Gamedev Lounge 0010

[Ailit]

It doesn't make developing any harder than if you were using a language like C#. Like spriters that work in MSpaint can do the same thing I do in Photoshop because we have both gotten good with the tools we use. It would be hard for me to make my quality sprites in MSpaint because that is not my tool, but I use Photoshop which allows me to do sprites but many other things too if I wanted to. Same with programming languages.

Languages have their usage. C and C++ provide a much greater level of direct control in things like memory than languages like C#. I'll discuss C and C# here for comparison. C has the benefit that all of its operations are more or less atomic and consistent. Because of this, you can be sure that a program written in C will execute in a given time, especially if you try hard to make it do so. Because of this, C is used in embedded systems, particularly those that need real-time computation (such as nuclear reactors or aeroplanes), and not just those that run on pseudo-real-time (i.e. video games).
C and C++ are not ideal for such pseudo-real-time systems like games. The reason for this is that in a project like that, stability and quick production are more important than raw control and power. C# is a better choice (and a lot of people are moving towards this. XNA was a flop, but other tools are popping up that do support C#, such as Unity), because it allows for faster and neater code creation, and the extra levels of abstraction mean that time isn't wasted on the part of the programmer ensuring that every piece of memory is secure, and doesn't leak.
There are reasons that C and C++ won't die out, it's true, but video games are not one of them. It's not to do with them being harder to use, it's to do with other tools being better suited to the task.

Couldn't be better said. Also Bombshell93, you should learn OpenGL, much simpler than DirectX for 3d. If you are making a 2d game pick up a lib like SDL or SFML. I'd have to agree with Hoeloe though, if I were to make a 3d game right now, I'd be using Unity, not coding from scratch. It would take too long to see something and by then I'd have lost motivation to make anything at all.