Independent Study

MaximusCranius,

Heya. Since I dont know your age or anything I'm just going to answer this in a very general fashion.

First, good for you mate. Wanting to further your skills and make yourself a better developer is always admirable. As for the best way to continue your studies, you can do it both on your own, and as part of a college/university program. Most Computer Science programs give you the opportunity to take classes in Computer Graphics, AI, Physics, etc... Additionally, schools such as DigiPen are beginning to emerge and are very good choices if you're certain you want to stay in the game industry.

To answer your question about a game engine. DONT!. Too many people attempt to write their own game engines. Some succeed, most don't, but in either event, a game engine isn't something you can show a company as part of your resume. What you SHOULD do, is get ahold of an open source, publicly available game engine and make a game. Use Ogre3D, Crystal Space, or any of the other slew of engines. Combine that with OpenAL, ODE, or any other libraries. Then come up with a reasonable game idea and complete the game. Beginning to end.

The ability to complete something you've started is probably the most desirable skill in the industry right now. Its amazing how few individuals actually possess this skill.

Additionally, Math, Physics, Graphics, Tools, UI, Sound, Skeletal Animation, Space Partitioning, Terrain & Continuous LOD, etc... are all areas that are currently good topics of study.

Cheers and Good Luck!

Quote:

Original post by jwalsh MaximusCranius, Heya. Since I dont know your age or anything I'm just going to answer this in a very general fashion. First, good for you mate. Wanting to further your skills and make yourself a better developer is always admirable. As for the best way to continue your studies, you can do it both on your own, and as part of a college/university program. Most Computer Science programs give you the opportunity to take classes in Computer Graphics, AI, Physics, etc... Additionally, schools such as DigiPen are beginning to emerge and are very good choices if you're certain you want to stay in the game industry. To answer your question about a game engine. DONT!. Too many people attempt to write their own game engines. Some succeed, most don't, but in either event, a game engine isn't something you can show a company as part of your resume. What you SHOULD do, is get ahold of an open source, publicly available game engine and make a game. Use Ogre3D, Crystal Space, or any of the other slew of engines. Combine that with OpenAL, ODE, or any other libraries. Then come up with a reasonable game idea and complete the game. Beginning to end. The ability to complete something you've started is probably the most desirable skill in the industry right now. Its amazing how few individuals actually possess this skill. Additionally, Math, Physics, Graphics, Tools, UI, Sound, Skeletal Animation, Space Partitioning, Terrain & Continuous LOD, etc... are all areas that are currently good topics of study. Cheers and Good Luck!

Ahh, sorry I should have given you more about my background. I'm a senior in college finishing up a Computer Science degree with a focus in Computer Graphics. Basically, I've exhausted all the courses I can take in the graphics field and would like to pursue something on my own this last semester. I've taken 2 semester of physics and have put together a real time rigid body simulator that takes point forces. I am currently learning AI. I have taken a real-time rendering course whose semester long project was a game engine, and I am now aware of the ridiculous amount of work that goes into them. I want to combine all this for a course, but I need to pass it off as acadmic.

I was mainly curious of what area I should concetrate my studies that would help me be both more complete in my knowledge of the programming aspects of game design, as well as making myself more desirable to companies looking to hire.

The last thing is I actually am trying to work on a game in my spare time with a few others friends. I just figure if I can knock out a course with it while I do, all the better.

Hopefully this clears up maybe what I'm looking for and lets you know a little more about my background. Thanks for the reply.