Breaking into the gaming / programming industry

[Reiper]

Hey, I wanted to post this because I want some advice about these fields from you guys. I will try to keep my post concise and to the point.

So I finished my BA at university, and I have decided that I really would love to get into creating games, even if its on a part time basis. However, I am not certain what to do next, I will outline my options and challenges

Things working against me:
-No formal education in programming / game design, and only rudimentary programming skills
-I am 24, almost getting too old to commit to significant education
-I am abysmal at mathematics, and my foundations are shaky

Things working for me:
-I did fairly well in high school programming
-I have always enjoyed creating and conceptualizing games
-I finished school debt free
-I have supportive parents and can live at home for the time being
__________________________________________________________________________________
So that is basically my situation. I have a degree, but it won't help me at all with what I want to do. With that said, here are the paths I could potentially take.

1. Attempt to take another full undergrad degree. I have spoken to a program counselor at my university, he thinks I could complete a general computer science degree in 2 years. This would be the most respected degree, but by far the most expensive, and the hardest, I am abysmal at math and I lack prerequisites. I could start this right now.

2. Take computer programming at college. This would take 2 years as well. It is more hands on and less theoretical, which suits my learning style much better. In addition, it has less math and is less expensive. This would be a diploma, and might make finding a job harder. I could start this in January.

3. Just begin working full time and attempt to self-teach myself programming and make indie games in my spare time. This would likely take the longest time to actually get into my desired industry, but I would be making money, and I would not need to pay for classes.


I know the only one who can ultimately answer this question is me, but given the factors in play, what do you guys think is my best bet? I am worried about the university. I was back on campus today, and being there didn't feel right. I attended a programming class, and for me, learning programming in an abstract university setting feels off. I am worried though that without a comp science degree, no one will actually take me seriously.

I should note that the only things that I want to work on are games. I have no interest doing coding for business or engineering applications, gaming is my sole focus.

Sorry for the essay, what do you think?

 

[Wan Shi Tong]

You should challenge yourself and go for the CS degree, you seem intelligent, surely your college has free tutoring to help you when you struggle. Personally I spent my life thinking I sucked at math, only to get a really good math professor and have it all turn around for me. I hope that whatever you do, you get a job in the industry and make your dreams come true.

(Then get me a job wherever you're working at because I'll be graduating shortly after you!)

 

[subskipper]

I'm not well versed in how the education system works in the US (assuming you're from there?) but if financially viable, I would probably agree with the above poster about getting that CS degree. A formal education never hurts even if you obviously can get stuck in and learn programming on your own. I started in the field later than you and I am doing decently working as a developer. Also, don't focus too hard on games development is my advice. If you get the general programming skills you can relatively easily transfer the skills between languages and frameworks. This industry is one of constant personal development and learning. New stuff to be aware of and master pop up all the time. From all accounts game development is really, really hard work, long hours and very stressful. A good alternative could be to aim for a dev job in the tech sector and use your skills in programming to develop games and play around in this field on your spare time. Programming and system design is IMO inherently a creative activity, even when you work on business system rather than games (obvious differences should be obvious ).

All that said, you will end up in a good place no matter what you chose. You have the interest and drive to go for something you are passionate about. That is more than half the battle. Now you just need to see it through.

EDIT:

Oh, and about the being taken serious thing. It's all about how serious you are. I'm involved in the hiring process of new devs, and in addition to small aptitude tests, we look at a candidate talks about the subject. Are they passionate? Do they enjoy programming as a hobby? Are they involved in any open source projects etc, etc. If you really are serious about this, it will come through in an interview situation. So don't worry is what I'm thinking. I think this would hold true no matter if you try to break into the tech sector at large or games specifically. But I'm sure someone that's actually worked in the games industry as a dev will correct me on this if I'm off base.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Getting a CS degree and working on your own project in spare time is probably the best thing. Because experience is extremely valuable in that industry. If you have something to put on your CV, it will give you an advantage over less experienced candidates.

It's just two years of your life that will prepare you for something you're passionate about. No, it's not gonna be easy. You may be abysmal at math but that just means you'll have to dedicate more time to it. And before you know it, those two years will be over and you'll have a shiny new degree or a diploma on your wall (if hanging diplomas on a wall is your thing). You're not too old. 24 is pretty young. That may actually give you an advantage over younger students.

 

[Jack Action]

3. Just begin working full time and attempt to self-teach myself programming and make indie games in my spare time. This would likely take the longest time to actually get into my desired industry, but I would be making money, and I would not need to pay for classes.

I'm going for this one, personally. Imo it's easier to learn by experimentation and tutorials than in school, but to be fair, that depends a lot on the kind of person you are and how good your country's education system is.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Purely for future job opportunities I would go for the extra degree, because gaming is a super saturated industry and you are far less likely to get a good position then in plain old IT jobs.
Other then that the most important part is to stop the despair before you even started, there will be things to learn you never even heard of and you will come across more and more each day you try your hand at making games.

Which brings us onto the second most important part, start doing stuff. There are free tools and tutorials everywhere, dig in and see how real world applications work because this is the part that matters, this is how you go from theory/idea to actually getting things made. Doesn't even matter if your first attempts are mere knock off's or prototypes the important part is putting things together yourself to learn how they work. Not to mention that with finished projects to show off you will be leaps and bounds ahead of most job applicants.

And a final note, you are never too old to learn something. Doesn't matter if you get your formal degree now or in 20 years, the important part is being willing to invest the effort and learn new things.
The same applies to game making, as long as you want to do it there will be plenty new things to try, but once you grow tired of it there will be no end to the excuses.

 

[wulf3n]

My suggestion would be to find a programming tutorial that makes a game becuase this:

I should note that the only things that I want to work on are games. I have no interest doing coding for business or engineering applications, gaming is my sole focus.

Is a big red flag.


Getting a job as a developer in the games industry straight out of Uni without being Super talented, knowing someone, or starting your own indie company is incredibly difficult. As such you might very well be spending several years, and a significant amount of money on something might not even use.

And honestly having worked on several indie games at uni and just general software engineering in the industry I can say that from a programming perspective there's not a whole lot of difference.

This may be incorrect but it sounds to me as though you want to work in the games industry, and you chose developer because it's the aspect you have the most experience in, but I feel this is the wrong way to go about it. The competitive nature of the games industry means that only the best get in, and being the best requires passion and commitment. A games developer writes code for games because they like games and they like writing code, if they couldn't make games they'd still be writing code.

Find out what you're passionate about and how it relates to games and work on that.

 

[DazZ.]

Start making games. Right now. As in make pong this afternoon if you've never made it before.

I have no interest doing coding for business or engineering applications, gaming is my sole focus.

This part however isn't good news, game programming is a lot of staring at code, so if you don't love programming it will be so much harder to actually finish games than it would be otherwise, so hopefully you just mean you don't want to code pivot tables for business statistics but making the same thing for a high score screen is fine.

I haven't got a job making games, but I want to soon. Right now I'm just making as many as I can so I get better whilst I figure out how to actually benefit from the skill.

I want to stress this point though, if this is what you want to do stop reading this and go make something right now.

 

[scorptatious]

I'm also trying to learn programming and taking game design classes at the university I go to. As someone also interested in working in the gaming industry, I wish you the best of luck!

 

[senordesol]

I'm going to echo those who advise you to start making games RIGHT NOW! There are plenty of books and inexpensive tools available to you; and if you want to get anywhere: take advantage of it!

It's one thing to walk into an interview with a handful of papers and no experience; it's quite another to have a list of games under your belt to show off.

If you're not sure where to start, consider writing reviews for games -not so much to publish (though feel free if the mood strikes you) but to better understand what elements you like or dislike about a title.

Play board games to better understand how simple gameplay concepts can propel hours of entertainment.

Pursue that additional degree if you want to (if you're going to continue to be a full-time student, even better), but you might just want to start at the 'ground floor' (QA) just to get some contacts, an appreciation for the production process, and really figure out if this is the environment for you BEFORE pursuing additional education.

But -and I cannot stress this enough- start making games RIGHT NOW. Don't wait for training, don't wait for an employer, don't wait for an 'education'. If you want it -truly, TRULY want it: There should be NOTHING stopping you!

Good luck!