What are the benefits of learning a new language, as a game developer?

Question

I'm an independant game developer/designer, and I'm wondering what specific benefits are there to learning a new programming language. I do my programming in C++ currently, and I want to know if there are any tangible benefits to learning a different language, as in, benefits to writing a game x in language y versus game w in language z?

Basically, I understand that learning a new programming language will help me think about a problem in different ways, but what are some actual benefits to using one language over another in specific scenarios?

Answer 1

Heres one.. different languages for different operating systems (sometimes).

If you were to create a game specifically for Mac for instance, using Objective-C and Cocoa might be a good idea or .NET and C# for Windows. Also, several mobile devices are language specific like iPhone using Objective-C and C (does it take C++ as well?) and Android (mostly Java with option to use C in bits and pieces). Or if you want to make Flash games, it has a language as well. I'm not sure about the different consoles but I'm assuming they are limited in the number of languages you can use for development.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Answer 2

IMO, the benefits are all about the frameworks you get to use. For instance, learning Java lets you do Android games. Objective C with iPhone (though you can still use C++ for that). Learning .NET lets you use XNA. Heck, even JavaScript and the HTML Canvas tag are getting good enough to write web games.

I think if you're a good programmer and know the fundamentals, you'll still approach problems the same way. It's just what the language offers that affects your implementation of the solution. I really think that the advantages are in the frameworks that new languages open up to you.