Started at 7 with a Commodore 64. Didn't get another PC until College. Got a ComSci degree in 2001. Now I'm 30. Just got back into the programming industry about 4 years ago. I prefer c# for game development, but I'm very good with VB.Net and T-SQL.

Video game accomplishments to date
*******************************
2001 - Built a complete and detailed version of Pong Soccer using C++, DirectX5, and the Windows Game Programming for Dummies Engine.
2001 - Modified the Windows Game Programming for Dummy engine (this was a single screen engine) into 2-way side scrolling and tile engine with multiple layers of backgrounds.

Current and future projects
*******************************
2009 - Writing a 2d-Tile engine in VB.Net and DirectX. This is more or less to sharpen up my VB skills in order to show my current company that I can write VB.Net and so that I'll be a shoe-in for the next Jr. Developer position.
2009 - Port my 2d-Tile engine to XNA.

13 with VB6!

I started programming at around 14 ¹/₂ in C#, and am now 15 and a ¹/₂ and can program quite efficiently in C#, and I am in the process of teaching myself XNA in much the same way as I taught myself C#.

I started programming on a vic20 when i was 12, taught myself Visual basic, c++, VBA, im now 38, but due to day job, not really fluent in any language but know enough to be dangerous to my Laptop! Now learning c# and XNA.

cheers
PY

I've had a computer (personal one) ever since I can remember, about 4,  and started programming around 11ish with Actionscript 2 on Flash. Made a couple of Flash games over the 3 years, now 14, and picking up C# and XNA...
That's about it.
-ShadowFlygon

I was still in grade school when I first started programming, that was about 30 years ago. I began when my brother brought home an old TSR-80 (yes, I'm that old :)). I moved to the VIC-20, then the Commodore 64, then to the Super PET and main frames in high school. Languages that I would consider to be under my belt are BASIC (my first language), Pascal, COBOL, FORTRAN (though it has been so long since I've used it would take a while to reorient my self), then I moved to C, then C++, then to Visual Basic, VB.NET, C#. I've been experimenting with Smalltalk and Java. I've taken a look at Lisp and Prolog but really just a cursory look.

I'm 30, started about 20 years ago when I got a ZX Spectrum and dabbled in BASIC. I know enough Java, C and C++ to get by but C# in Visual Studio is starting to look mighty swish in my eye.

Bapa:

How old were you when you began. How old are you now. What language did you start with, and what language(s) are you using now?

started at 11 and I'm currently 39. First language was BASIC on a mainframe at University of VA (summer camp), followed by TRS-80 Model III at school, Vic20 & C64 (my neighbor) and eventually my own TRS80 CoCo. From there it was an eventual jump to PC.

nowadays I use VB.NET, C#, F#, C/C++ etc...

I'm 15 and i began when i were 9 years old (with DarkBasic)
I began C++ when i were 10 and when i were 14 i began to learn C# ^^

I started to take an interest in programming in Basic when I was 11, I'm currently 18 and write in C/C++ and C#.

I was born in '88 and I am excited to try my first programming class in college this summer!

It's called MCO 141, Introduction to Programming.
Here's the details:

This course introduces students to problem solving techniques used in programming such as algorithms; pseudocode; top-down, structured and modular program design, program tracing; testing; and debugging. In order to reinforce these concepts in a concrete matter, students will develop programs using the C++ programming language. They will implement programs using input, output and variables; utilizing programming control structures such as looping, decision and function calls.

Have no idea what that means :(

Silvercube:

This course introduces students to problem solving techniques used in programming such as algorithms; pseudocode; top-down, structured and modular program design, program tracing; testing; and debugging.

You'll learn best practices for designing and testing applications and how to debug them (find errors). You'll probably do a lot of conceptually walking through programs and perhaps then be left to code it yourself. It's always a good idea to understand the problem and solution before just writing code.

In order to reinforce these concepts in a concrete matter, students will develop programs using the C++ programming language. They will implement programs using input, output and variables; utilizing programming control structures such as looping, decision and function calls.

Have no idea what that means :(

C++ is a lot like C# except it gives you the ability to cause a lot more trouble :)

You'll learn how to take input from the user and display results back to the screen. You'll learn basically all the foundations of programming and then how to use them in C++.

All in all, it sounds a lot like my first programming classes (also in C++).

I started programing at 16 in basic, then at 17 did and A - Level in computing, and learnted Pascal. Next i Learnt Delphi, Byond, (basic) c++, c# and vb

now im 23 and been programing for about 7 years!

I started programing at 13 with the Game Maker Software and moved on to C++ still not very good at it lol, im almost 21 now.

Amiltu:

I started programing at 13 with the Game Maker Software and moved on to C++ still not very good at it lol, im almost 21 now.

Me and this guy I used to work software phone support with use to make some short games with GameMaker and then send them out to some of our coworkers. Sure enough, no matter how crappy they were, they'd be playing the games all daywhile on the phone. Good times.

Im 25 years old now, and I started making games in 1993 with Click and Play/The Games Factory. When I was about 10 years old I started programming Basic and moved to C/C++ when turning 13..

Now I have been programming for about 15 years, and I know XNA very well, as well as DirectX and OpenGL. I also love writing shaders.. ;)

If anyone is interessted in anything that I have made, please take a look at www.darkcodex.net and my blog http://digierr.spaces.live.com/.

I Started about 3 to 4 years ago, I didnt think I was going to get into programming, until one subject came in College.  I had to learn how a program worked and be able to code Databases in VisualBasic. I thought it was going to be hell, but the teacher made it interesting. and at the end I liked it, then I started Learning DarkBASIC, C++, C#, and.... thats about it. I tried lerning Python, but I just sticked to C++/ and C# I still have a site or what ever on youtube with tutorials for DarkBASIC Pro.... and thats about it, I was 17 when I started and now, I am 21 well I will be 21 in Oct ;)

I really wish I knew more ppl like you guys, Programmers. I have tried to get my friends into it, but .... They are scared of programming, and some just want to do the Art work for Games.

I realy wish I knew several Programmers here in person. lol.

Anyways.

Cheers!!

Be active on the forums, talk with ppl. here and I'm sure you will get some contacts, and frineds to talk programming with ;)

well, it seems most of you are very lucky, you got your own computer when you were so young, i didn't got mine until my collage years begin
my first programming language is Pascal, and now i am using C#, I like game programming, and i am preparing for my first game now

22/20

I started programming "Hello World" style programs at about 7-8 years old on Apple 2C, Commodore Vic 20s, TRS80 type computers :P
which were 'state of the art' at the time.... Pretty sure they all used one form of Basic or another.

go go Cassettes for data storage, lol

I have used c++, pascal, modula2, scheme, prolog, vb, java, and c# in my time.. c# is by far my favorite and current.

BlogusMaximus:

Bapa:

How old were you when you began. How old are you now. What language did you start with, and what language(s) are you using now?

started at 11 and I'm currently 39. First language was BASIC on a mainframe at University of VA (summer camp), followed by TRS-80 Model III at school, Vic20 & C64 (my neighbor) and eventually my own TRS80 CoCo. From there it was an eventual jump to PC.

nowadays I use VB.NET, C#, F#, C/C++ etc...

glad to see another 'old-timer'

20/16

I started programming on an Atari when I was not quite 7. We started off with the LOGO program, but soon found a cartridge that let us make actual programs, and we could store them on our 5 1/2 inch floppy discs. I'm almost 23 now and in the intervening 16ish years I have used BASIC, Visual Basic, Pascal, Delphi, C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, LISP, Objective-C, C#, VHDL and even a bit of Ada which I had to learn because I almost got sent away to program warships for a year.

Each has it strong points, and useful language elements, each has its let-downs and nasty syntax (like LISP, which sometimes makes me wish I could claw my eyes out because at least then they would stop bleeding), some are better than others for learning to program on, some have the potential to create realtime software, others are good for writing maintainable code.

Languages are tools - experience a wide variety of them, if only because it broadens your horizons on what is out there and what is best suited to a particular task. Read lots and lots of books, and whenever you think to yourself "It'd be great if I had a program to do this..." write it yourself instead of turning to Google. Once you find your passion (like programming computer games) pour all your effort into it and become as good as you possibly can at it.