Computer Game Development

Brendetta

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Hi well I've just got onto a computer game development course at college. It sounded all good at the time but I've done abit of researching and the course is 2 years long then I have to do another 2 year hnd course at the same college then a 4 year course at uni. So 8 years alltogether. The thing is I will be 20 when I start the course and just wondered ifits all worth it.

I've got on a computer technition course aswell which is just two years and I'm confused on which course to pick.
 
what you could do, is to do a-levels at college, then apply to uni to do games development or similar courses, that way you will have some fallback expertise, should you hate uni-level games development and want to change courses. don't put all your eggs in one basket!
 
What do you want to do in the world of gaming? There are so many angles you can approach it from - design/art, AI, physics, gameplay, animation, lighting... even hardware design.

If it's one of the more technical aspects, I would personally try and get on the best computer science/computer systems engineering course you can at university and do D3D/OGL programming on the side as a hobby. That way you learn some useful skills that can be used is a huge array of industries (should you wish to change career) and keep the games stuff fun and interesting.

You are probably aware of this already, but http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/ is great for keeping up with things/asking for opinions from people in the gaming industry.
 
Well I wont be doing A levels. I will have to go back to college and redo GCSE's again then do A levels and I don't wanna do that. My tutor said when I do go to uni I will already have 4 years more experience than people just done a levels.

The course for the first 2 years is called national diploma in media computer games development. Then after that its HND in multimedia at the college plus a 2 year "top up" via a suitable BA/BSC degree. Then I go to uni to do computer science (games technology), BSC. The uni course is aimed at improving skills with graphics and AI.

I mainly interested in graphics so the designing of the games instead of the programing side. The first two courses offers me a mix of alot of the different areas of the gaming industry so I may prefer something else over time.

Its just the fact its gonna be around 8 years training. Thats long. Plus then I could end up testing games for awhile untill I get a design job or something. The tutor did say someone left after the 2 years once and did a games tester job for 3 years then ended up getting further in the industry to be a designer. So he was lucky lol.

I didnt do well in school or for the 4 years after so I'm lucky to get this opotunity. Thanks for the link I'll check it out.
 
Ah, fair enough about A-levels. I think it's great that you want to get into the gaming industry already - it should ultimately be a big advantage over people who "stumble" into it without much knowledge/ambition. :)

I would definitely read more about it though. Graphics and and AI are two of the most programming/maths-intensive modules I did at university and both require good mathematical ability and a logical mind. Game "design" is almost a completely separate discipline these days - the artists/directors control the look/feel, as such, and the actual graphics/physics/AI engines are developed by pretty hardcore programmers and/or licensed from a third party.

If you are up for it, as far as I can tell (it's a career route I considered at one point), there is a huge demand for people who have excellent artistic/creative and programming skills. Such expertise tends to get you the highest level jobs in design studios.

Hope this helps a bit!

Edit - a good idea might be to do a computer science degree and try and get holiday placements with game studios (e.g. Rare).
 
Thanks for your advice. Well its all new to me now so I will have to find out whats more programming and whats not and also see what the programing side is about. I will speak to my tutor because I aint to good at maths and havnt got any good maths grades so I will have to see ifit can prevent me going to university after the 4 years at college.
 
Ok, well best of luck to you. I don't want to put you off, just be aware that if you do any kind of decent "computer graphics" module, you will be most likely be doing vector/matrix mathematics, not creating monsters!!! You might find 3D animation/modelling to be more what you are looking for.

Another useful link - http://www.gamasutra.com
 

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