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Denver, 8:23 PM
Sun Nov 22
17 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/16/09
If all goes well, we'll make a profit on our vacation... #happyholidays
11/16/09
I'm not sure what to get him for Christmas though, my most memorable Christmas ever was the year I woke up to a GameBoy Colour accompanied by Pokemon Red and Link's Awakening DX.
I wish I could do something for him that would be as memorable, but it's just not as easy to impress kids these days as it was back when I was that age. #happyholidays
11/16/09
Thanks Santa! #happyholidays
11/16/09
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11/16/09
On the other hand, she may not be interested in something all that different, either. My sister absolutely loved Wind Waker, but couldn't get motivated to play past the first couple of minutes of Twilight Princess (the drab art style and boring wolf segments'll do that.) #happyholidays
11/16/09
11/10/09
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11/10/09
10/04/09
10/04/09
Game Production is such a diverse field, with SO MANY different people working there, that it's simply a joy working in such a team. Everyone's different, with different backgrounds.
That's what I personally enjoy the most in my job as a lead programmer in a professional game studio.
So while it is flattering to see how people think game development = programming, I think the talented artist and designer guys out there deserve being included.
10/04/09
Plus, I learned a lot of other stuffs next to university, mainly artistic graphic design, including 2D/3D/Animation. While that isn't that relevant to my job as a lead programmer, it certainly does help me see if one of my colleagues from the animation or art department is simply lying to me when they give me estimates on how long they need for a certain asset that we programmers need ASAP :)
10/04/09
Good game designers/programmers etc will be designing and programming games, so where do they get all the people to teach these courses? They're either not very good or they're not in productive work. Not a good sign either way.
It's like the huge rise in media studies courses - taught by unemployed journalists.
(or maybe that is just a touch too cynical?)
10/04/09
I really don't want to jump into college with no experience in making videogame development... so
Does anyone out there know where i could download any game development software? preferably for free.
10/04/09
Otherwise you should try learning a programming language. If you have never learned a programming language before then I suggest you start with C# or Java.
10/04/09
Unreal and Crysis both include fairly decent level editors too.
There's XSI mod tools (dunno if it's still around, I know Autodesks Game version of 3D max got taken down a while back)
[usa.autodesk.com] [developer.valvesoftware.com]
And I think XNA is free. [creators.xna.com]
Though your college will assume you have no game development skills (why would you need to go to uni :P) so you'll get taught the basics anyway
10/04/09
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10/04/09
As with all creative areas, you cant produce an artist or craftsman, you can only become one.
10/04/09
but the students think they can do anythin, learn they cant because they may not be artistically inclined, and then they give up, or didnt even try in the first place on finding work
programming can be easily taught, if you can program you can program, same thing with writing collisions and that sort of thing. learning how to do this stuff at home and perfecting your own creations is a far better idea than going ot school, with your own portfolio you can find work faster than a 4 year degree will.
10/04/09
That's the entire problem: universities are not supposed to teach you how to make things, they're supposed to teach you how to think.
10/04/09
10/04/09
nevertheless that's where you start off. i remember meeting dan didio (IRL!) of dc comics and his reply to all those "can i work @ dc" questions is: DC is not the first step. I'm thinking many game companies think the same. internships and small devs, get.
10/04/09
And alot of students going to work at McDonalds with a degree.
The uni I'm at offers 6 Gaming degrees;
Games art, Games Animation, Games Design, Games Programming, Games & Animation.
And nobody I know on the Games courses are going onto placement because (as well as bad economy) it's just so saturated.
Also makes you wonder if the universities aren't offering these courses just to pull in more students(and the cash they bring in), yet maybe don't have the qualified staff to teach it.
Cos 250 colleges/universities with 3-4 specialist staff per degree pathway you got 1-2000 ex-games developers. and that's alot.
Oh if you want a higher chance take up the Games programming, they all got placements ( though theres only like 20 or so here)
Edit "dean b with Something Negative" :P
Don't wanna scare folks off though, if your good you got a shot, but make sure you pick a good university, preferably one that specializes in computer courses.
10/04/09
10/04/09
The only jobs you'll find with gaming degrees are jobs as commissioned salesmen. For those jobs, companies don't care what degree you have as long as you have one
10/04/09
It's about your talent, your dedication, and your networking.
One thing I like about Trade schools like Westwood and FullSail (If you can survive the workload at Fullsail, I mean) is that you can go back whenever you want for free and retake classes related to your field once you graduate.
10/04/09
10/04/09
Having to deal with the constraints of realtime visuals are what separate movie artists and game artists, at the moment.