Game development

[ufhockey09]

do people use visual studio for C++ coding of games? id like to start writing programs for games...start out small of course. what software would i need? visual studio will do? i get that free so that'd be nice if it were the case. isnt there a java one that can be downloaded also? free download on that? also, can any1 recommend any good websites/tutorials/good reads to get someone started on doing this? thanks in advance

 

[Extrarius]

Yes, Visual Studio is pretty much the standard for game programming as far as I can tell. If at all possibly, you want VisualStudio.Net Professional, or Academic, or Visual Studio 6 Professional. The professional versions include a better compiler, and often times you can get it REALLY cheap through school.
For a LOT of info on game developing, I suggest you check out GameDev.Net.