Skills Needed to Make a Game?

[Pyro-Tech]

Im looking into attending DeVry or Westwood college for their game programming programs in the fall or spring....

what i have been doing in the meantime (if your not close or ready to go to college for it) is picking up different things to keep you interested....for me it was RunUO and I have recently picked up RealmCrafter to have a way to apply some things to a 3D format.

With RunUO i started out looking through scripts and doing edits and seeing how others did their things....on top of that i found a book that i could read a couple chapters and understand.

with realm crafter, i have just the pass few months gotten it for the fact that next month or so they are FINALLY going to release their DX9 updated graphics engine.

just get your feet wet with stuff as a hobby, and when your ready either take a computer programming course from a university for the programming portion, multimedia design for art portion, or english major for the designer or business end....if you can afford it in any way, you can attend a tech school that actually has a program targeting the game industry....from what i have looked into, ITT and FullSail are two to stay away from though.

ITT is too new with their program and they had wanted $80,000 for the first year alone...and full sail is worse and when i went down there, they are more about getting you in and getting you out real quick...and talking to alot of other people in and out of the business it's just a rumor mill.

I had sent you a PM earlier and i can talk more in-depth with you if you like....anyways.....hope some of the advice helps.

 

[Jeff]

Im looking into attending DeVry or Westwood college for their game programming programs in the fall or spring....

what i have been doing in the meantime (if your not close or ready to go to college for it) is picking up different things to keep you interested....for me it was RunUO and I have recently picked up RealmCrafter to have a way to apply some things to a 3D format.

With RunUO i started out looking through scripts and doing edits and seeing how others did their things....on top of that i found a book that i could read a couple chapters and understand.

with realm crafter, i have just the pass few months gotten it for the fact that next month or so they are FINALLY going to release their DX9 updated graphics engine.

just get your feet wet with stuff as a hobby, and when your ready either take a computer programming course from a university for the programming portion, multimedia design for art portion, or english major for the designer or business end....if you can afford it in any way, you can attend a tech school that actually has a program targeting the game industry....from what i have looked into, ITT and FullSail are two to stay away from though.

ITT is too new with their program and they had wanted $80,000 for the first year alone...and full sail is worse and when i went down there, they are more about getting you in and getting you out real quick...and talking to alot of other people in and out of the business it's just a rumor mill.

I had sent you a PM earlier and i can talk more in-depth with you if you like....anyways.....hope some of the advice helps.

You spend all that money and any one of those schooles and you don't get a bachelor's degree... imo a waist.

 

[Pyro-Tech]

With ITT and Full sail...yes....DeVry im not sure....Westwood though it would actually say a bachelor degree in computer programming and I can't remember how it's phrased.

and going the standard university route i have seen alot of people once they get their bachelor's they end up working retail for fast food....some might be the area i live and they don't want to move.

I had one friend though a few years older than me and he wanted to do some game programming...he went to california and just moved back early this year....alot were saying that he didn't have what he needed...he did however get a job with a company doing their software development for their company.....so he wasn't completly screwed but....

from what i have experianced and what not, i think it will work out....i have gotten a few letters back from ones i sent out asking advice from companies and what not and they had commented on routes from going to standard universities to tech schools so....

Devry i think does have a bachelor degree....both them and westwood are acredited....ITT and FullSail are not.

@Jeff: Thank you for bringing that up however....you do want to make sure whatever school you go to if it is a tech school....make sure that it is acredited and that you will get an actual degree out of it.

 

[Radwen]

A bachelors is worth a lot more than what you learned from it tbh :-\.
Sadly the world works that way.

 

[Jeff]

A bachelor's degree goes a long way, I will use myself as an example. I know more about .Net than 90% of the idiots were interviewed for my current job that had bachelor degrees. I proved that I knew more, and I only had 3-4 years TOTAL programming experience and 70% of that from RunUO, the other 30% from small utility developing applications for data recovery at my last job. My boss and interviewer at the time said he was impressed at how fast I had learned programming and that he was even more impressed that I did it without any schooling. But the fact of the matter is, he almost didnt want to interview me because I didnt have a bachelors and at least 90% of the jobs i applied for denied me completely because I didnt have a bachelors. Now with this said, my friend who went to ITT tech(not for programming but for computer technicial/networking) cant get a decent paying job at all because he doesnt have a bachelors, a trade degree is shit in my book, and if i could persuade you in any way not to go i would. A bachelors degree shows that you have patients to sit and learn the thigns you need, a trade school teaches you the trade only and in the real world you need more than that. I have to sit and write documentation that the non technical user has to read and understand and i hate it, i dont juts code all day and neither will you unless you get a shit job as a code monkey, which even doing for games blows.... The fun part is in the design and the implemetation, anyone can code something that is solid on paper, it takes a real programmer to get it there and 95% of that work has nothing to do with code. If I could go back I would go to college, infact i still would love to get a degree in computer science but as life moves on you lose the time that you had when you were younger to get this out of the way.

 

[Rabban]

I'll throw in my two cents about regular colleges and universities. I can speak only about UF but I assume most universities are the same. Though they offer BSes (and higher) in computer science and computer engineering, you can tailor your degree towards gaming by taking game related courses. For example, they have AI in Computer Games and others at UF. They just don't have a formal game design program so your degree won't say anything about gaming.

Personally, I didn't. I squandered my time doing a double major in Math :-P Granted I technically have two bachelors (one of science (Computer Science) and the other of arts (Math)). My point is that there were 10-20% of my class mates were putting their efforts towards going into the gaming industry.

The beauty of getting a well-rounded degree from a regular university is that you could work anywhere that needs software development especially if you find that you don't want to do game design for a living. I also would assume that if you went to Lockheed Martin with your gaming bachelors, they may frown at you and turn you away.

I'll conclude by warning you to inquire about what language your school focuses on. For example, UF focuses on Java. 75+% of my classes that required programming projects either required you to do it in Java or highly recommended it. They do expose you to C/C++ in Operating Systems and other courses, but nothing great unless you actually take the C++ course. Really that's not a huge downside because you should be able to become an effective programmer in other languages on your own (Ex: teach the man how to fish and he can feed himself). Personally, the first job I took after I graduated only had projects in C++ and the first little while was rough but now I'm more comfortable with C++ than Java :-P. Though I suppose my exposure to C# through RunUO may have helped a little.

 

[Kitchen_]

you can include them all into the installer, so your point is unfortunately invalid

The point isn't invalid, it's harder to redistribute a game written using XNA.

 

[DuckyInMyTrucky]

I realize games are made with multi-million dollar budgets and hundreds of people. But humor me, please.

Weather I modded another game design or started from scratch, what kinds of skills would I need along the lines of programming (which languages or what not) or schooling would I need if I were interested in such a thing?

I've always kind of had this crazy dream since I was little to make my own game, so like I said, just humor me. I'd really appreciate the input from you guys. =)

Game design can be broke down into so many departments. I recently graduated with my bachelors degree in the field of digital entertainment/game design. When I first started my associates I had no clue what I was wanting to do till the first year was up. Anywho ended up going with rigging as my main focus although I know how to model etc... but anyways if you want to learn some scripting or something to mess around with try out some open source game engine. I'v learned quite a bit of Python and C++ this way from messing around with there source code and forums.

 

[Pyro-Tech]

one problem i have around here where i live, is that at the universities around here don't have anything where i could "tailor" a coumputer science degree to lean towards gaming. And i agree about ITT and what not....i looked into them and decided against it

the two im looking at as before (DeVry and Westwood) offer the C++ and C# language....Java....

there were four but i can't pull the other one up off hand

and westwood i know for a fact will say bachelor....Devry im not sure tbh....

I know both schools are acredited.....ITT isn't and neither is Full Sail

Game design is what i want to go into....i love the art and the medium and i know im going to be playing games till arthritis kicks my ass...hopefully by the time that im that old, they will have a good fix for it.

Then alsheimers will be a problem...kinda hard to stay into an RPG if you forget it an hour or so later

@ Jeff again: i know your age and seeing the stuff you have done here and i respect the opinion you have put forth and will actually take it into consideration into my current state. I know this thread wasn't for me but it has definatly given me a few things to ask and think about...thank you

 

[Radwen]

Thing people don't realize is that a bachelor will get you jobs that have nothing to do with your expertise on top of it all.

 

[shrundowr]

The point isn't invalid, it's harder to redistribute a game written using XNA.

it takes like 2 seconds to include those things in an installer..

 

[Jeff]

Thing people don't realize is that a bachelor will get you jobs that have nothing to do with your expertise on top of it all.

pretty much my exact point.

 

[Pyro-Tech]

another thing that is prolly best advice of all.....ask questions and explore your options. I myself had actually sent out letters to various companies....some i got a canned response from, a couple actually replied back to me.....also request information from any school that has things in the direction you want to go....worst thing that happens is you waste a couple hours reading material and talking to a rep at the school.

and if you are involved in a community like this then ask questions also.....people here are willing to help and offer their advice and opinions and im sure you can find that at other communities as well

Good luck to you either way though

 

[Macil]

So, which schools are recommended that offer all online courses? My time is relatively scarce and I have permission to do any type of schooling during work hours from my in-laws (who employ me currently).

 

[Tumeski]

So, which schools are recommended that offer all online courses? My time is relatively scarce and I have permission to do any type of schooling during work hours from my in-laws (who employ me currently).

If your interested in doing C++. I would say start with Bloodshed Software - Dev-C++

Bloodshed is free and you can play around with all kind of Opengl programs and also Directx if you get the SDK. Theres a lot of tutorial videos in the internet and also i would still say loan some books from your library that tells about C++ programming and videogame programming with c++.

 

[Vorspire]

Another good tool for editing is Ultra Edit and DevSharp

 

[Macil]

I've tried Bloodshed, I like it. It did not go well with my Sams Learn C++ in 21 Days book though... As there were massive typos that caused things to fail to compile properly in the lessons.

As long as we're on the topic of books, what are some good books to get if I were doing it the do-it-yourself way?

 

[Vorspire]

I've tried Bloodshed, I like it. It did not go well with my Sams Learn C++ in 21 Days book though... As there were massive typos that caused things to fail to compile properly in the lessons.

As long as we're on the topic of books, what are some good books to get if I were doing it the do-it-yourself way?

Search for O'Reily

 

[Kitchen_]

it takes like 2 seconds to include those things in an installer..

Are you speaking from experience or speculation?

 

[Jeff]

Are you speaking from experience or speculation?

either or, hes right...