Hello guys,
After browsing this site for a bit, I was really impressed by the amount of help people are getting from the community to better their game making experience. That is my main reason for signing up, to seek some assistance.
I just recently finished highschool and I'm not too young(25 years old). I never really took schooling seriously but in the past year I have been putting so much preasure on myself to finish it and I did it in an adult high school.
For the past couple of months I have been reading everything about gaming and how to make them, and like most of the people who are just starting out, I begin to have questions on what langauge to start with.
I think I did my homework in deciding to start learning python first before moving on to other advanced languages. I'm planning to attend algonquin college, and take thier game developement program(3 years). It will be 2013 that I will attend and the only reason I'm going to be starting next year is becauseI need to make money to pay for college (as a pizza delivery guy) ;).
I have one year to prepare myself or learn as much as I can before going to college. For anyone interested, this is the program and the courses offered(highlighting each course would give you an outline of what the student will learn). http://www2.algonquincollege.com/mediaanddesign/program/game-development/
Something about me is that when I put my mind into something, I tend to do it and aim for perfection. Game programming is my passion. I want to create an entire game without having to hire people to help me, in the future. I will dedicate my whole life doing it because this game would effect me and people around me. The story and lore is present already, and a general idea of what kind of game I'm aiming for is as follows.
Game type: Open world action adventure rpg game( think mass effect/ assassins creed/ watch dogs) Its extremely hard, I know but not impossible.
Setting:Very early age(sticks and stones)
Game engine: I don't think I will be aiming at creating my own engine but use ones privided. Paying a license and royalities wouldn't be a problem later on. (it wouldn't hurt to learn how to develope one ofcourse)
Within 5 years time, I'm planning on starting on this dream project, but in the mean time I need to be as ready as possible. Within these 4 years I will be creating small games to get the hang of it(also school projects and whatnot)
oh yea, I only sleep 3 hours a day only because I eat 2 very small meals and exercise alot. Like I said earlier, I'm willing to dedicate my whole time just learning and I have more than 10 hours of free time everyday. I just need a direction from the pro's and see if I'm on the right track. Furthermore, there are many python begginer books and I'm debating on which to buy.
Any comments, suggestions, and/or advice is very welcome.
Cheers
Mr. Nayef
Dedicating my whole life to creating my dream game. Going to college
One thought: Try not to be too obsessed by "aiming for perfection". In the first few years, finishing games will be the most important. Finishing a game and aiming for perfection is a contradiction. There are creations that can never be completely perfect. Maybe programming is the best example for that.
Many newbies make that mistake, and perfecting a tetris' framework for long months, without adding any actual value to the outcome. Just get it done, then move to your next fun project. You will learn more with different games, so that your code will get better and better.
I'm not sure why do you want the final, big game alone. I mean that's fine, there are many great projects like that, but deciding up front is a bit meaningless. You have no idea where you will be in a few years.
Sorry, I believed there will be more thought in my post, but I was wrong.....
Anyway, good luck!
Many newbies make that mistake, and perfecting a tetris' framework for long months, without adding any actual value to the outcome. Just get it done, then move to your next fun project. You will learn more with different games, so that your code will get better and better.
I'm not sure why do you want the final, big game alone. I mean that's fine, there are many great projects like that, but deciding up front is a bit meaningless. You have no idea where you will be in a few years.
Sorry, I believed there will be more thought in my post, but I was wrong.....
Anyway, good luck!
I'm a newbie myself so take with a pinch of salt, but it's probably detrimental to plan that far ahead. Aim to educate yourself and work hard, but planning projects 5 years in the distance seems a bit limiting. Good luck anyways!
Dude. Take care of your physical health before you drop dead of exhaustion. Eating regular, full meals and getting a full nights' sleep are not optional, and you'll pay dearly for the lack.
*Had had sleep apnia for at least a decade and didn't know it*
*Had had sleep apnia for at least a decade and didn't know it*
Please get as much sleep as possible, because god knows you won't be getting any once you get into college.
You should probably know that there is a difference between having a passion in programming games, and having a passion in a story and wanting to bring it to life. I mean, you seem like you want to make this game a lot, but once you start programming, you will realize that you probably won't reach the lofty goals you've given yourself for years and years. I really hate being that guy but I think that you should focus on the shorter term, stay as excited as possible and soak up as much as you can. Work on the basics of programming (all of the wax on wax off stuff) and eventually you'll begin to feel more confident while at the same time developing a sense of what is reasonable for one man and what is not. Then and probably only then, will you be able to tackle a game like that.
Also, make sure you have general Computer Science knowledge as well, because what happens if you don't get hired as a game developer straight out of college? You can work QA for god knows how long until someone notices you OR you can become a Software Developer at first and make good money plus earn development experience, and then go home and work on your game until you go to sleep at a reasonable hour (while eating 3 square meals a day plus some snacks).
These are just my 2 cents.
You should probably know that there is a difference between having a passion in programming games, and having a passion in a story and wanting to bring it to life. I mean, you seem like you want to make this game a lot, but once you start programming, you will realize that you probably won't reach the lofty goals you've given yourself for years and years. I really hate being that guy but I think that you should focus on the shorter term, stay as excited as possible and soak up as much as you can. Work on the basics of programming (all of the wax on wax off stuff) and eventually you'll begin to feel more confident while at the same time developing a sense of what is reasonable for one man and what is not. Then and probably only then, will you be able to tackle a game like that.
Also, make sure you have general Computer Science knowledge as well, because what happens if you don't get hired as a game developer straight out of college? You can work QA for god knows how long until someone notices you OR you can become a Software Developer at first and make good money plus earn development experience, and then go home and work on your game until you go to sleep at a reasonable hour (while eating 3 square meals a day plus some snacks).
These are just my 2 cents.
Also, make sure you have general Computer Science knowledge as well, because what happens if you don't get hired as a game developer straight out of college? You can work QA for god knows how long until someone notices you OR you can become a Software Developer at first and make good money plus earn development experience, and then go home and work on your game until you go to sleep at a reasonable hour (while eating 3 square meals a day plus some snacks).
I think this is worth emphasizing. I would recommend avoiding the "game development" curriculumn. Colleges and universities realize that it is a very popular track, so they advertise it strongly to gain new recruits. Instead, go for the more generalized CS track and use game development as a side project/hobby to keep yourself excited by what you're learning. Work on your games, use the things you learn from class in your game (data structures, algorithms, etc), use the challenges you face in your game dev to ask questions in class, and if you work hard and do things right, you'll graduate with a degree and a polished game in your portfolio.
The hard truth is that just about every university is pursuing the "game design" track because it's popular with students and brings in new recruits. Assuming that they graduate hundreds of students with a degree in game dev, and there are a hundred universities doing this, then you can safely assume that the market for game developers is either over-saturated or the degrees aren't worth much. It's statistically unlikely that most students will become game developers. Game dev is a niche skill, so if it ends up that you're not going to be doing game dev, then the degree isn't going to work very well for you in opening up other career paths. What's your backup plan if all you have is a game dev degree? Take the pragmatic approach: With a more generalized CS degree, you could land a well paying job in a much wider field and it will still be highly relevant to game dev if you choose to go that route.
There's another thing to consider: Game development (in the broad sense) is about more than just writing code. Every game needs art assets, sound, designers, marketing, business infrastructure, project management, etc. You can do any of these things and be a part of the game industry. If you're focused on the programming aspect, make sure that you both like programming and like mathematics. If you don't like programming or math, then when the initial appeal of game dev wears off, its going to be "just another programming job" where you happen to make games instead of desktop applications/widgets/services/drivers etc. At the end of the day, regardless of whether you're making games or other applications, your job is staring at code on a screen and making it do things.
I do programming because I love programming.. and I happen to love games too, so I program games! If you don't have the passion for game programming and you're going about it yourself, it will be really difficult.
I'm also quite artistic, good with sketching and painting, music and so on.. I went down that track first because I thought that was my passion. After a year in art school, it turned out I did more programming in my own time than I spent time on those creative skills. Go figure?
Are you sure you're the programmer type? You got to love solving lots and lots of logical (or somethings not so logical) problems. That has to be a passion, next to the passion for making a game.
There's other ways of coordinating a game project for the ambitious. Realizing what your skills are and what skills you can recruit is essential for any project to reach completion. Do some proper soul searching. Are you really a jack of all trades, passionate for each facet of game development?
I know I'm most focused on the programming. That's why I'm now hiring a friend to make the music, even though I could do it myself. I'll probably get someone to make the art assets too, which I'd also be capable of, but don't really want to spend my time on.
I wouldn't completely crack down on "game dev" collage. It's a chance to do serious networking. Get to know people! Maybe you'll find your game development soul mate. I am chosing CS at university though, because I really want to do programming in depth. Collage is just as much about learning as it is about meeting similarly minded people.
I'm also quite artistic, good with sketching and painting, music and so on.. I went down that track first because I thought that was my passion. After a year in art school, it turned out I did more programming in my own time than I spent time on those creative skills. Go figure?
Are you sure you're the programmer type? You got to love solving lots and lots of logical (or somethings not so logical) problems. That has to be a passion, next to the passion for making a game.
There's other ways of coordinating a game project for the ambitious. Realizing what your skills are and what skills you can recruit is essential for any project to reach completion. Do some proper soul searching. Are you really a jack of all trades, passionate for each facet of game development?
I know I'm most focused on the programming. That's why I'm now hiring a friend to make the music, even though I could do it myself. I'll probably get someone to make the art assets too, which I'd also be capable of, but don't really want to spend my time on.
I wouldn't completely crack down on "game dev" collage. It's a chance to do serious networking. Get to know people! Maybe you'll find your game development soul mate. I am chosing CS at university though, because I really want to do programming in depth. Collage is just as much about learning as it is about meeting similarly minded people.
Are you really a jack of all trades, passionate for each facet of game development?
As someone who is beginning to identify with this, does that work for or against me? (consider I want to start my own company eventually, even if it's in handing out flyers)
[quote name='Zoomulator' timestamp='1340367102' post='4951712']
Are you really a jack of all trades, passionate for each facet of game development?
As someone who is beginning to identify with this, does that work for or against me? (consider I want to start my own company eventually, even if it's in handing out flyers)
[/quote]
I'd say that it always works in your favor to know how everyone else does their jobs. This helps you work better with your counter-parts and prepares you to become a good project manager. It's also good to have a good mastery of a particular skill since that helps you have a specialty and deep understanding of how it works.
[quote name='ManStaringAtScreen' timestamp='1340378353' post='4951761']
[quote name='Zoomulator' timestamp='1340367102' post='4951712']
Are you really a jack of all trades, passionate for each facet of game development?
As someone who is beginning to identify with this, does that work for or against me? (consider I want to start my own company eventually, even if it's in handing out flyers)
[/quote]
I'd say that it always works in your favor to know how everyone else does their jobs. This helps you work better with your counter-parts and prepares you to become a good project manager. It's also good to have a good mastery of a particular skill since that helps you have a specialty and deep understanding of how it works.
[/quote]
Plus I think that people who you manage will respect you more if you know their trade and have some applicable knowledge in it. I don't know about anyone else, but I tend to subconsciously look down on people who are "over me" if they have very little Computer Science background; I dunno, maybe I'm arrogant or something. The point is that you can have a lot more authority and respect in any position if you can identify with those you manage and show them that you have experience.
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