9 replies to this topic

[hunterrose12]

Hey everyone! This is my first post as I’m new to gamedev.net so please feel free to be ruthlessly heinous to me! I especially like hard criticisms so as long as they are tasteful and provide “some” level of usefulness! Lol…

So long story short, I’m 30 and I have been doing IT for well over the last decade both professionally and as a hobby. Coincidently I have been a gamer for more than double that time. I pretty much grew up loving to play video games since the age of 3. Yes, you could say that video games were perhaps my gateway drug into the world of computers. Since entering IT, I have made it my focus in the last decade in securing a lucrative long term engagement will a very prominent computer company (one of IT’s founders), good money, secure job, etc. and to an end I am utterly successful at my job, yay for me…

However, I have come to realize that I have the burning desire to be more technology creative, and I would someday really love to be a game “visionary”. In other words, I would rather be a director of sorts that manages a team towards achieving the release of a successful game title. It’s always been this lingering desire in the back of my mind. But seeing as how I do not have a “programming” background nor have I successfully made a game or any game, I hardly think anyone is going to take a leap of faith on an unknown investment with no technical backing in the game industry.

Ergo, my thoughts were to keep my 9-5 job that pays the bills which keeps me entertained for what it is worth (hey it’s technical, I can’t complain)...and meanwhile go to like ITT Tech or another school and get a degree focusing on Game Development/Design. I actually started my IT profession in the military and took for granted ever getting a degree until recently. I now currently hold an Associates in General Studies and I am looking to go back soon for my BS, and then a Master’s in Business. I was thinking that I might as well spend my money for my BS in something pertaining to Game Design after all it is still a science degree.

So lately I’ve played around with UDK3, Maya 2012, Poser, and ZBrush. I love sitting behind ZBrush and making models and I love using UDK and doing terrains, etc. However, I’m totally lost in the sauce so to speak. I have a vision of something but no true way to realize it without the right background, or is that truly the case? Can you simply be a visionary, someone that deals in theoretical gaming that leads teams to develop new game titles? Or am I dreaming?

So here are some questions for any and all that can answer it:

· Is it worth me pursuing a path as a game programmer, or should I try and invest some money in a game idea by hiring talented programmers (as I doubt I’ll catch up any time soon)?

· What is the best way to approach a game company with a game idea/concept? I would assume that you would want them to sign an NDR, but how can you really take an idea and get it made into something, unless you have programming skills?

· I’ve noticed that my GeForce 400 series card sucks some bad mama-jama at rendering, which I assume is due to the lack of floating-point operations. I was considering taking the plunge on a Quadro or Tesla card but can anyone suggest something sensible for me to replace it with to do Maya and other CUDA optimized software with on the fly rendering?

· What is the best way to find and meet game developers? I have yet to meet one, they appear to be a very illusive crowd…lol

[Tom Sloper]

0. Is it too late for me to lead the gaming revolution?
1· Is it worth me pursuing a path as a game programmer,
2. or should I try and invest some money in a game idea by hiring talented programmers
3. · What is the best way to approach a game company with a game idea/concept?
4. how can you really take an idea and get it made into something, unless you have programming skills?
5. · What is the best way to find and meet game developers?

0. Read FAQ 71.
1. Read FAQ 66.
2. You need to make a decision, eh? Read FAQ 70.
3. Read FAQ 11.
4. By paying to get it developed, as you already mentioned. But before you do that, you ought to have a solid business plan first.
5. By going to GDC and other game developer conferences and networking events. Read FAQ 54.

If all those FAQs aren't listed in the Getting Started page (back out to the Breaking In forum and look above right), you can go to http://sloperama.com/advice.html

[hunterrose12]

***sigh*** Sadly I was afraid of a read-the-FAQ response, however, I do inversely and genuinely appreciate you helping me to find the “appropriate” FAQ's, which will serve me well. Pardon my snarky mood, but it's really information overload on a lot of forums and this one is no different.

So all in all, given my situation, it’s probably a timelier path to 1.) Have a light bulb 2.) Build a business plan 3.) Hire developers to realize said light bulb.

Seeing as how that is the case, can anyone shed some light on a couple of reliable online hiring resources that I could further investigate for a low-budget game? ***Now serving FAQ number…*** just kidding... unless I'm served a FAQ...hehehe

But seriously, thanks for the reply, you guys seem like a very valuable community.

[Stormynature]

But seriously, thanks for the reply, you guys seem like a very valuable community.

A community which you are now a part of by the way. Welcome to the place where if you haven't read the F.A.Q.'s then your questions will often send you there .

[Tom Sloper]

can anyone shed some light on a couple of reliable online hiring resources that I could further investigate for a low-budget game?

Yes. (Note the strikethroughs above.)
Gamedev.net's classifieds
Gamasutra
Wikipedia's list of game developers
But your best bet is still GDC and other game developer conferences.
So: have you read those FAQs yet?

[hunterrose12]

So: have you read those FAQs yet?

I'm working on it!!!! Reading is my second language... = )

But yeah I was looking through the ones you suggested. I guess at this point I need to get more familiar with the business. Even if I were a superior game programmer it doesn't mean that I'd be any good at sound, art, etc. It seems like long gone are the days where one person can do it all.

[jbadams]

Welcome to GDNet!

Apologies for throwing more links at you, but I'd also recommend the following articles (as well as the rest from the same site):

• Computer Game Development (an overview)
• The developer start-up process
• Additional hints & tips for a start-up developer
• Preparing a product pitch
• Preparing a game demo

[DrMadolite]

I don't really see how the time has anything to do with things. If you were 50+ years of age, then maybe. But I mean, if you got what it takes to be an average developer, then no time in the world will make you lead the revolution. But if you got what it takes, then you can be a leader at any reasonable age.

I'm 30 years myself, and I don't even have a decade of technical IT experience. In fact, I have no IT experience at all, except for self-taught stuff that is potentially inaccurate. But you don't make a plan of failing, you make a plan of winning. And if you don't reach your goal, you deal with it as it happens. You don't sacrifice what you love to do in life, just because the most optimal goal achievable in that field isn't achievable by you.

Just my 2 cents. Cheers.

[lmbarns]

We went and watched a screening of a kickstarter funded indie movie called "Indie game the movie" and the producers did a Q&A afterwards and talked about the parts they had to cut from the film they wanted to include.

One story was of a guy who works at Microsoft as a developer for xbox live, who never dreamt of programming until he was 30, and he discovered a tool that even he could use (XNA was his catalyst), which got him really interested in learning to program, and changed his life (now he's an established developer).

I can relate, I went to college my jr and sr years in high school, instead of high school, took numerous programming classes including: COBOL (lol as/400), 2x Visual C++ classes, VB, etc programming design, etc, and some "F_____ing" way I ended up getting my real estate license and saying screw programming (I was living in the midwest, this was 11-12 years ago, wasn't crap for jobs and weren't very good "tools" and resources like there is now) and I chased the "easy money" in RE, also became a landlord and did other investments, and startups using hard labor.

Now I'm 28, back in school and trying to make up for lost time.

I hope to be doing this when I'm 80, with whatever badass technology exists then, so in the big scheme of things......

[ManuelMarino]

the conferences are important, but also professional networks, as example LinkedIn.