My son is VERY interested in learning to program games. He is slowly teaching himself C++ and is doing rather well. He has Asperger's Syndrome, it is a type of Autism, and computers and programing seems to be his strongest "Specialty Subject".

My question is this. If this turns out to be the thing he wants to do, what language/languages should be encouraged? Where/How does one go about encouraging the learning of this/these languages?

He's 14 now, and really has a bug about this, but I'm just a hardware guy and I really don't know much about programming other than Basic, and a little Fortran and Cobol. I'm from way back in the day, LOL.

Thanks for the time guys!

Ghost

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C++ is a good language to be learning, and if he's teaching himself and making good progress sticking with it is probably the best idea.

When I got into games programming I found C++ too confusing start jump straight into, starting with BASIC and various scripting languages first.

Books are generally much better than internet tutorials to get a good foundation, consider generic programming books as well as possibly game specific stuff. Once you have the foundations of the language internet resources, tutorials and advice become a lot more valuable.

Some people work well being self taught, others might prefer courses (either via distance learning or class rooms). I'm not sure whats available in your area.

I've had about 15 years hobby experience and 5 years commercial experience in programming and game development and I've just finished the first actual programming course I've ever done and have an exam next week. This was more for certification reasons than learning, but I did pick up a few antidotes to the bad habits I've accumulated by learning on my own.

Rambling.

In short, I think if he's doing well with C++ stick with it, get a few books for reference and then get started on tutorials on the wiki and elsewhere.

Cheers
Nick

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www.littlemonkey.co.nz

C++ takes a deep understanding of how the computer behaves. He is at risk of falling into the trap of thinking he knows more than he does know, and when things that usually work don't, he will have a difficult time overcoming that.

I suggest Python as a start if his interest is in the writing of code. It reads a lot like C/C++, but does not expose the really complicated stuff, and the stuff that doesn't work the way it seems to be working.

However, if he's ready to dive into the true mechanics of the computer, things like memory addressing, allocation, and all that fun stuff, then stay with C++ and just ensure that he isn't learning to copy other people's ratty junk code.

Required Reading: http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/

If he's doing well teaching himself C++ I don't think it would make sense to essentially take a step backwards and learn Python instead.

Keep on using C++.

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Ryan

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?" - Gandhi

Thanks for the pointers!

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You are probably aware of this, but a lot of the very gifted programmers have Asperger's. I believe a lot of this is from the feeling of control that a computer gives to a programmer (it will do exactly what it is told, exactly the same way each time).

A lower level language (like C++) will be fine, and possibly better than a higher level language (like Python) for this same reason. Though if he is being frustrated by C++, then Python will be fine too (it doesn't really make that much difference in the long run).

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Trying is the first step towards failure
b

Say a game like America's Army, or F.E.A.R. or stuff he plays a lot, The Star Wars games or Civilization, Star Trek, Oblivion, Spores. He thinks that one is funnier than anything.

Depending on what type of game, does the language change around or, how does that work. And just out of curiosity, programmers, is it a specialized approach, This guy does the building and that guy does the thugs or is it more your good at telling the story and this guy is good at doing backgrounds How would one get insight into the directing of the boy. What to encourage and when to guide into a different direction.

I apologize if I may be taking this subject farther than one would think it needs to go. I'm a concerned father that has a son with a talent and a social dysfunction that makes it hard to figure the path that needs walked. Jacob has Asperger's Syndrome it's part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder. When I first heard the my son had Autism given my knowledge on the subject, I'll admit, I thought I had one of those kids that sat in the corner banging their heads against the wall or sat waving their hands in front of their faces for hours on end.

Come to find out, gods I probably know more about my sons situation than all the behavior specialists working with my son combined. He comes from a very technically oriented family of hard workers. Strong Values, Morals, Tight Expectations. Jake is a good boy. Fast to smile, quick to laugh. Intelligent with regards to what his thing is. and dedicated to knowing how to figure it out and applying that knowledge to understand it and knock it out of the park.

Any thoughts or suggestions are very welcome.

Ghost

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On a hunch, all of those are developed in C++ (I may be wrong).

Language choice isn't super important, they are all mostly equivalent. I wouldn't spend any money on it though (the best tools are often free in this world, and you won't feel like you have to stick with something because you paid for it).

I'd probably be happy programming games in any of these languages: C++, C, C#, Java, Python, Haskell - if that helps you at all.


You might be interested in this - it is about Bram Cohen, the guy who developed bittorrent, who suffers from the same condition.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co ... 863317.htm

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Trying is the first step towards failure
b

Ehhm... I have PDD-NOS, and I might not be an expert in programming, but I can say I'm pretty have a pretty high IQ, and I do the most things a normal person would do, but sometimes a little different. Don't put the sticker 'Asperger' on your son. About 50 % of the ASD patient have normal intelligence. Agreed, there are some things that are more difficult for a ASD patient then a 'normal' person, but I think your son will be fine. And remember nobody IS their handicap they HAVE a handicap. I hope this is a little on-topic if not, sorry.

Having no social skills isn't much of a handicap. I would get a lot more done without a social life, as would anybody.

Old topic, but I missed it first time around.

My son has Asperger's. He loves gaming and is obsessed with Transformers at the moment, I understand the focus the AS people have on things they enjoy.

I have autistic traits though I have never had a diagnosis (I guess it wasn't as well known when I was young and I managed to get through mainstream education with only a few niggles), I've loved computers and programming since I was 11.

I started out on BASIC on the ZX81 and stuck with various BASIC languages through the ZX Spectrum, Amiga until I discovered C. I spent a long time on C and C++ until a few years ago when I started to look at other langauges like Java and VB.NET/C#.

My interest in computers coupled with the low level nature of C/C++ means that I have a good understanding of what's going on 'under the hood' and that helps no matter what language you are using.

Which leads to the fundamental truth of computer programming. Once you achieve a certain level of understanding, it doesn't matter which language you use. You can get by in just about any language and pick up new ones easily. You can then select the most appropriate tool for the job in hand.

I've rambled on a bit, but if your lad is happy learning C++, I'd stick with that. It's argubly the most versatile language, even if it can be brutal to newcomers. It doesn't give quick results, but it rewards committed students with invaluable knowledge that will help him in many other areas and allow him to move on to other languages more easily.

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10 PRINT "Bad Monkey ";
20 GOTO 10

Kind of old, but I see that nobody addressed a similair opinion to mine so I'll make one quickly....

If I was him and I am just interested in making games then I would start off with Game Maker or some other program that's used for making games easily. It's the best and quickest way to pickup game development and programming in my opinion.