A video game makes the player immerse into it and he does not simply sit back and

watch a hero complete his journey, in fact he becomes the hero. The key to acquire

this interactivity is programming (Dawson, 2011, p.18). Programming is described as

“the act of expressing an algorithm using a low-level or high level language”

(Reynolds and Tymann, 2008, p.2). Programming games is different from other kinds

of programming not in terms of better or worse but it is just a different experience.

Game programmers have to come across tough challenges and to overcome these,

they need to choose wisely the right coding language (McShaffry, 2009, p.17). A few

examples of such languages are C++, Lua and assembly. Of the above programming

languages, which is best suited to console game development in the contemporary

market place is a question mentioned in almost every game programming FAQ. The

question is good though but not the one with an easy answer.

The only language that a computer understands is machine language but it is hard for

humans to work directly with it so low and high level computer languages have been

developed to ease the process which are later translated into machine language by

compiler or interpreter. Today there are many languages that deal with teaching

programming, one-off programs, small projects, mission-critical, real-time

applications and general purpose work but C++ is the most widely used language for

writing computer applications in today's market (Reynolds and Tymann, 2008, p.2;

Dawson, 2011, p.18). The potential of an object-oriented language like C++ allows to

create immensely complex systems (McShaffry, 2009, p.52). Unlike C++, assembly

language is not used to entirely write the game but is used in portions where

performance can be improved (Hattan, n.d.). On the other hand, Lua is a scripting

language embedded in programs and this integration brings many benefits

(Ierusalimschy, 2006, p.13). The language best suited for console game development

will be evident by analysing the history, efficiency and application of these languages.

While knowing the history of languages will not tell which language is superior but it

is important to get an idea of the origin. In the 1940s, the lowest-level, first human-

readable programming language was written, that is assembly. But due to the

language being error-prone and difficult to work with, intermediate and high-level

programming languages were developed like C++ and Lua in 1983 and 1996

respectively. C++ is a direct descendant of the C language with object oriented

features and other improvements. It was invented by Bjarne Stroustrup in Bell labs,

United States, whereas the strange-sounding language Lua (pronounced LOO-ah)

which means moon in Portuguese was created at the Pontifical Catholic University of

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by the members of Computer Graphics Technology Group,

Roberto Ierusalimschy, Luiz Henrique de Figueiredo, and Waldemar Celes

(Stroustrup, 2013; Varma, 2012, p.1-2).

Game programming needs to be executed by efficient, productive, portable, and fast

language which maximises the performance of a game by utilising the potential of the

hardware to its full extent. Low-level languages like assembly are closest to machine

languages so these take the advantage of the processor's latest features, since they can

be used directly. This makes assembly the smallest and fastest language and games

can be coded with maximum performance. However, assembly is difficult to learn as

it is the same as machine language except with names instead of numbers and it is

only specific to a particular computer architecture as compared to most intermediate

and high-level programming languages such as C++ and Lua, which are portable

across multi-platforms plus they are closer to human languages (Hattan, n.d.). Being

closer to human languages, these are easier to read and write and this is their main

advantage over low-level languages. C++ is regarded as an intermediate-level

language, as it comprises both high and low-level language features (Schildt, 1998).

There are various reasons why game programmers choose C++, for instance, it is

blazingly fast because its design aim is performance, it allows you to use assembly

language to squeeze out more performance if needed and moreover, C++ is multi-

paradigm giving options of different styles of programming including object-oriented

programming to a programmer. Since it has a long background in game industry, the

pre-existing code serves as a huge asset available to speed up the process of starting a

new project (Dawson, 2011, p.). One of the fastest scripting language Lua may not

still run as quick as C++, but it saves time as it is immediately interpreted by the

program at real-time rather than compiled first like C++. The compilation can be

time-consuming if the program is long (McShaffry, 2009, p.266-302). Usually, an

open source language with gentle learning curve comes at the cost of performance but

Lua possesses both properties (Jung and Tymann, 2007, p.27). In addition to this, Lua

is a small language which contributes to its small size. Its complete distribution can be

easily stored in a floppy disk(Ierusalimschy, 2006, p.14).

Game programming can involve anything from creating the game engine and graphics

to game-play, database, physics and scripting.(Novak, 2012, p.). Although there are

several game coding languages, C++ is the game industry standard and games are

written largely or completely in it, especially big-budget computer games (Dawson,

2011, p.). In contrast to C++, assembly language today is used in bits and pieces

where performance can be improved though in 1990s, most cost console games were

written in assembly, such as sega saturn (Pettus, n.d; Hattan, n.d.). Similar to C++,

Lua is also widely used in games but as a scripting language as it was designed from

the start to be integrated with a software(Ierusalimschy, 2006, p.13). This integration

brings many benefits such as rapid prototyping and code testing which is why Lua is

becoming increasingly popular with game developers (Varma, 2012, p.12). Game

titles do utilise Lua but the core of the game engine still remains C++.

The bottom line is that if someone wants to be a professional game programmer, he

must know C++. Even though games written in assembly are the fastest but the slight

performance difference is worth it as C++ is much easier to write and maintain. Not

only C++ but Lua is also a handy language except that it is used only for rapid

prototyping and scripting in big game projects. Like every profession, game

programming has got a bad side which is that it is a tough job due to crazy work

hours, almost annually changing SDK and OS, and immense competition but if the

goal is set, it is achievable.