There was a article on Slashdot a while ago about using SDL with Perl. Of course I've heard of the definitive example of a Perl game, Frozen Bubble, but someone also linked to a Perl FPS project. It looks interesting, but seems to be abandoned. Anyway, this has renewed my interest in learning game programming.

The problem is that the only languages I know are Perl, PHP, and Visual Basic. Would it be worth it to learn C or are the premade tools enough of a speed boost to do something simple without a "real" (non-scripting) language? Ideally, I'd like to be able to do something with 2D or 3D, some basic physics, and network multiplayer.

There's so much to choose from, though. Should I use SDL? Allegro? Regardless of DirectX's merits, I think OpenGL is the obvious choice for 3D stuff, just because of the larger possible audience.

Are there any example Perl games out there? Have any of the monks ever done anything in this area? The only books I really see are OpenGL guides, any recommendations?

In reply to So many things to learn when starting game programming. What's worth learning? by Cap'n Steve

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