This post is not for me. I already have a career and it is waaaaay to late for me to start a career in a new area. My 15 year old son however, has always been interested in game development. I think he may be serious enough now to start learning about the process.
I have no idea where he should start. He appears to be more interested in the development/programming side than mapping or character design, so I am starting in this forum.
Are there some programming languages, software packages that he should start learning, things that are standard in the industry or is there a wide variety depending on the kind of game being developed.
I know this is kind of a wide open topic, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Aspiring game developer
Aspiring game developer
Dilbert is a documentary.
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At the very least, he'll need to be well versed in C and C++ and preferably some x86 assembler.
The two major APIs are OpenGL and DirectX: the former is the easiest to learn and work with, the latter is arguably the most powerful (but byzantine, don't get me started). Since most if not all games are designed to run on Windows, in-depth knowledge of the Windows API won't hurt either.
Knowing your math and how it pertains to 3D graphics is invaluable too. Let me stress that: knowing your math is essential.
Not to discourage your son but he might want to read this; working in the gaming industry is quite the experience but it sure has its downsides.
The two major APIs are OpenGL and DirectX: the former is the easiest to learn and work with, the latter is arguably the most powerful (but byzantine, don't get me started). Since most if not all games are designed to run on Windows, in-depth knowledge of the Windows API won't hurt either.
Knowing your math and how it pertains to 3D graphics is invaluable too. Let me stress that: knowing your math is essential.
Not to discourage your son but he might want to read this; working in the gaming industry is quite the experience but it sure has its downsides.
Stay away from those colleges/universities that offer courses on "Game Development". It seems as if most institutions are offering them just to "jump on the bandwagon".
I can't speak for all of them, but most will only offer a very broad overview of game development rather than specializing. So they'll show you a bit of programming, a bit of level design, a little of art design, but won't go in depth on anything.
As a game programmer, it's much better to take courses specifically as a programmer and then look into gaining experience on game development as part of a mod. Even then, if things don't work out so well on the game developer side of things, he can still find work as a conventional programmer.
He should probably get involved with some sort of mod work, even if it is on the art side of things, since that is a great way of building up experience. A portfolio with sample work is important for getting hired.
I can't speak for all of them, but most will only offer a very broad overview of game development rather than specializing. So they'll show you a bit of programming, a bit of level design, a little of art design, but won't go in depth on anything.
As a game programmer, it's much better to take courses specifically as a programmer and then look into gaining experience on game development as part of a mod. Even then, if things don't work out so well on the game developer side of things, he can still find work as a conventional programmer.
He should probably get involved with some sort of mod work, even if it is on the art side of things, since that is a great way of building up experience. A portfolio with sample work is important for getting hired.
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Though I know the schools you are talking about, the major universities that offer courses on game development in their computer science programs or as electives in other major areas would be fine. The main focus as an undergrad would be to get a good understanding of all facets of programming, but if they offer a game course it only helps.obsidian wrote:Stay away from those colleges/universities that offer courses on "Game Development". It seems as if most institutions are offering them just to "jump on the bandwagon".
I can't speak for all of them, but most will only offer a very broad overview of game development rather than specializing. So they'll show you a bit of programming, a bit of level design, a little of art design, but won't go in depth on anything.
A good university to look at for post undergrad would be The Guildhall at SMU. The hardest part about getting into the industry is having experience. With the guildhall you are in a program developed with veterans of the game industry and is said to be a very rigorous program in order to simulate how it would be in the real world. Right now they have a 95% placement upon graduation.
I was once in your son's position. Many mistakes later I am now a business application developer with game development merely a hobby and a dream. However, I still enjoy my work and the business side of the industry is much easier for the average Joe to find a job making excellent money.
I'm sure this may be obvious but here is my advice:
1) Stay away from bullshit colleges, stick to well respected Universities. I didn't go to a game design school but Devry was easily just as bad. I consider my lazy acceptance of a quick bachelor's degree from Devry one of my biggest mistakes ever.
2) Math is your master, your slave, and your best friend. When it comes to core technology programming (AI, graphics, networking, physics, etc) math is god. You better know it and you better know it well.
3) Don't fuck around. I wasted so much time playing video games, surfing the web, and reading over a vast number of subjects but never committing to a specific area of study. Self teaching is easy in the field of programming but to really master a skill you need great discipline and a serious approach.
4) Practice, practice, practice! The best thing about practicing your programming skills is your demo applications can be used during job applications.
5) FINISH WHAT YOU START. I can't stress this enough. Besides Devry this is one of my biggest faults. When you start a project keep it rolling through to the end. Even if the idea doesn't seem as unique or awesome or easy as you thought 2 months ago you must finish. The result of never finishing what you start is that you have nothing to show at a job interview. I've been programming for almost 10 years now and aside from a handful of half finished games and utilities I have nothing to show for my hobby.
6) Get some project experience. Join a mod team. Design a web page for a local company. Build a utility application for your local police department. Do anything you can to experience the life-cycle of real-world projects.
My college advice is to go somewhere in California or Texas within driving range of development companies. Try to get an internship while you are in college or perhaps work as an in-house tester for a large company such as Square-Enix. Give yourself the chance for exposure to the industry. If you're stuck in the middle of nowhere your options are going to be completely unrelated to the field and you'll start down the business development path that I am on.
I'm sure this may be obvious but here is my advice:
1) Stay away from bullshit colleges, stick to well respected Universities. I didn't go to a game design school but Devry was easily just as bad. I consider my lazy acceptance of a quick bachelor's degree from Devry one of my biggest mistakes ever.
2) Math is your master, your slave, and your best friend. When it comes to core technology programming (AI, graphics, networking, physics, etc) math is god. You better know it and you better know it well.
3) Don't fuck around. I wasted so much time playing video games, surfing the web, and reading over a vast number of subjects but never committing to a specific area of study. Self teaching is easy in the field of programming but to really master a skill you need great discipline and a serious approach.
4) Practice, practice, practice! The best thing about practicing your programming skills is your demo applications can be used during job applications.
5) FINISH WHAT YOU START. I can't stress this enough. Besides Devry this is one of my biggest faults. When you start a project keep it rolling through to the end. Even if the idea doesn't seem as unique or awesome or easy as you thought 2 months ago you must finish. The result of never finishing what you start is that you have nothing to show at a job interview. I've been programming for almost 10 years now and aside from a handful of half finished games and utilities I have nothing to show for my hobby.
6) Get some project experience. Join a mod team. Design a web page for a local company. Build a utility application for your local police department. Do anything you can to experience the life-cycle of real-world projects.
My college advice is to go somewhere in California or Texas within driving range of development companies. Try to get an internship while you are in college or perhaps work as an in-house tester for a large company such as Square-Enix. Give yourself the chance for exposure to the industry. If you're stuck in the middle of nowhere your options are going to be completely unrelated to the field and you'll start down the business development path that I am on.
Bitwise have you considered getting into a mod position as a programmer? moddb.com has hundreds of registered mods and if you browse enough, you could probably find help wanted ads for programmers. heck, get on 1 team, try and finish the mod, and get on another one. Things would only go easier from then, since you already have 1 mod under your belt and if you have 2, well then it's even better. There's your experience.
That's not a bad idea. I used to have a lot of fun doing Q3 mods but now I always try to tackle projects on my own and bite off more than I can chew.dzjepp wrote:Bitwise have you considered getting into a mod position as a programmer? moddb.com has hundreds of registered mods and if you browse enough, you could probably find help wanted ads for programmers. heck, get on 1 team, try and finish the mod, and get on another one. Things would only go easier from then, since you already have 1 mod under your belt and if you have 2, well then it's even better. There's your experience.
gundamuniverse has been requesting for a damn long time.bitWISE wrote:That's not a bad idea. I used to have a lot of fun doing Q3 mods but now I always try to tackle projects on my own and bite off more than I can chew.dzjepp wrote:Bitwise have you considered getting into a mod position as a programmer? moddb.com has hundreds of registered mods and if you browse enough, you could probably find help wanted ads for programmers. heck, get on 1 team, try and finish the mod, and get on another one. Things would only go easier from then, since you already have 1 mod under your belt and if you have 2, well then it's even better. There's your experience.
They've got most stuff done iirc but they really only need programmers to finish the mod to a release stage.
http://gundamuniverse.modnmod.com/main.php
"This Account Has Been Suspended"Survivor wrote:gundamuniverse has been requesting for a damn long time.bitWISE wrote:That's not a bad idea. I used to have a lot of fun doing Q3 mods but now I always try to tackle projects on my own and bite off more than I can chew.dzjepp wrote:Bitwise have you considered getting into a mod position as a programmer? moddb.com has hundreds of registered mods and if you browse enough, you could probably find help wanted ads for programmers. heck, get on 1 team, try and finish the mod, and get on another one. Things would only go easier from then, since you already have 1 mod under your belt and if you have 2, well then it's even better. There's your experience.
They've got most stuff done iirc but they really only need programmers to finish the mod to a release stage.
http://gundamuniverse.modnmod.com/main.php