A Question for Game programmers

There is no special route. And while a formal education is not mandatory, it makes things a lot easier.

Please excuse my bad english writing, it is not my native language.

I started writing some small games on my caculator (TI-80) in 10th grade. A race between some pixels. You had to bet on the pixel that reached the line first and you won (or lost) the bet you made at first.

Then I made some HTML and &#106avascript for my personal site when I was in 11th grade. Then I got to a Cegep (in Quebec, this means "Professional and general teaching college) where I got a 3 years "Multimedia integration technique" concentration. I learned Actionscript, &#106avascript, lingo and I used a lot of graphic software like Illustrator, Photoshop, 3ds Max.<br><br>I then got a 3 years course in computer programming + Linear algebra and vector geometry + Integral and derivative mathematics.<br><br>I learn all maths required for working in 3d space and for working with basic physics and I learned some languages like Java, C, C++, COBOL, VB.Net.<br><br>I sent a demo I made of a chess game with an artificial intelligence (using Alpha-beta and min-max) with a resume to some companies. Then I got a job.<br><br>This is how I got where I am now.<br><br>Going to college and/or university to learn computer programming helps a lot. But you also have to read _a lot_ of books and you have to make _a lot_ of protoypes. You also have to make some research by yourself to get everything you need to get in the business of game programming.<br>

How good are you at teaching yourself things? I went to an art school for college, and taught myself how to program while I was there. I now work as a designer/programmer in the industry, and have never taken a programming course in my life.

I recommend reading the following books:
- Game Programming in C++: Start to Finish (this one is a great place to start)
- Real-Time Rendering (second edition is the newest, I think)
- Mathematics for 3D Game Programming & Computer Graphics
- 3D Game Engine Architecture (or just about anything by David Eberly)
- Computational Geometry (3rd Edition)
- Understanding Comics

If you're gunning for a design gig eventually, don't let your lack of programming ability keep you from making games. Board games, card games, and paper prototypes are an awesome way to develop your design skills. Make a new game every week, and keep a blog about it - this could easily be used as your portfolio when you're applying for jobs down the line.

Thanks for all your replies, i am starting to understand the depth of pursuing this course.

geolycosa: I can learn things quite well when it comes from something of a passion and determination to learn. I recently did my AS examination, but because of the mediocre results it is going to be difficult to continue through A2, even then i don't plan to continue to university. So been trying to find a suitable course to do (even go for E-learning) but most of them requires some previous knowledge in other language codes. So my main plan is to self study C++ as it is mostly spoken as the 'best' code to go for, and build up a portfolio through my own projects while working through the books.

Any other advice offered would be greatly appreciated.

There is a link in my signature on my route to a games programmer.

About a year and a half ago I broke my are, I was bored so I started learning programing. I taught myself, and now, I can program window apps and games. So, yeas you can teach yourself... It does take a lot of work though!

Quote:

Original post by kadajloz even then i don't plan to continue to university.

I have to comment on this. Having a degree helps a lot. It does three big things :
* Demonstrates you have the diligence to stick with something for four years.
* Great networking resource. You'll meet tons of people and make tons of connections.
* Give you a curriculum to keep yourself moving forward.

A degree means a lot.

Quote:

Original post by zer0wolf Quote: Original post by kadajloz even then i don't plan to continue to university. I have to comment on this. Having a degree helps a lot. It does three big things : * Demonstrates you have the diligence to stick with something for four years. * Great networking resource. You'll meet tons of people and make tons of connections. * Give you a curriculum to keep yourself moving forward. A degree means a lot.

I managed to miss this. If you don't have a degree or commercial industry experience, you will be put at the bottom of the pile of CVs or even in the bin but any general HR filter.

If you have contacts in the industry, then it might be possible but if you can, get a degree.

Also, game programmer don't do everything by themselves.

It is best to specialise in something :

- 3d models, animation and special effects (the things most people wants to do, the things most people won't do)

- Physics (Helps people a lot by knowing how to code realistic paths and realistic demolition or crash. You really have to work with the code of others when you specialise in this. Most programmer don't know hell about physics and it helps to keep your job when you know (even basic) physics maths.)

- Game rules like inventories, shops, hit points, triggers (This is where most people start programming when they get their first job. You need a good understanding of state driven programming and data driven programming. You have to learn some scripting languages like "lua" or "python". You also need to know how to parse for a lot of data files effectively by knowing how to use most complex data structures. It may seems boring, sometimes it is, sometimes it is not. Most of the games programmers are programming in this field.)

- Networking (I never programmed any network code, so I will leave description of this speciality to someone else)

- AI (You should know most basic algorythm by heart and develop your own with you imagination. Some algorythm you MUST know : A*, min-max, alpha-beta, etc...) It is not the kind of AI that learns with time, but the kind of AI that can take good decision with little or no CPU time.)

- Database (Online games like MMOG needs database administrators, this work is really boring, but it pays a lot. You only work with datas, and most gamers don't care about your work except when it doesn't work. You never get congratulation from anybody, only complains.)

That's it.

My last post was kind of a reality check, and I know the english of my post was bad. So, I repeat that I am not a native english speaker.