Hi, my name is Jon and I am 18 years old living in the UK and would LOVE to become a programmer in the games industry however have next to no clue as how to go about doing it. I am currently doing A levels in Physics, ICT and Maths and am predicted good grades for all however when I spoke to my careers advisor they were less than helpful on providing me with any information. Basically I have been playing any and all games on a variety of consoles since I was very little but have always though how awesome it would be to be involved in producing one myself. I would really appreciate any and all information that you could give me on how I could go about doing this.
So I'm looking to become a games programmer...
- Thread starter Jon Press
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I would say take a computer science course and ask your tutor what you'd need to take as optional modules for that career path. Game specific courses are rarely industry accredited, and I can tell you that the Bristol one isn't, making it unsuitable for trying to get placements and jobs later. Even if you do get an accredited degree it means you'll be fairly pidgeonholed. Comp Sci can take you many places, including gaming, but if you're on a specialised course it makes it very difficult to do something other than the specialism if you become interested in other jobs.
maybe studying game design would be a start? or just starting a project. maybe in flash or similar.
This will help, but don't make the mistake of thinking that a degree will make you good at programming...the only thing that makes you good at programming is a whole lot of practice & luck. Also game programmers don't really have that fun a job, it's all about providing an interface for others to script against...then again, I'm not that knowledgeable on this, so could be wrong. C/C++ is the standard for games, and will also help you learn any other language. http://cplusplus.com/ has a great tutorial & forum.Jon Press said:Ok thank youI was actually looking at either doing a computer science degree at Cardiff University or a Games Technology one at UWE in Bristol. And I'll definately looking into those languages. Much appreciate this information.
Why would you want to spend money training for a field that already has a huge surplus of trained people? There is no way you will actually be able to find work, trust me. I know three people who went to school for game design and none of them are working in anything remotely related to it and regret the choice of going to school for it. You simply will not be able to find work, they couldn't even when the economy was better. Simply more people went to school for it thanks to all the game design places opening up than the industry could support.
This isn't really fair, Games Programming and Games Design are 2 separate fields and in fact, programmers are in need.Saris Kai said:
OP: Before becoming obsessed over becoming a Games Programmer and choosing a course around that field, I'd suggest try actually doing some programming first and see if its path you want to go. If you go blindly into a course which is heavy on programming and you dont like it, you will of wasted a year of your time and a lot of money.
Try learning Java or C# first, they can be pretty easy to pick up, if you pick it up pretty easily, try looking at C++. Most game engines are created with that language, but its also a pretty hard language to pick up for beginners.
The real thing about it is if the school you go to has connections. That's pretty much all that matters. I know for a fact I could ask several of my professors to phone a friend in a few big studios and ask if I can take a swing at a design test, or an art test, or at the very least have someone there look at my portfolio. Like in a lot of things in life, its who you know that matters, not what you know.Saris Kai said:
Connections help, but if you don't have a lot of practical programming code samples, demos, or a portfolio to show your experience, not a lot of studios will hire you, even if you ace a test.Grimsinger said:
Get onto a studio's forums and write some utilities to mod one of their games, you might get called up to get hired as a result of that.
I figured practical skills were a given. When I said 'test' I was referring to the second step in the hiring process after the application and portfolio review. If they like what they see, studios will generally give you a little assignment, along the line of 'make a level that does (X), is this (x) minuets longs, where (x) happens, and use (x) program, over the next two weeks', for a level design, or something similar for almost all positions. If you get that far, your usually in a good place, since you only get to do the test if they like what they have seen up to that point.ThriKreen said:
I don't actually think one gains that much from going Java or C# first instead of just starting with C++... But then again I might be a bit biased as that is what I did. Where I studied they used to go Java first but then switched to C++ as allot of people started having big problems when switching language after most parts of a year(it was focused on game programming so C++ was pretty much what was used all the time(with some few classes using Java or something else)).Killermud said:
Once you learn one language good enough, the rest are easy to pick up. C# and Java are the two big languages I've seen for business applications (and since the game industry isn't easy to get into, you might have to fall back on that). I'm not sure with Java, but I know you can do pretty much anything in C# that you can do in C++.Cpt. Red said:
Partially true but if the language have some different paradigm or construct it might take quite some time before one can call them self good in the language. Also if you come into C# from C++ it won't really be that much to learn to get used to the garbage collector but going the other way from C# to C++ one must get used to managing their own memory and get used to pointers and hopefully understand RAII.Assassin Xaero said:
C++ isn't just used inside of the game industry and at least where I live there have apparently been a shortage of junior C++ programmers as allot of schools mostly teach Java here. (at least as I have been told and I would like to add that there were no problems for me or any of my classmates to find a job)
Do not do a games design/game making degree.
Do something that revolves around programming in C* or C++; and another medium like Java. You will also want to start a portfolio of work such as mini projects / games you've undertaken in your spare time. Try making games using Microsoft C++ etc; it will take you ages to get used to it if you're new to programming. It is no different to learning another language... several, in fact.
While you are doing ICT; Computing would have been FAR superior as an A-Level. That's what I did and now I'm doing a Computer Forensics & Security degree and I'm head and shoulders above the ICT dude in programming and just outright understanding of computers under the bonnet. Game programming was my second option but I figured if I made the games I wouldn't enjoy them as much to play them, plus I want to go into counter-cyber terrorism and possibly cyber warfare, which just seems more interesting to me.
A natural interest in computers and keeping informed with technological advancements helps massively, too. Also, the Computing A-Level teaches you programming, algorithms, networks, hardware, firmware, testing - all sorts. ICT is just office software packaging usage, a GCSE in that is good enough really; the A-Level is just to say you're exceptional at word processing/excel/databases.
Since you're already in year 2 of your A-Levels, Computing is no longer an option. You're going to have to start compiling this concept and minigame printout/dvd portfolio if you want to stand out in the crowd. While the games industry in the UK is about to undergo a massive cash injection since it's shrank, and the government want to boost it back into the top 3 for game making; you're trying to get in at the best time. you might not even need to go to university if you get in with someone small initially and work your way up, but university or no university you definitely need that portfolio to show what you can do in your spare time.
Other than that you need to get working in your own time on small games in flash or whatnot; even just concepts are good enough; then march down to your nearest Dev and ask for work experience...
Do something that revolves around programming in C* or C++; and another medium like Java. You will also want to start a portfolio of work such as mini projects / games you've undertaken in your spare time. Try making games using Microsoft C++ etc; it will take you ages to get used to it if you're new to programming. It is no different to learning another language... several, in fact.
While you are doing ICT; Computing would have been FAR superior as an A-Level. That's what I did and now I'm doing a Computer Forensics & Security degree and I'm head and shoulders above the ICT dude in programming and just outright understanding of computers under the bonnet. Game programming was my second option but I figured if I made the games I wouldn't enjoy them as much to play them, plus I want to go into counter-cyber terrorism and possibly cyber warfare, which just seems more interesting to me.
A natural interest in computers and keeping informed with technological advancements helps massively, too. Also, the Computing A-Level teaches you programming, algorithms, networks, hardware, firmware, testing - all sorts. ICT is just office software packaging usage, a GCSE in that is good enough really; the A-Level is just to say you're exceptional at word processing/excel/databases.
Since you're already in year 2 of your A-Levels, Computing is no longer an option. You're going to have to start compiling this concept and minigame printout/dvd portfolio if you want to stand out in the crowd. While the games industry in the UK is about to undergo a massive cash injection since it's shrank, and the government want to boost it back into the top 3 for game making; you're trying to get in at the best time. you might not even need to go to university if you get in with someone small initially and work your way up, but university or no university you definitely need that portfolio to show what you can do in your spare time.
Other than that you need to get working in your own time on small games in flash or whatnot; even just concepts are good enough; then march down to your nearest Dev and ask for work experience...