Favorite Game Programming Language

Python is a great choice for starting out.

Depending on what your goals are, you might want to check out Scratch.

I was thinking more along the lines of Minecraft or Legend of Zelda type games (the origionals). I have heard python is very easy to program in and I was wondering if the speed of C++ execution is worth the extra time in development. I can learn new languages quite well as I taught myself OpenGL and half taught myself JAVA.

Awesome, in my opinion, OpenGL will be the hardest part.

As a shameless plug, I'm writing a C++ tutorial.

C++ seems like a great language, but is it really as fast as people claim? (I am not going to use JAVA because I strongly dislike the garbage collection)

Because c++ is compiled to byte code and python is an intpreted language, c++ will be faster for a comparable program.  Sometimes the difference can be dramatic, other times it isn't that big of a deal.

When it comes to performance, it is usually more about how you implement something rather than the language that you write it in.  Usually, the best way to go about things is to get a working prototype and then worry about making it faster/better.  So, I would concentrate on getting something that works how you want it to, and then find ways to improve it.

"concentrate on getting something that works how you want it to"

That really is the most important thing. I must though correct you on you terminology.

C++, on most platforms, is a compiled language that turns source code into machine code not byte code.  Java is compiled to byte code for example. Machine code is specific to a single processor architecture (x86, ARM etc.), byte code is normally an abstract representation of machine code that could be executed on any cpu with the right runtime system. That said CPython, which is what is on the Pi, uses a "byte code virtual machine" meaning that it really is not an interpreted language in the traditional sense.

I am not going to use JAVA because I strongly dislike the garbage collection

Well jds123 then you won't like Python either as it also has a garbage collector. What are you writing that is so mission critical that you need to bother worrying about memory allocation manually?

"concentrate on getting something that works how you want it to"

That really is the most important thing. I must though correct you on you terminology.

C++, on most platforms, is a compiled language that turns source code into machine code not byte code.  Java is compiled to byte code for example. Machine code is specific to a single processor architecture (x86, ARM etc.), byte code is normally an abstract representation of machine code that could be executed on any cpu with the right runtime system. That said CPython, which is what is on the Pi, uses a "byte code virtual machine" meaning that it really is not an interpreted language in the traditional sense.

I am not going to use JAVA because I strongly dislike the garbage collection

Well jds123 then you won't like Python either as it also has a garbage collector. What are you writing that is so mission critical that you need to bother worrying about memory allocation manually?

Well in JAVA it removes unused variables quite inefficiently which causes lag. Also I think it would be good to learn how to deal with manual garbage collection, because it will allow me to make my programs more efficient for slower devices so it can run efficiently on slower devices such as the RasPI