Ah hello, i am wanting to start making a sidescrolling Beat-Em-Up \ RPG (is just for pleasure not for profit).
After some searching the internet i feel my main options are either learning of using GameMaker 8 or of SGDK2.
Although GM has very large user base and many tutorials i for some reason get better feelings from SGDK2, i like it but not for any intelligent reason.
I have some limited experience with RPG Maker (hehe i hear your 'lol'), but really it is a toy when compared to these development tools as no real scripting was involved.
From reading i have done GM has it's own (i think simplified?) language called GML, what does SGDK use? Is it this C++?
Because of how novice i am it would probably make sense to start with GM, the people there are very friendly, but i feel that place is more about competition.
My other concern is that GM encourages you to start using the basic Drag & Drop system, however for more advanced creation it becomes a hindrance.
It might be harder, but i would rather start learning to use tools that will be useful to me throughout, rather than spending months learning baby tools
and then having to restart learning again because i have to switch to GML.
I am not looking to create anything within weeks or months, i am expecting it to be just hobby to take time with and enjoy for what it is.
Here is type of game i would like to make.
![](http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/868/868095/river-city-ransom-virtual-console-20080421071006767.jpg)
I would teach myself in stages, beginning with the very basics (building a room) and taking it step by step untill i have built a working concept.
I am not afraid of learning complex scripting, but i would need somewhere to start. My preference would be SGDK2 over GM, what would be more suited to making a side scrolling bashy smashy game?
(i just realised the SGDK comes with actually decent help file so i will read through this, but i would still like opinions from people who know what they are doing and what i have ahead of me)