Do I need to learn computer graphics to make a successful game?

[LiziPizi 154]

I have couple of questions, all of them are related. I ask them because I am going to start my computer graphics course at university soon, 

so first I wanted to know if to make a 2D/3D game I need to learn computer graphics?

does computer graphics knowledge will result a better game performance?

and is it better just to learn some game engine like unity or unreal and avoid the mathematical part because it takes time?

 

I will be happy to hear some tips also, thanks

Edited February 28, 2016 by LiziPizi

[L. Spiro 25747]

If you want to be a graphics programmer, learn graphics programming. Otherwise learn an engine, or whatever interests you.

Graphics do not have a monopoly on mathematics. You need to learn math no matter what.

Graphics also do not have a monopoly on performance. Artists and graphics programmers worry about what matters as far as getting performance out of graphics. You should worry about not writing slow code.

Knowing about graphics never hurts, but it is not worth taking a whole course when other options are available.


L. Spiro

[SeanMiddleditch 17570]

As Spiro states, no, you don't need to know graphics to make a game.

I'd recommend it anyway, though. You don't need to be a master graphics programmer, but you really should at least understand the core concepts.

Pretty much every game developer wants their engineers to be generalists (and prefer even their specialists to be good generalists as well) and small/indie developers absolutely _require_ their engineers to be generalists (they can't afford the money/time investment for whole teams of specialists).

Even using a premade engine, you're not going to understand how to use it properly if you don't take the time to educate yourself on how an engine does what it does. Trying to build a game on an engine without understanding the basics of graphics/physics/ai/etc. is a lot like trying to build a car out of a box of parts without knowing what a transmission is.

[Tom Sloper 16375]

1. so first I wanted to know if to make a 2D/3D game I need to learn computer graphics?
2. does computer graphics knowledge will result a better game performance?
3. and is it better just to learn some game engine like unity or unreal
4. and avoid the mathematical part
5. because it takes time?

1. No, but somebody who knows computer graphics needs to be involved in your project.
2. Maybe. Maybe not. Performance is not necessarily related to graphics.
3. Better than what? Knowing an engine is good, if you want to make a game.
4. You really can't avoid math in this world.
5. What?

[Madolite 393]

"...because it takes time"
I'm afraid that everything in life that is worth writing home about, takes time to learn. It's an investment. But we're not talking decades. But when you're saying that you want to avoid the math that is involved in gamedev (which isn't usually that advanced), I'm wondering if this is really the industry for you. That's like saying that you want to be a comedian, but you don't wanna tell jokes. Sure not all comedians tell jokes, but seriously?

Just my two cents.

Edited February 29, 2016 by Madolite

[Developer Dre Reid 150]

Nope none at all

[LiziPizi 154]

"...because it takes time"
I'm afraid that everything in life that is worth writing home about, takes time to learn. It's an investment. But we're not talking decades. But when you're saying that you want to avoid the math that is involved in gamedev (which isn't usually that advanced), I'm wondering if this is really the industry for you. That's like saying that you want to be a comedian, but you don't wanna tell jokes. Sure not all comedians tell jokes, but seriously?

Just my two cents.

 

Vice versa, I love mathematics. but I am trying to understand if making a game with an engine like Unity or Unreal is much faster than making a game without it.

Edited February 29, 2016 by LiziPizi

[Alberth 9696]

If you know how those engine should be used, and you write a game that fits on them, it's faster.

Otherwise, ymmv.

[Ravyne 14301]

You don't need bleeding-edge computer graphics knowledge to make a game, but no college course achieves that level of education anyways -- A Masters or Phd. Thesis might stand at a par to bleeding-edge research coming out of industry (or sometimes surpassing but then often not practical for real-time for some number of years) but your undergrad coursework won't make you anything terribly special.

 

Your typical undergraduate-level course -- even good ones -- aren't especially advanced. Doing well in those classes is not the end of the road for your learning, and usually are just enough to get you standing on your own feet as an entry-level professional. Those courses are there to provide strong foundations, nothing more, and aceing your computer graphics class doesn't then qualify you as a "graphics programmer" to any standard.

 

I would say that your typical undergrad courses in computer graphics are a bare minimum for people who want to go on to write games. You'll need to know how how to cast a ray and reflect it from a surface, you'll need to know whether that ray hit a triangle first, you'll need to know how a transformation matrix works and how to concatenate them together, you'll need to know LERP/SLERP -- no, these aren't strictly graphics concepts, but computer graphics is usually the course where these kinds of things are pulled together in a practical, hands-on way.

 

And even if you never come to writing your own versions of these things as a professional need, you need to understand them conceptually just to use them effectively, and more than just conceptually when you have to debug issues with the systems you're using. The fact that good engines exist doesn't mean you can get by without understanding what goes on behind the curtain.

 

I would say definitely do take the computer graphics courses, unless the alternative is that you can substitute a heavier focus on mathematics that will also cover these kinds of topics (or sufficient for you to really study and understand them on your own) *and* you are the kind of person who's willing and able to do the work of understanding on your own.

[Norman Barrows 7179]

>> to make a 2D/3D game I need to learn computer graphics?

 

technically, no. an engine or library of some sort can be used.

 

>> does computer graphics knowledge will result a better game performance?

 

depends. it might keep you from using an engine or library in an inefficient manner. it definitely helps if you're writing your own engine or graphics library.

 

>> is it better just to learn some game engine like unity or unreal and avoid the mathematical part because it takes time?

 

engines are used to save time on development - not to avoid having to learn math.    using an engine means less code to write.