Interview With Guy Who Knows Stuff

Forum Mod
Design and programming developer
Game developer for EGOSOFT
games for steam
Language developer called Epoch


questions

What language should i be using?
What kind of goals are good to have?
what would be best to spend my time working on?
What are some good resources out there to use?
How is college going to help me?


Recommendation: start *small*. Write Pong. Write Tic-tac-toe. Write Tetris. That'll give you an idea as to how long it'll take to make a small, simple game. Now, multiply that time by 100 for a bottom estimate of how long it'll take to do a simple commercial game. Multiply by at least 1000 for how to do the super-big hit of the year.

Well you could watch the Itunes Standford Java or C++ video's if you are bored with Python.
If you go on to college you will most likely have to learn Java or C++ sooner or later.
Looking back to when I was your age though I would just keep writing programs/games in Python if you are already comfortable with it.
Besides like you said you've only made "small" stuff from what it sounds like. When you start making complete games is where it starts getting hard!

Keep using Python. Really develop your skills there and put out some high-quality, finished, polished games. If you ever encounter a situation that Python cannot handle (and this is a big "if"), then you can start worrying about what other tools to pick up. Depending on the problem you run into, you may want to go with C#, or Java, or Lua, or LISP, or whatever. Maybe you'll have to take a dip in the inky, rotted, corrosive brine that is C++ (although I hope for your sake that you don't!).

Finish every project you start.

Every time you finish a project, when you pick your next project, pick something that you don't actually know how to do. This will ensure that you are constantly stretching yourself and learning new things. Just be careful not to bite off more than you can chew.

Lastly, but most importantly, enjoy it. If you stop having fun programming, go the **** outside and do something else that you actually like doing. Life is too short to waste your youth on preparing for a career that you don't actually enjoy.

I believe there is an old saying. Those who can't, teach. You will find that even if your teachers have experience in the working world it is usually decades out of date. Remember the degree is a piece of paper that gets your resume past filters, and the learning begins when you get your first job.