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I think i might try learning Java because im guessing its going to be a little more online game friendly than c++ and it shouldnt be a hard switch for me.

but... ive been hearing alot of people bash java on programming forums and stuff for being "outdated"

seems to me that a lot of successful projects have come out of Java and its still used pretty widely

So is it any good for making online games anymore or is it defunct and are there better options?

For server side programming, Java is good stuff and is widely used; especially when scalability matters. I use Python myself, simply because it is a bit faster to develop in Python than Java.

On the client side, I'd be inclined to use other languages.

Client-side Java web game development has really fallen behind in the last few years. Little innovation has come out of it because of the mass exodus to Flash.

Jackolantern wrote:Client-side Java web game development has really fallen behind in the last few years. Little innovation has come out of it because of the mass exodus to Flash.

agreed

I have heard a lot of good things about it. And I love Java personally. You can get some good lessons on youtube...just check out thenewboston he explains everything pretty well and even gives tutorials that can explain how to start making games. btw, if I am not supposed to mention other tutorial sources forgive me.

Typically posters are encouraged to talk about other tutorial sources

And yes, learning Java does have a big advantage in that it has tons of resources to learn it. I have used Java quite extensively in the past. The problem is that while Flash has been evolving, streamlining, adding features and growing in community, the Java web game platform really hasn't. Flash is basically the standard now for browser-based game development, and that has really hurt Java's application in that field. Far fewer people are working with it and advancing client-side Java game development.