Career in gaming

(ziege) #1

I’m 24 and might be going back to education soon to get some kind of a career, what sort of college courses should I look for? Places local to me only list things like “IT” or “Computing”… I don’t want to end up learning how to use Windows =/ Which courses will teach me things like C++, what should I look for? I’m hoping 24 isn’t too old to start learning.

I have a meeting with careers advisor tomorrow afternoon but I’ve had these years ago and always come out with nothing, because it’s rare the advisor ever has any idea about the industry I’m interested in (which last time was music). If I say I’d like to create games or learn programming, a 50 yr old woman is probably not going to know anything about it, but the Splash Damage guys would so I’m asking here :slight_smile:

A search threw up this old topic where Locki recommends the site gamasutra.com, there’s so much info on there I’m not sure where to start…:
http://www.splashdamage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=717&highlight=career

So if anyone has any advice, please chuck it this way, if not then no worries it was worth a try :slight_smile:

(blushing_bride) #2

Not really sure what you’re asking but click the link below then scroll down to find a list of some of the game related courses in the uk.

http://www.bitmap-brothers.co.uk/employment/help/index.htm

(ziege) #3

I’m not really sure what I’m asking either, that’s why I need help :slight_smile: Thanks for the link. My city isn’t listed but there’s some nice links at the bottom that might be useful.

(hummer) #4

What part of games do you want to get into? There’s many areas… from level design, sound design, modeling, artist / texture art, programming, scripting etc, etc. Some times these fields overlap, but where most of the work used to be done by programmers, it’s now more “departmental.”

One person’s job is to only work on the programming aspect, while another person’s is only to design and create levels, for example.

For programming, you’ll have to learn how to program, and be pretty good at it. That would include a strong background in C / C++, algorithms, data structures, and so on…

For modeling, you’ll want to learn a 3-d Modeling package, such as Maya, 3Ds Max… Radiant doesn’t hurt :slight_smile:

For texture art / artists, you have to be a a good artist… know how to draw, use photoshop, etc.

Hope this helps :slight_smile:

(ziege) #5

Thanks for the reply :slight_smile:

Well, I can make music & use all the popular music apps such as Cubase. I’ve had experience with creating maps for ET & HalfLife, and spent some time doing the online modelling courses at 3Dbuzz.com on 3DS Max & Maya. I’ve been using Photoshop for several years and created skins for apps such as Winamp. Always had a natural talent for hand drawing, got an A at GCSE art and studied A-Level art for a year before dropping it to concentrate on my other A-levels. I’ve used flash/director/shockwave to create small 2D browser games. The only programming I’ve done is basic scripting for flash/director, ET mapping, and Winamp3/5. I find programming/scripting harder than anything else. So I’ve pretty much done a bit of everything, just don’t have enough experience in any field to warrant somebody employing me, not to mention a pretty serious criminal record to put off any would-be employers.

What I’m after though is some kind of REAL qualification that will lead to a job. At the moment my skills on paper amount to me looking at a job for life stacking shelves (as I’m doing now) or flipping burgers. I just want a real qualification in something I enjoy before it’s too late & I’m too old. I think programming would be the best paying and most legitimate skill, right? I mean you can’t measure how good somebody is in Photoshop, but if I have a certificate saying I know C++ then it’s something solid.

Thing is, I checked the courses at my local college and they don’t even list C++ or programming, only “computing” and courses that involve learning how to use word processors and spreadsheets. What would a programming course be called? What category would it come under? Are there different types of programming? Do these courses cost money? Are there even many jobs around for ppl with basic programming skills? Is C++ the best language the learn in the first place? I haven’t got a clue about any of this and nobody I know did any kind of education to speak of, so asking friends isn’t any help.

Hmm not really sure why I started this topic, apologies, I’m just completely lost. Hopefully after the meeting tommorrow afternoon things will be more clear, I thought it would be good if I went in with an idea of what I want to do though because I know that’s the first thing I’ll be asked. I need somebody to tell me what I should do! :eek3: :slight_smile:

(SCDS_reyalP) #6

Programming courses are usually called CS (computer science). What language is used is not terribly important IMO. Once you’ve picked up one or two, adding another one is just matter of spending time with it. You don’t mention where you are located, but here in the US there are many community colleges and a trade schools which offer courses at reasonable cost.

Another way to get into the games industry is to have a good portfolio resume of community mapping/modding stuff. While a degree may help, real world experience can also be a big factor. This is true for the software industry in general, not just gaming. The less degree/certificate you go for, the less of a factor it will be when compared to real world experience.

My suggestion is not to decide on getting into programming based on its pay potential. If you don’t like it, the money won’t be worth it, and you are unlikely to become very good at it. I saw a lot of people try to do this in school, and most of them ended up failing or switching to something else. If you like modeling and making textures, and dislike scripting/coding, then by all means, go for modeling and texturing. If you want formal education in that area, there are courses for that too.

(Rippin Kitten) #7

Go to some developer websites that you like and see what they have posted for their help wanted sections. You can often email the jobs link and they’ll give you a good idea of what they’re looking for in a potential employee.

RK

(Lanz) #8

For gaming related jobs the first thing that comes to my mind is “portfolio”. What do you have to show the would-be-employer? Besides being very good in the field you want to work with, can you show any form of examples of what you can do? Withouth it you almost don’t stand a chance to get a job in the industry. Also joinin a mod team to show an employer is not waste of time, things like that shows that you can produce something in a team, and do it good.

(blushing_bride) #9

assuming your in the UK (that’s what it says under your name) then the link below should help, it ought to list or provide links to all hihger education course in the UK. It should also inform you about the process of enrolling. If you are really seroius to get the qualification that is right for you then you may have to move from where you are now. It seems pointless to do the wrong course just becuase it is convient from where you live. Anyway browse the link nd see what you think.

(Kerunch) #10

Now these posts give me a warm glow inside :clap:
Nice to see people being helpful .My faith in mankind has been restored.

(The_Jesus_Zeppelin) #11

Hummer wrote:

That would include a strong background in C / C++,

i dunno about c/c++ anymore, i thought they were using fortran more than anythign else anymore, fortran or pascal.

(Sauron|EFG) #12

You’re joking, right?

(Everyone knows that all the good games (like Gorilla.bas) are programmed in QBasic. :smiley: )

I agree with ReyalP that you shouldn’t pick programming (or anything else for that matter) based on potential salary - doing something you don’t like won’t make you happy. Finding a broad education may be a good idea if you’re a bit unsure, and even after specializing this will give you an advantage in terms of understanding what your collegues are doing.

(Bongoboy) #13

Hey there Ziege,

Firstly, best of luck to you. I’ve yet to be persuaded that good fortune doesn’t play as big a part in a successful career as skills or experience : )

Secondly, it’s great that you have a variety of skills and interests, but what do you want to end up as? Map Designer? Artist? Programmer?

(A lot of the career process seems to be finding out what you DON’T want to do, and then concentrating on the remainder)

By far the best qualification you can have is a portfolio of good work you actually did yourself. And an academic qualification can certainly help you get that, as well as get you work outside the specific niche of games development.

:moo:

(blushing_bride) #14

just found this, it’s a list of short courses in london. Thinking about taking one myself if i can save up the cash

http://www.metronewmedia.com/trai_index.asp

edit, just found this as well in case your not in the UK

http://www.igda.org/breakingin/resource_schools.php