I am 17 years old and have zero knowledge about programming. I have taken up Computer Science and have 4 years to learn all the required skills to become a game programmer. So should I learn C/C++ (Specify book) or start with a game engine like Unity?

Congratulations on your choice :) It is a great choice, but there's a lot of work needed to actually become good at it. I learnt programming by doing things I find fun. So my guess is that you should start with some projects that are fun to you. If you feel like writing something that looks like a game, by all means, jump on Unity or any other similar game engine. Books are useful, but they can be a hindrance as well, that's because they can't really know your goal, or the road to it is outdated (because books are books and everything is changing constantly around us). What can you find in books is the 'why' and sometimes the 'how'. But learning by doing is far better and you should start there. I don't recommend starting with C/C++, because that might be a bit too difficult to keep enthusiasm for. I do recommend, however, starting with something like C#, Java, Python, but after a while go back to C/C++ because that's where the real deal is. I think that any CS student should pass through (at least) C, and then visit assembly language as well. Good luck!

Cool so you are exactly where I was 4 years ago. Now you need to get this straight, being a game programmer requires multiple skills, just being good with c++ or just being good with unity is not the answer. Your curriculum probably wont include much of game programming, but trust me whatever it includes is important. Learn any language whichever is there in you curriculum be good with it, once you have done that(I guess you would be done with your 2nd year then). Start with unity, look up online, find a tutorials that you think is better. But if you start with a game engine directly you would miss out on many basic concepts of programming, you would still be able to make a game in unity no doubt with that. So choose wisely.

Your question has a variety of answers, which me and others have answered, here goes, please spend time to read all before you think you really want to get into the game industry, playing games is not the same as making them: My own experience:

You would have to ultimately be confidient in it before placements.Would be better if u command it before that critical time of 4th year comes(placements). Books for C-> LET US C(Yaswant Kanetkar) for basics Denis Ritchie (Explained prefectly in minimum length) Books for c++ : Mastering C++

It doesn't matter where your starting point is. What matters is that you understand your learning style so that you can maximize the time you spent learning. So first, know thyself. How tenacious are you? Do you need constant achievements to feel good so that you will be motivated to go on to the next stage? What's your goals and objectives? Even for games development, there's a wide spectrum - graphics, engine infrastructure, level programming, character programming, camera, AI and more -- and each will require different set of skills and know-how. Here's my take on the common routes: C/C+++ This is the 'hard' route, though important. C is harder to pick up than managed languages as you have to manage the memory yourself. I know many people who started out who gave up when they get to pointers. However, if you are going to be involved in something that doesn't need bleeding edge performance, you don't need to manage your own memory. The knowledge is still valuable though. for it let you peek under the hood of how computers work. The best book to C I have ever found is - http://www.amazon.com/Absolute-Beginners-Guide-C-2nd/dp/0672305100/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426137416&sr=8-3&keywords=moving+from+c+to+c%2B%2B For C++, I would say http://www.amazon.com/Moving-C-Greg-Perry/dp/067230080X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426137447&sr=8-1&keywords=moving+from+c+to+c%2B%2B but sadly the book is out of print Remember, though, C++/C is just a language. You need to pair it with a framework, like SDL or OpenGL. You will learn a lot of 'under the hood' stuff - such as setting up a device context, the windows form loop etc. Unity3D: There are lots of support for Unity3D - both books and video tutorials. For video courses, I will suggest https://www.udemy.com/unitycourse/ -- it's comprehensive and teaches via lots of example.  Unity3D does a lot of things you need to do yourself  if you are using C/C++ with SDL/OpenGL. It hides the complicated maths, memory problems and just let you focus on games programming. C#/XNA or MonoGame: The other alternative to C/C++ where you don't have to deal with memory management is do use C# with XNA or MonoGame. (Or Tao.Sl)  You still have to handle lots of under the hood stuff, without having to debug memory leaks, pointer errors and other quirks of C++ So the question is - do you just want to learn to make games, or learn more about computer and software development in general?