I’m fairly new to Linux as well, but have some experience. I’ll try to share my first steps.
My very first step was gathering information: what are Linux distros? What’s the difference between them? Which is easiest to learn? There are a bunch of articles and forum pages dedicated to these topics. I learned that you can dual boot (i.e. no need to wipe Windows drive), that installation happens with a bootable media, like USB, and that gaming is generally not a problem. My first distro was Pop!_OS, which I don’t regret: it’s based on Ubuntu, meaning old, stable foundation, uses Gnome by default (look up “desktop environments”) which is gorgeous and very extensible, and had Nvidia drivers pre-installed, which is apparently a big thing.
My personal method of learning is as-I-go: say, I just installed Linux, and now I want to install Firefox. How do I do that? I apparently can’t just run a .exe file like in Windows. So I googled it, and found out about package managers, and how to use them. My very first command wasn’t successful, but with time, I learned to use it without looking it up, simply from recurring use.
If you do decide to install Linux, you may want to look up something like “top 10 things to do after installing [your distro]”, sometimes these help deal with some annoying quirks out of the gate.
If jumping into the deep end isn’t for you, then the best resource to find all about Linux is the Arch Wiki. Don’t try to navigate it from the home page, it’s like a maze. Instead, whenever you look up information, try to find a page about whatever you’re looking up in the wiki.
Here’re a list of things to look up for your convenience, to cover your base:
dual boot
desktop environments
Linux begginers friendly distros
Linux gaming reddit
That’s just off the top of my head.
It’s gonna be tough. Stuff won’t work as you want it to, and sometimes you’ll end up scrounging the web for hours because you searched the wrong words. Linux isn’t plug-and-play like Windows is, it demands a lot of attention at first, and maintenance later on. But at the end of the day, you’ll have an operating system that works for you, not the other way around. You’ll have a gorgeous desktop that everyone who doesn’t use Linux will be jelaus of. And you’ll have a deeper understanding of technology, which today is priceless.
I hope this helps you, even a little. Oh, and don’t pay attention to the snobbish Linux users. If at the end of the day you find yourself struggling too much, not wanting to invest the needed amount of time and energy into it… there’s no shame in coming back to Windows. I admit, it’s very convenient and easy to use, and with enough know-how you can customize it too. Just don’t give up at the first sight of trouble.
I can help a bit with software.
I tried Godot a while ago, didn’t personally like it, though I do recommend your son tries it, as it does work with Python and won’t require learning a new language. Also heard it’s beginner friendly. That’s how I started at least.
Unity is my recommended game engine - it’s more versatile and has quite a community, so it’s easy to find answers to almost any questions your son might have (and trust me, he will have a lot). It does require learning C# though.
For big AAA games the answer is Unreal. It works on C++. Can say much about it, I haven’t tried it myself, but I did hear it’s has a bit of a steep learning curve. Would recommend this one only if your son becomes very invested and will have made a few games already.
1·1 year ago
Tldr: something something Microsoft bad