Programmers

[Dane S]

I'm headed back to school in the fall after a year or two off and planning to major in Computer Science this time around. The intro class reportedly teaches Java which I have no experience with. Actually the only experience I've had with code is some messing around with VB6 when I was a kid. I liked it and think I got somewhat good at it for a 7th grader but I have no basis for comparison. My ambition is to eventually get into video game design.

So my question is what's a good way to learn some basics this summer so I'll be ahead of the game when school starts? Should I just begin work on Java or get started with some other language since I'll be learning Java anyway in class ? Suggestions as well as any specific books or other resources that might help out much appreciated.