Hello GameDev Community,

Ever since playing my first video game (Super Mario for NES) I knew that I wanted to try my hand at programming games. This was a primary reason I decided to major in Computer Science. After graduating, I took a job working on fighter jet simulators for the defense industry. I thought this might be close enough to game development to quench my thirst, but alas, I was mistaken.

I recently completed another degree, which my company has paid for. However, I am obligated to stay with my company for at least two more years (otherwise, I must repay them for my education). I plan to take this time to learn and expand my knowledge of the game industry and brush up on the required skills to work as a programmer in the game industry. I am currently working on a master two year schedule that will allow me to become a more sought after candidate. This schedule will ultimately be broken down into monthly milestones, and perhaps even weekly "inchstones", allowing for me to track progress and adjust accordingly.

I am looking for some guidance/suggestions from any veterans of the industry as to what some good tasks , exercises, and/or reading material may help me better prepare for such a transition and to help build a portfolio. I have recently started searching through job postings on gamasutra.com to get an idea of the requirements of game programmers. Below is a rough list of tasks/exercises I have currently come up with.

+ Become familiar with OpenGL Programming in C++ and Java
- complete NeHe Productions OpenGL tutorial set
- read at least 2 books on the subject. Also, look into how OpenGL is being used on mobile devices

+ Become more proficient with Java Development (primarily a C/C++ developer right now) and Object Oriented Programming in general
- perhaps port an older open source game into Java?
- read up on design patterns

+ Become more familiar with commonly used development tools throughout the gaming industry
- create a small, polished game using Unity3d / C#
- familiarize self with Unreal Development Kit / Scripting. Complete a small project/game using this toolset.

+ Brush up on algorithms related to AI and gain exposure to new techniques
- read one book on AI design specifically for games
- read a no less than 5 white papers on recent AI techniques used in modern games.
- Try to implement at least two algorithms from white papers

+ Review 3D Math / Linear Algebra
- read

Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics

- pull out old college text book/files. Try to complete handful of questions from tests/homework

+ Better understand game design and what makes games fun
- read at least 3 books on game and level design
- create "complete" game design documents for two smaller game projects mentioned above
- complete David Perry's Game Challenge (play 100 games and write 1 page critique for each on their design, keep journal on "cool" ideas from games)

+ Learn more about the industry and network
- read daily blog update from gamasutra
- subscribe to and read number of RSS feeds for industry news
- attend at least one game development convention (next years GDC?)
- get involved with local game development enthusiast group.
- attend as many game jams as possible... (at least 2)
- if possible, try to make contacts with industry veterans using social media without being creepy or annoying.


Is there anything huge or obvious I am missing here? Is there anything listed that may be unnecessary? If anyone has any specific ideas for projects to help build a portfolio, I would be anxious to hear any/all suggestions.


Thanks for your time and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

L. Spiro,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my inquiry! From your response, it seems you are a programmer yourself within the industry. Is this the case?

If so, would you feel comfortable briefly discussing what you included within your portfolio when starting out?

I may be taking you a bit too literally, but is there really an advantage to having a Tetris clone in your portfolio? I suppose this would show that you have some basic programming knowledge, can use some graphics API, and can see a product through from start to finish? I also understand that if I am to complete a project on my own, it is going to have to be very small in scope (especially if I plan to complete more than one, in a two year period, while working full time!)

I was just concerned that "cloning" projects might show a lack of creativity?

Thanks again for your input and expertise!

I may be taking you a bit too literally, but is there really an advantage to having a Tetris clone in your portfolio?

After positing, I re-read this and realized that it may come across as if I was questioning your advice. I apologize as that was not my intent at all. Just looking for clarification.

Hi,

I'm a huge noob in graphic programming and I'm not in the industry, however for the tutorials I recommend you to do a modern tutorial too, like this one : http://www.arcsynthesis.org/gltut/
because from what I saw, the NeHe tutorials explain old methods which are not used anymore. Nonetheless, I did a lot of Nehe tutorials and they are really well made

For the arcsynthesis tutorials, at first, you just have to compile some tools separately, but when it's done it's a really good tutorial I guess : it explains VBO and shaders at the beginning and a lot of other features.


As I'm not a pro, an expert can confirm.

For more OpenGL tutorials, you should go here http://www.opengl.or...Getting_Started

I'll check it out. Thanks

for the tutorials I recommend you to do a modern tutorial too

While on the one hand it doesn't make much sense to learn obsolete technologies, on the other hand it doesn't make sense to offer a beginner steak when they can barely tolerate milk.

It is important to learn the principles and theory behind how things work, and often the best way to do that is to build it yourself first.

Even though advanced rendering libraries are available, universities with graphics courses still have their students write software rasterizers. It is similar to how they will teach you the algorithms behind linked lists and trees to help you understand container classes, teach you ten ways to sort objects rather than just relying on built-in sort, and so on.

The NeHe tutorials are a little dated, but the theory in them is still very applicable. Most of the new technologies are just faster ways to do exactly what the tutorials do. Once you understand the fundamentals then the more advanced stuff will come naturally.