[gameprogrammer] Re: programming

Oh btw Also,

Game programmers on average make less than programmers in other
industries so be prepared for that.

However, game programmers still make good money and have lots of
benefits, besides the fact that you get to make games for a living!

An anual survey just came out in game developer magazine which
outlines how much various types of people in the indusrty make, but
the average game programmer made aprox. 83,000 a year last year so
that's not bad at all :P

If you weren't aware, in some game programming companies you may be
required to work A LOT of overtime, with little or no compensation so
be prepared for long, hard hours.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask, or if you'd like you
can ask me off list as well for more details.

On 4/16/08, Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hey Marc!
>
> IMO just like anything else, if you have a passion for making video
> games, and you work hard to learn as much as you can, and it's what
> you really want to do, you can become a game programmer easily :P
>
> I myself am a professional game programmer and got there by just
> taking a few programming classes in HS and a little bit of college (no
> degree).
>
> What got me in was I did a TON of game programming on my own since
> junior high, and while i never finished a game really, but was always
> working on something new, learning some new technique or trying
> something I had never tried before.
>
> Books are your friend!  Find books on interesting things (like
> specific types of games you might want to make, or artificial
> intelligence etc) and learn as much as you possibly can, and write
> code using what you've learned so you have hands on knowledge about
> it.
>
> There are a ton of pitfalls and traps you can hit in writing games,
> and through blood, sweat, tears and reading good books you'll learn
> the tricks to avoid them and get good over time.
>
> You may have to start in the industry as a tester or as an intern or
> something like that, but getting your foot in the door is the hardest
> part and once you do that, things are a lot easier.
>
> Or another way is to get a job programming in another industry, and
> after you get professional programming experience on your resume, try
> to make the jump into game programming (thats what i did and it worked
> well!)
>
> My advice:
> *Make lots of different kinds of games and get as much experience as
> possible with as many things as you can.
> *Try collaborating with others on games such as artists and other programmers.
> *Also keep your code around (and binaries) so you can show it off to
> prospective employers if they want to see your work in action or see
> your source code.
> *Get lots of books about game programming and learn from them!
> *Go to college.  It's possible not to but it's easier if you do.  Go
> to a game programming school if you want to, digipen in washington
> state seems to be really good.
> *Don't give up, you can do it if you try! (:
>
>
> On 4/16/08, max joncas <the_cook073@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Hey, I know im sorry i have no answers to your problem, but u might have one
> > for me, I'm 15 and I'd like to become a video game programer.Any hints,
> > studies, anything that could help me. Needed qualities and stuff.
> >
> > Please answer back, thank you
> >
> > Marc
> >
> > ________________________________
> > Sign in now! Windows Live Messenger is giving you a chance to win $1000 a
> > day until May 12th Check out SignInAndWIN.ca today!
>

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