Name: Anonymous 2011-10-05 1:20
http://www.gamearchitect.net/Articles/WhyC++.html
Nothing succeeds like success. The fact that C++ is the dominant language for game development gives it a lot of inertia. If you want to hire experienced programmers, it's much easier to recruit C++ gurus than it is to find OCaml talent. If you're going to develop for consoles, Microsoft and Sony provide C++ compilers, but for any other language you're on your own. And if you want to link with middleware, most modern game middleware packages--including Gamebryo, Havok, FMOD, SpeedTree and the Unreal Engine--are written in C++. Developing in another language, even C, is a lonely path.
The power of the C++ network effect is not to be underestimated. For example, Naughty Dog used an in-house LISP variant called GOAL (Game Oriented Assembly Lisp) for the Jak and Daxter titles. They had a significant investment in GOAL, for which they'd written their own compiler, linker and debugger. They supported dynamic reloading of code by a running game and reportedly generated tight, efficient assembly. After their acquisition by Sony, however, Naughty Dog were forced to transition to C++ development. "Sony wants us to be able to share code with other studios, and this works both ways - both other studios using our code and vice versa," posted Naughty Dog lead programmer Scott Shumaker.
Nothing succeeds like success. The fact that C++ is the dominant language for game development gives it a lot of inertia. If you want to hire experienced programmers, it's much easier to recruit C++ gurus than it is to find OCaml talent. If you're going to develop for consoles, Microsoft and Sony provide C++ compilers, but for any other language you're on your own. And if you want to link with middleware, most modern game middleware packages--including Gamebryo, Havok, FMOD, SpeedTree and the Unreal Engine--are written in C++. Developing in another language, even C, is a lonely path.
The power of the C++ network effect is not to be underestimated. For example, Naughty Dog used an in-house LISP variant called GOAL (Game Oriented Assembly Lisp) for the Jak and Daxter titles. They had a significant investment in GOAL, for which they'd written their own compiler, linker and debugger. They supported dynamic reloading of code by a running game and reportedly generated tight, efficient assembly. After their acquisition by Sony, however, Naughty Dog were forced to transition to C++ development. "Sony wants us to be able to share code with other studios, and this works both ways - both other studios using our code and vice versa," posted Naughty Dog lead programmer Scott Shumaker.