Nutcase said:
Trivun said:
Nutcase said:
Trivun said:
Ooooh, I actually do want to work as a games developer, I'm doing a Maths degree simply for that purpose. But yeah, I want to specifically go into Level Design, though any other design job would be acceptable too. As for developer, Rockstar have a base in Leeds, which is where I want to live and work, as do several other smaller companies. Bungie would be great because I'd love to work on Halo projects, and THQ would be good too. Lionhead wouldn't be too bad, though I'd have to work extra hard to try and get as close as possible to Peter Molyneux's dreams (though having him as a boss would be pretty cool, he seems like a decent, if overimaginitive, guy).
If level design is your thing, then why are you doing a maths degree? Arts/architecture, with some programming on the side, would be much closer to what you need.
Maths is actually good for any part of the industry,
I still fail to see what purpose above-highschool math serves in level design. Could you perhaps explain it to me?
Actually, the course I'm doing teaches a hell of a lot about use of computers for Maths, and also Level Design requires knowledge of graphic design in order to create textures, models and sprites and so on for use in the actual design. For that you at least need to know something about both Geometry and Linear Algebra, which means matrices, which are both used extensively in graphic design and thus Level Design. Plus, I have the chance to specialise in terms of the modules taught to me next year and the year after that, and there are plenty of module choices that offer specialisation in computing and modules linked to graphic design on my course.
Likewise I don't see much use for advanced math for testing, toolchain development, localization, PR/marketing, art direction, concept art, texture art, 3D modeling, most sound work, motion capture, voice acting, just to name a few parts of the industry regarding which I think you are mistaken.
OK then, but 3D modelling as I just mentioned does use Maths, in particular the use of matrices:
http://www.davidson.edu/math/chartier/Starwars/default.html
This is link is to an example specifically for film, but the same ideas are also applied to graphic design and 3D modelling within game development, which is linked to Level Design.
and with things like Halo Custom Edition and map builder tools and mods for other games, notably Dawn of War, I already have some level design experience. Plus the experience in that area gained from my own games...
Good for you. This, if anything, will actually get you hired to work on levels.
Fair enough, since I've been informed that a good portfolio is worth just as much, if not more than, a good CV when applying for a career in the games industry.
Anyway, the gaming industry is also crying out for Mathematicians, that's what I was told when I started my degree, so I also have good footing too to get into the industry anyway with a Maths degree.
Is this info from people *in* a studio, or from a reliable trade publication? And what specific roles are those mathematicians being hired into?
I wasn't told which areas Mathematicians are being hired into at present, though I was informed that most areas of development that deal with computers (so obviously not things like voice acting or marketing or so on) do need mathematicians. And this came straight from the horse's mouth. Representatives from Rockstar Leeds were at the university in the first few weeks as part of a Careers Fair run by the student union and Careers centre. They were the people from whom I got this information.