Comments on: Sample requirements to break into the game industry

By: Computer Science jobs for University Students | CompSci.ca/blog

Computer Science jobs for University Students | CompSci.ca/blog — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:05:14 +0000

[...] More so in light of the recent economic downturn. An interesting point to reflect against is a benchmark from 2007 when “950 Computer Science related jobs” were advertised to the University of Waterloo [...]

By: Tony

Tony — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:44:39 +0000

There is more to video games than just programming; and there's more to programming than just C++. Besides, I've already mentioned that it's not a suitable tool to start with. You would want to have some life, diverse education is generally beneficial. Besides, you don't know what kind of tools the video game industry would be using in 6 years from now.

By: Fiendishv11

Fiendishv11 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:48:18 +0000

Hi, I am nearing the end of 10th grade and attempting to get a grasp on the fundamentals of C++. Though it is very difficult to learn by myself with absolutley no previous programming skills I am gradually begining to understand the basics. Anyways I have a question that you may or may not be able to answer. If I manage to become a decent C++ programmer by the time I start taking a game programming BS in college, will all my time spent not really having a life outside of School/Programming pay off? Or will I have just spent my time learning programming skills only to relearn them in college.

Now I will eagerly await your response and pray to the lord that this post, like so many others before it does not get lost in the depths of cyberspace never to love or be loved again.

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:01:20 +0000

The short answer is that many companies have policies not to look at ideas send in — it mostly has to do with legal issues of copyright. Besides, you might want to express your ideas in some more tangible form. Writing, sketches, etc are a great start; but certain ideas are best expressed in a working demo.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:09:04 +0000

Hellos tony, i two am looking to get into the gaming industry, not directly as a programmer,(though i would like to) but as one of the idea guys and i am hoping to eventually lead my own company as a branch of a larger developer. The thing is though, i dont know where i should start, nor what i should do to present my ideas to anyone. Would it be wise to send in some of my ideas to a larger company? Hold on to them? or try and sneak my way into the industry by using a school like Full-Sail, and then just kind of go from there?

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:23:54 +0000

Well I am currently 16 and have been working with Adobe Flash for around 3-4 years and am good with it’s programming languages of AS1 and AS2. Although I haven’t gotten into AS3.
I am also fairly good with Adobe PhotoShop and Swift 3D. I have yet to get into C++ as I will be taking a class in Computer Programming which I hope will teach it.
I visited HB Studios who makes games for EA studios 2 years ago and they said that they mainly code in C++ but have a back end section for Flash. Which actually kind of surprised me because I thought it was mainly for Web Based Games. Last year I got a 98% in Communications Technology a class I took which I practically taught the class because I knew more than the teacher.
This blob post has been very informative and I thank the poster of it.

By: Tony

Tony — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:16:10 +0000

I doubt that you know VB6.0, though that's besides the point. Can this obsolete technology still be used to create some game? Absolutely. Though in my point of view it's not at all suitable for such a purpose.

By: nedir

nedir — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:25:14 +0000

hi tony. i know visual basic 6.0
can i programming any game? what’s your point of view?

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:38:02 +0000

@lalit — I shouldn’t tell you to simply follow a certain decision, and you shouldn’t blindly take one. The choice of a degree is an important one, that you should make for yourself.

Though it might be helpful for you to keep in mind that there are many specialties in the field — a programmer doesn’t need to draw and an artist doesn’t need to be able to code (although it might be helpful to have an idea of how it all comes together, just to work better with the team).

If you are leaning towards the visual art, it might be a better option to pursue, as the technical requirements for development are quite demanding.

There are multiple routes to enter the field of game development; so check out the actual courses in each program, and try to match them up with what you can do and what you want to do.

By: lalit

lalit — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:55:32 +0000

hi tony,
i am much confused about breaking into the game industry, there are two degrees in this field bachelor in game design and development and bachelor in game graphic design, i don’t know which degree i should go for. I have studied C programming language in my high school and i have some knowledge of java scripting, but i am not good at them. i have a creative mind lots of new ideas come to my mind, i like drawing so i am good at drawing new characters and machines, i also have some idea of 3ds max and maya i had worked on these software for two months you can say the introduction to them. so i am very much confused about selecting the degree, because if the programming is required in the game industry then i will have to start from the beginning, but i know i can get control over programming in next 2 years because i can do anything for getting into this industry. so i want to know what is the basic role of the game programmer in the gaming industry and tell me which degree i should go for. right now i am doing diploma in computing in this i am studying C# programming and multimedia courses, so after completing this i can get direct admission into second year to the above both degrees. so tell me what should i go for, whatever is required i will just do it for into game industry. i want to start my career as soon as possible, so need your guidance.