As a game developer or gaming enthusiast, you must know that gaming has come a long way. The evolution that took place in this field requires you to develop top-notch games to appeal to the audience.
For example, a game must have breathtaking visuals, stunning gameplay, and awesome audio or BGM to become successful in the present time. For all these, you need to choose the right programming languages for game development. Let’s learn about the best programming languages for game development.
Role of Programming Languages in Developing Video Games
● Programming languages are used to implement various gaming logic, including game rules, character behavior, scoring system, etc.
● These languages also help with graphics and rendering, which are essential for video games.
● When it comes to processing audio data and managing the audio experience of the game, programming languages are crucial.
● Using programming languages, developers can optimize the speed, efficiency, and performance of the game.
● Multiplayer online games need networking code to make player interaction possible. Developers can implement networking protocols and server-side logic using the programming languages.
● By debugging and testing code with programming languages, developers can identify and resolve gaming issues.
● Using cross-platform languages, developers can create games that people can play from any platform.
Relevance of Computer Languages in Creating Realistic Gaming Worlds
The more realistic your gaming world is, the more chance it has to become popular in the gaming community. Every player wants to play a game that will offer them a real-life experience in terms of graphics, audio, and gameplay. If you are a game developer and want to craft a realistic world for your game, you need to know your programming language well.
Using the right programming language, you can add lifelike visuals and render graphics. These languages also help you manage object interactions and AI to ensure that the characters behave like the real world. Moreover, the languages are also helpful for controlling gameplay logic, handling audio for immersive experiences, and networking in multiplayer gaming.
For this reason, you must choose a language according to the platform for which you will develop the game. For instance, there are languages that work on a particular platform, like iOS, and there are languages compatible with multiple platforms.
Best Programming Languages for Game Developers
Now, take a look at the best programming languages you can use to develop your favorite game.
When it comes to developing responsive video games, JavaScript is one of the best programming languages. It is often combined with HTML5 to develop cross-platform and cross-browser games. The latter is often chosen for its compatibility with top gaming engines.
Of these two, learning HTML5 is much easier as it does not need you to have much technical knowledge. Games created with JavaScript are Polycraft, Little Alchemy, and Hangman. On the other hand, World Cup Penalty 2018, Cookie Clicker, and Gods Will Be Watching are created using HTML5.
Python is a flexible and developer-friendly language used for game development.It is the go-to option for developers while creating games that need rapid prototyping. Its standard library supports basic graphics, audio, and network.
Since it is easy to learn, newbies often prefer using this language to develop their very first game. Games developed using this language are Mount and Blade, Toontown Online, Battlefield 2, and Frets on Fire.
Java is a popular programming language for Android game development. In fact, its built-in portability allows you to run its code on any device using JVM. Thanks to its collection of open-source resources, it is often preferred to develop independent video and mobile games.
Some popular games developed using Java are Mission Impossible III, Runescape, Ferrari GT 3: World Track, FIFA 11, and Minecraft.
You may find this to be the less-known language compared to the other entries on this list. However, Lua is ideal for developing game logic or creating mods and extensions. Using this, developers can quickly and seamlessly alter the game behavior without recompiling the game code.
This fast and efficient language is easy to learn. Famous games that used Lua are Roblox, Age of Canon, Broken Age, and Angry Birds.
C# is one of the most popular programming languages used in gaming. This object-oriented language was developed by Microsoft. Therefore, it is most suitable for developing Windows or Xbox games.
This language is also supported by Xamarin and Unity3D game engines. As a result, Gamers can also use C# to develop games for Android, iOS, or PlayStation. Famous games like Super Mario Run, Pokémon Go, Cuphead, and Stardew Valley were developed using this language.
As a game developer, one has to be careful about performance, bugs, safety, and concurrency. For these reasons, Rust is the preferred programming language for various games. It also offers cross-platform support. Hence, you can run it on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Nintendo Switch.
Rust has a syntax similar to C++, so if someone is familiar with the latter, they can easily learn Rust. It has been used to develop games like Rust Doom, Nox Futura, Hematite, Veloren, Fyrox, Nannou, and Piston.
Haxe is an open-source programming language you can also use for developing games. It comes with a fast-optimizing cross-compiler for multiple platforms such as HTML5, C++, Android, iOS, and so on. Thus, it provides the perfect environment for cross-platform game development.
Games developed using Haxe include Dead Cells, Northgard, Spellbreak, the Westport Independent, Pocket Kingdom, etc.
If you are planning to develop a gaming app for Apple (iPhone, iPad, and Mac), you need to use Swift. Apple developed this language in 2014, and it is comparatively easy to learn this fast and reliable language.
It was inspired by languages like Objective-C, Rust, Haskell, Ruby, Python, C #, CLU, etc. Gaming engines like OpenGL and Box2D support Swift. Popular games made using Swift are Colour Switch, 2048, Crossy Road, and Flappy.
C++ is a language that offers high performance and versatility. This static language is often considered ideal for game development, thanks to its execution speed and efficient memory usage.
While developing complex games, this language gives you total control over hardware and graphics processing. A large number of libraries and frameworks support C++. Popular games developed using this language include Starcraft, Counter-Strike, and Football Pro.
Go is a functional programming language developed by Google that became popular within a short time. It may not be as popular as Python or C++ for game development, but it can be used for that purpose because of its efficient execution of code.
This language offers built-in support for concurrency, ideal for managing game logic, physics calculations, input, and rendering. It can be used for developing cross-platform games, and one can learn it easily.
As a gaming developer, you might be curious to know which language to choose for developing your next game. Here, we have compiled a list of the best programming languages for crafting the magical world of a game.
You can take a look at them and find out which one is most suitable according to the platform and gaming engine. After selecting the language, you can start working on the game to rock the gaming world.