but why do that when XNA just lets me use theirs?

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NetGore - Open source online RPG engine

Plus the fact that it takes care of all the plumbing for you. Fill in the Update and Draw functions and you're done (at the most basic level of course )

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Microsoft XNA MVP

Nope, you're still cooking for yourself, you just have an assistant cook that takes care of all the less fun cooking.

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Bored? Head on over to my blog and see what I'm up to.

Microsoft XNA MVP

Will a penguin be able to eat the meal?

I don't think they're worried about what penguins eat, so long as their master, the Penguin Eater, has penguins to swallow.

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What most people don't understand about "enlightenment" is that it is not an end-goal; but where you find yourself just before taking a new "first step."

Sure, it just has to do it using utensils.

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Bored? Head on over to my blog and see what I'm up to.

Microsoft XNA MVP

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. That gives me plenty to think about. I've had a look at the C++ library that was suggested and I'll maybe try that out.

Thanks again,
Tim

I'd personally suggest using something like Ruby or Python if you can find a good library for them (such as SFML which has bindings for both and documentation for setting it up ) as coding in these languages (my main experience being ruby) is easy and fairly forgiving. This allows you to get a lot done very quickly. However my experience is that both languages are fairly poor performers as well (I've used a couple of python programs and have noticed it quite a lot in ruby) so if things start to slow down you are either going to need to start from scratch in C++ or C#+XNA or learn how to optimise python or ruby (at that point, one will probably be as easy as the other).

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God must love stupid people, he made so many.
theraje: 'God doesn't love stupid people, they're just easier to make'
http://sharedillusions.blogspot.com

you might look into gosu for ruby (http://code.google.com/p/gosu/).