so im going to be completely honest I have autism and adhd so my concentration and attention span is crap but in one month I have an interview for a game development school I need to be able to learn any or all of the programming languages in the tags in under a month at least just the basics so im able to make simple programs for a portfolio preferably the stuff will be free and interactive so not just videos and text
thx
Well.....good luck with that.....I mean first you're asking a lot of yourself in one month and second, nobody here can really help you learn to program other than pointing you to a good book or website. If I were you I'd perhaps go with C# out of those three choices (although I prefer C++ myself). You might want to head on over to Amazon and find the book with the best reviews, and order that..... but again it's going to be near impossible to lean enough to impress someone in a month's time, unless you are a hell of a lot smarter than me.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but one month is hardly enough to build up a portfolio if you've never created games before (which i assume from your question), and especially so if you do not have programming experience (which is indicated by your question as well).
On the other hand I doubt that a game development school requires a portfolio of games. If you already had a portfolie of multiple games, what would be the point of attending this school anyways? It is reasonable for them to expect you to have some programming experience though, but even that might not be the case.
Three questions:
If these languages are required by the school:
Unless you already have experience in programming, you are not going to be able to learn C++ AND C# AND Java in under a month, not even the basics. The most difficult part is not to learn the syntax of a specific language, but learning how to split a problem into such small parts that a computer can solve them.
Instead you should focus on ONE language first, getting accustomed to its syntax just enough to then learn the principles of programming, which apply across multiple languages (e.g. Object-oriented-programming works 'the same' for C++, C#, Java, Python and other languages that support it, nearly the only thing that changes is how you have to type it).
As Gnollrunner suggested, give C# a shot (used for example by Unity3D). Java is great for Android-development though, since it's the native language of Android.
If you chose these languages yourself:
Consider learning a simpler language, e.g. Javascript (programming industries biggest language currently, according to Stockoverflows 2017 survey at least) and use it to write simple web-based games.
29 minutes ago, Iltis said:On the other hand I doubt that a game development school requires a portfolio of games.
Actually very common with some schools that have a saturated market. Art schools that have a lot of students entering because they think it is easy, also require a portfolio.
The whole point of the portfolio is just to see if the student is really interested, because it isn't as easy as people think it is; lots of people quit after the first semester.
As you can think having a lot of students quit because what they thought was easy, when it really isn't; leaves the school in a bad position. So they only accept students who can prove they are really dedicated to learning the subject.
2 hours ago, OpenMouthGaming said:for a portfolio preferably the stuff will be free and interactive so not just videos and text
I recommend you download Unity and follow it's "Learn" section. These are tutorials that are videos but you follow along with the editor. Unity will teach you the basics of C#.
Every tutorial you have finished can be added to your portfolio.
6 hours ago, Iltis said:On the other hand I doubt that a game development school requires a portfolio of games.
It does happen but only if there is limited classroom space. It's used as a way to weed out the "lesser" applications when there are too many applications for the program.
9 hours ago, OpenMouthGaming said:I need to be able to learn any or all of the programming languages in the tags in under a month
If you post the languages here we can recommend very basic guides to help give you an understanding. however unless you're extremely talented naturally and programming clicks for you very fast, I highly doubt you'll get a meaningful portfolio in 30 days.
Is there a reason you're going into a game development school and not getting an undergraduate degree? Are you looking at being a programmer, artist, or something else within the game industry?
I'm really not a fan of these "game schools" because the reality is you might have a very hard time getting a job in the industry right off the bat, and if you have at least an undergraduate degree you can at least take on jobs outside of the game industry in the meantime. For example, If I'm going to hire a programmer for a business web application, do I want the programmer who went to game school and nothing else, or the one with a Computer Science Degree? Most would pick the Computer Science Degree over a Game Development Certificate.
Please provide more details so we can help.
Programmer and 3D Artist
14 hours ago, OpenMouthGaming said:so im going to be completely honest I have autism and adhd so my concentration and attention span is crap but in one month I have an interview for a game development school I need to be able to learn any or all of the programming languages in the tags in under a month at least just the basics so im able to make simple programs for a portfolio preferably the stuff will be free and interactive so not just videos and text
thx
well I was hoping for a website and it has to be free and yes the tags I've selected will be what programming languages we will be learning so I need to at least know the basics and the portfolio doesn't have to have games just things like small programs to show that we know the basics so if theres a website that's free and interactive as in quizzes' and try your self stuff that would be grate
I've listed some options below, both free online resources and paid books. I would suggest you invest money into learning resources if you're serious about programming. I wish you the best as one month to learn these three languages and develop a portfolio related to games is going to be one heck of a challenge. Keep in mind that these languages will still need another library, framework, or API in order to make game related programs which you will have to learn as well...
For C++
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/
Book: C++ Primer (Not C++ Primer Plus which is a different book)
For C#
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/quick-starts/
Book: C# 7.0 in a Nutshell: The Definitive Reference
For Java
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/index.html
Book: Effective Java (3rd Edition)
Book: Java: A Beginner's Guide, Seventh Edition
Book: Java: The Complete Reference, Tenth Edition (Complete Reference Series)
Programmer and 3D Artist
Learning a new language pretty much starts with this site. It's your biggest friend in programming.
Assuming you search for C# beginner tutorials:
For absolute beginners in programming and C# LearnCS.org might be a good starting point, although it only teaches the basics and syntax of C#, not how to structure projects, create API's or write a game. Also it's very short, it only takes a few hours.
Microsoft's official course on C# is much more in-depth about the basics of C# and includes a variety of small projects emphasizing what you currently learn / already learned. But it's still only a beginner's tutorial and does not cover advanced topics.
Youtube is a good choice, too, just search for 'C'# beginner' and you are going to find a bunch of tutorials/playlists to teach you the basics.
