How do I start ANYTHING!

So I’m totally lost on where to start or what language to learn! I have good code knowledge for creating websites (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP) but never found any real use for the knowledge (college is great for taking money but not for actually getting a job). Honestly I always wanted to be a game developer, and I have several ideas for games. But the more I look for options the more confused I get. And thus I found Code with Chris…

So my question is, what do I do?

Swift sounds amazing! But useless as it can only be used on Apple products and made usable by Xcode. The fact I have to buy a new computer (mac) just for one program is bull, and would be completely un-cross platform friendly. I looked at rented virtual hosts, and I have to disagree with Chris on this one, $79 a month for mcastadium is not affordable, just wait 6 months and buy a mac. And the other options have crappy terms ($20 a month but you can only use it 3 hours a day, $25 but can’t run Xcode unless you upgrade, $30 a month but 500mg data limit, and so on)

Android? I can’t find anything on! What language does it use? I see Java come up but also something about android sdk? I don’t know where to start here!

Unity? Ya… I am totally lost on this. And C# seems to the only language with future support for it. And I’m not really interested in learning how to use a super complex program AND THEN learn a new coding language for it. And let’s not forget it still can’t actually make iso apps because only Xcode can sign and install them.

C++? Oh ya, my kind of coding! No completed Program to figure out (Xcode, Unity), i can do everything with raw, powerful code which is what I understand and do best with! But… what platform actually uses it? I know I can make a desktop app for windows on it, but then what do I do with it? How can I deploy a c++ app on devices people would actually use it on? Can I upload it to the web somehow? Where would I upload it too? And how would I manage to give it any chance at success besides just another time killer on addictinggames.com that everyone forgets about?

So basically… what should I do. I love the idea of swift but despise the Apple money trap around it. Unity just… to much to learn. C++, just what do I do with it! I just want a pure code based solution to make game apps that can be deployed on a popular app store. Is there such a thing?

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I wouldn’t see that Apple is a Money Trap, you get what you pay for, reliable, solid systems with a very reliable OS and Coding Software to go with it. Yes for sure it can only be used on Apple devices, but that’s not really a bad thing. If your game becomes popular you can always hire someone to port it to Android.

Xcode and SpriteKit are definitly a very good way to go about it. And you can get a Mac second hand for very little money. Same as I did. I got my MacBook Pro 2012 for about €500 and it works perfectly.

If you really want to go cross platform the only real viable way would be UNITY, just gotta bite the bullet and learn it. We all had to learn something and believe me SWIFT and XCODE looked scary as hell to me at the beginning, but the more you leanr the more excitd you get and the more you wanna keep learning.

I am about 2 years in leanign swift now, with a break in the middle, and I am not even close to be able to call my self a full fledged programmer. But I will keep going until I am there.

Hi @Zaper127,

I was also a PHP fullstack developer like you. I just started learning Swift and let me tell you, it is very intimidating. But I’m still pushing forward with it because I have a goal in mind.

One thing I can tell you is don’t just want to code, have a goal in mind first. You said you want to create games so I would suggest focusing on IOS because as of now that is the biggest and better platform for games at the moment (and most likely will be for a while).

What I would do is this:

  1. Learn Swift (get good at it like you are with C++) build some command line program to automate things similar to those programming tools we use when building web apps)
  2. Learn IOS (get good at it, little by little)
  3. Pick a framework based on your app goal, what you really want to build.

like @Zenocode said, get a refurb MAC for now or get a MAC Mini.

Hope I was able to help a little.

Whatever you do enjoy coding!!!

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@Zaper127

You could always create a game with HTML/CSS/JavaScript because that’s using skills you already have.

Swift is only for Apple products, but it can be used for websites as well with various frameworks. It’s not useless, but it does have it’s own use case, like every other language.

Android development. This can be done with either Java or Kotlin (another language). It uses the IDE Android Studio.

Unity is a game engine that uses C# as it’s language.

Unreal is also a game engine you could consider because it uses C++. (Fortnite was built with Unreal).

To answer your question, I’d suggest looking into Unreal Engine with C++ or building a web version of a game using HTML/CSS/JavaScript.

Swift is available on Linux I believe, and is picking up support from other manufactures and Scientific community !!
You know how to program Swift has all the basic elements too ! You should be able to pickup Swift easily ! :slight_smile:
Xcode builds the interface for your programs, and interfaces Apple OS to your program !!
You can use a virtual machine running on a PC to try Xcode and Swift !

Swift is the new boy on the block, still growing and expanding !
As programming languages go it still learning !
The future will see what Swift can grow into, AI, ML, AR :slight_smile:
Games are developed by teams of people now a days !
Whole departments just to do the art…

Hope this helps @Zaper127

Thanks for the input and feed back everyone. This helps guide me in a direction.

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Hi @Zaper127
Good-Friday I found a good book; Swift Apprentice, $60.00 USD
from raywenderlich.com epub, and PDF formats plus software I got it for half price $30.00 US only reason I bought in, am glad I did !
I’m reading it an find it most through in showing and explaining what and how to use Swift.
Don’t let the name fool you it is in-depth and advanced stuff, as well as the basics ! It is a tutorial with software to go along with the text.
Is recently updated… too v5.0 edition

If you haven’t seen it @CodeWithChris you ought to take a look see :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

If you are serious about Game development for mobile devices then you need to make a choice between Android and iOS.

From an iOS perspective and having delved into Spritekit I think it is a brilliant Framework.

Whether you like Apple or not does not matter. The fact is that the Xcode IDE that Apple provide is free and is absolutely brilliant to use. I already owned a Mac computer so trying out Xcode was a no brainer and I only did so out of boredom while recovering from a hearing disorder.

I started following different people online and gradually built up my skills through a couple of Udemy courses and then discovered CodeWithChris on YouTube and a whole bunch of others including Paul Hudson (Hacking With Swift), Sean Allen and Mark Moeykens.

Spritekit is a heap of fun and it not difficult to get your head around. If an old codger like me can get a handle on it then so can anyone else.

As others have suggested, get yourself a second hand MacBook (probably wise to get one that can run Catalina) and give it a shot.

According to Apple, these are the Macs that will run Catalina:

  • MacBook 2015 and later
  • MacBook Air 2012 and later
  • MacBook Pro 2012 and later
  • iMac 2012 and later
  • iMac Pro 2017 and later
  • Mac Mini 2012 and later
  • Mac Pro 2013 and later

I am trying to build an app where there are different pages connected to different buttons. And on these pages there will be links to websites and such. However, I have no idea how to put links on page that work when clicked on and don’t require the user to copy and paste each link. I am completely lost on what lesson or module I can learn this in so I would appreciate any help I can get.

maybe this video can help on how to load websites

you can then use it to make a different page for each button click

Hello
My name is Nidal and I’m 15. So I have a clear plan of what I want to make regarding my app. A page with circle icons with different images and one word under each icon describing the genre. Once the user clicks on one of the icons/genres, they’ll be taken to a page for that genre where there will be an image with some text under the image and a URL link which will take the user to a website. Each icon will have a few of those Image,text,URL templates which they can choose from while scrolling through. I have a very close upcoming deadline on January 2nd where I must be done with this app. I am prepared to work all day but I am lost on how to get to the finish line because my fear is that when I finish all the lessons and modules, I will start from scratch and I will be stuck and not remember a lot of the skills and will be stuck which is not ideal for me because of the deadline. I draw a quick rough sketch of how my app will look like. I’m sorry for the quality of it but I was in a hurry, you can send me a message if you would like a clearer picture. All I need is guidance to which modules and parts of the course I must go to, to create the app in mind. Thank you so much.

Closest thing that comes to mind should be the news app (last module i believe)

Ok thank you sooo sooo much