[gameprogrammer] Re: GAME School
- From: "Harrington, Tim" <tharrington@xxxxxxx>
- To: <gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2004 11:25:22 -0400
Good points Kevin - I've worked with both schools (engineering and arts)
- Individual skill sets are dominant drivers in student success
regardless of the discipline. Kevin mentions SE vs. CS, or even GP.
Software Engineering in the education world became the next evolution of
Computer Science. Game Programming is much like a Technical Artist
position in a Game company - not an artist - not a programmer : but the
transitional technical specialist that is sorely needed in gaming and
visual effects.=20
I have seen that the biggest challenge for schools has been finding
secondary placement opportunities for graduates from game degrees.
Average students seldom make it into the game industry. The demand for
excellence is high as a great deal rides on the success of a title.
Tristan - If you are looking at schools - look at a cross section of
schools and programs. It is good to have the flexibility that UAT offers
providing they have the critical mass of students to allow you true
flexibility. In the Phoenix area you have at least three competent
private post-secondary schools to consider: Us (The Art Institute of
Phoenix), Collins College, and University of Advanced Technology (UAT).
Evaluate the curriculum, instructors, facilities, student population,
entry requirements, internships while attending school, part-time
employment opps, and career placement services. Also evaluate the
industry - look at the production pipeline and the numbers of team
members on a production team that represent the various aspects of the
pipeline. Art and design has the largest portion of the production team
- it is the most labor intensive aspect of the line. Technical Art and
effects is second - Programming 3rd. Then there is marketing - that's a
whole other thing!!
As Kevin has stated, think further into the future, if programming is
going off-shore and game programming jobs are difficult to find, or
hold, you will want to have broader skills in programming and software
design.
Good luck.
-----Original Message-----
From: gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:gameprogrammer-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kevin Jenkins
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 11:31 PM
To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gameprogrammer] Re: GAME School
I think a game programming school can be beneficial for a game
programming job. But you might want to think farther ahead in your
future. A degree in CS is a qualification for most programming jobs.
If you wanted to work at Intel for example, the specific education you
get for game programming probably won't give you as broad of a base as a
CS or SE degree and they may not accept it as equivalent.
Game programming can be great fun and a great job if you find a good
company. Unfortunately, all but one of the companies that I have worked
for treat programmers as... well programmers. The upper management
didn't share the fun parts of making the game and didn't seriously
consider any other group's input. This is probably how you will wind
up, and in my opinion it doesn't make sense to work for such a company.
Why assume the risk, low pay, long hours, and pressure of working for a
game company without the fun part?
Even if you find a good company, many jobs are being outsourced to the
lowest bidder, such as India, Russia, etc. It's much harder to find a
job than even a three years ago and what is left is less desirable.
The path I took was to get a degree in SE, and at the same time teach
myself what I needed to know to program games. I got enough
fundamentals to get my first job. The only thing I would change if I
could go back in time would be to pay more attention in certain of the
classes I thought were useless at the time (esp. linear algebra and unix
internals). I'm glad I didn't go to a game programming school, because
with such poor job security I'm glad I have the credentials to work
outside the gaming industry if I need to.
----- Original Message -----
From: "tristan drago" <tdrago19@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 10:59 PM
Subject: [gameprogrammer] GAME School
> I feel strong about going to UAT (university of technology) in tempe
az.
They give you an option between which classes you choose for your
bachlors.
for instance they offer both game desgin and game programming. Now i
have the choice to select 70% game programming 30% game designing, i can
do this also like 60-40 50-50 etc. Now I"ve been reasearching on
becoming a game programmer for a couple of years now, ive decided to go
for it. is there advice i can have about the class difficulty? and
about the job in itself?
anything please!......thankyou. ps. UAT seems like a good
school....what
you say? and should i just go 100% game programming?
>
>
Tristan Drago
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