Video Game Industry

[Blaastoid]

Hello everyone from BL, now I know there is a lot of really intelligent people here and so I though there is got to be at least 1 person who would know about my question.

I've looked around the web and I'm going to talk to someone about it but is there any of you Bluelighters that have any experience in Video Game Programming?

If so, what are the steps I need to take in order to become one?

I'm currently saving up for college, it might take awhile.

Also since my High School GPA was pretty low and my ACT score was a 17 that needs to be taken into consideration. (I'm not dumb but the choices I made were stupid, I took the ACT's stoned and that fucked me over)

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[Joeof1]

Start learning to program in C+. Then learn how scripting engines work, and how to build a decent one. Then finally good luck, because that is by far the toughest field to get anywhere in. That field is literally flooded to the brim.

Your best bet would be to work on your programming and story telling skills. Meanwhile make a simple and fun game to sell for cheap through Steam to support some of the purchases you will have to make, you will need multiple pieces of hardware for testing. Like an AMD and Nvidia rig as the programming on both of them is different for optimization. Make sure to make a Linux and Mac version, as the cheaper games are more popular for those platforms. Then just pump out minor money makers while working on your primary title that interests you, and make a name for yourself so that someone might be willing to pick you up or you will get some name recognition for your work.

 

[weekend addiction]

I got really into coding for a time. Its hard as shit so don't expect to be getting stoned and writing code like you do with your ACT's. The best thing to start out with coding isnt C+ in my opinion because it just makes it even harder to get a knack for things. Start out with one of the BASIC programming languages. Visual BASIC is expensive (around $300. Begining programming for dummies is a good book that teaches Liberty BASIC (an evolution of QBASIC). Last time I checked it was 50 bucks but that was a few years ago. PureBASIC is slightly mroe expensive ($80?) but the programs run faster and you get a lifetime of free updates. Either way learn one of the varietes of basic and screw with it for a while then go from there. The key with picking a BASIC language is to go for the ones that don't use an interpeter (google it) but create stand-alone exe files. Anyway I'm pretty stoned that's all I feel like typing for now. Hopefully someone with more recent programmoing experience will chime in because I stopped doing that around age 15 or so.

 

[L2R]

the video game industry tv show here "good game" is constantly reporting job losses, so i doubt you'll find secure work that way. if i were starting out, i'd steer more towards mobile phone app development.

 

[RobotRipping]

in terms of video game programming, the skills you'll need, will land you a far better job in a different industry.

If you are creative, driven and passionate about programming you may find success but if you just like playing video games i wouldn't make it into a career. If you absolutely love math, have programming experience already and are passionate about technology, computers and know all the ins and outs then it may make sense to pursue a career in game development. I've seen plenty of video gamers think that game development was their dream because they love video games but when it comes to programming them, it's an entirely different world, filled with logic, math and physics. You basically have to be a programming prodigy if you're going to make it big in game development.

First things first, get a very strong grasp on C/C++/C# and object oriented programming. Learn java, and learn to program for mobile devices to start out. The field is absolutely littered with talent, especially in regards to programming. You can start out on basic or visual basic but really you need to learn C++ and OOP anyway, so just start with C++; it's really not as difficult as people make it out to be. It's difficult to learn on your own, i had great professors in university to teach C++ and it really helped push me beyond what i could learn on my own. If you go to school to get a degree in computer science, you will start with C++ and java, people learn basic and other simple languages like python in high school. My little brother was taught python in grade 6 at school.

However, once you become a great programmer, there are far better job opportunities out there than programming games. I'd do it as something in your spare time. If you have a real ability to create fun, interesting and creative games in your spare time and they work out financially for you then you can switch over to programming games and maybe a company will pick you up.

In the mean time though, i'd use my programming skills elsewhere. It's not a field for the faint of heart either, if you don't mind spending 12-16 hours a day at your computer going through code then it's for you, i've seen so many people go that route and completely fail though because they lacked the interest in math/logic and essentially just enjoyed getting stoned and playing games.

Be wary of game design tech schools and such, every one who has taken one of those programs i've known has had to switch to something else because there were 0 jobs for them. At least with programming you can use your skills elsewhere.

 

[thujone]

^ good post, agree completely and I'm building a career in programming atm. To work on major games, C/C++ knowledge is a bare minimum prerequisite, but the downside is the major game studios treat their developers like slaves. Making Java games for Android is the best way to get your foot in the door these days, but if you do plan to get into this as a career you should be aware of the fact that games are just a small part of the picture and there are plenty of other interesting niche areas. It's probably one of the better career choices for jumping head-first into so I'd say go for it, but limiting your focus to games can hurt you in the long run.