Looking to enter the industry

I don't recall which book it was but I know that I ripped out the page and stuck it to our door and I encouraged everyone to use it as a dartboard for a while.

I could swear it was a Scott Meyers book but perhaps I'm getting senile.

 

Hi again guys.

I finally received my books in the mail
I purchased the C++ Primer, Beginning C++ Game Programming (& open GL) and Schaums Guide.

Which one do you think i should start with? Or does it really not matter, should i just get into it.

 

The Primer Book and the Beginning book are going to cover a lot of the same material in different ways.

I'd start with the primer and then skim the familiar parts of the beginning book.

I'd also recommend, at least trying out, diving right into some code examples--get your hands dirty, see what you can do/change, find out how it works.

 

Well since I recommended it I'd go with Beginning, because it introduces basic concepts while you go and builds on them..the primer is of course very good but requires more reading before you start doing.

 

Another question, what do you guys do/see on a daily basis?

Is it looking at a wall of text all day?

 

It's like the matrix, after a while you see the pattern and then you learn to fly.

 

I used to dream in text Really freaks you out the first time it happens.

 

when I look at programmers is like "what are they doing... whats going on... did he click what?... "
its like one big poolala to me but I got some basics on options but thats about all the coding I know.

and that you dream about something always happens if you code (or anything for that matter) 24/7 for some time

 

I don't know if you are in the US or something but that advice above is WRONG WRONG WRONG There is a huge problem with the grads I've been getting for the past few years with Games degrees. They are almost uniformly AWFUL. Seriously.

CS - just do anything to gaurantee that you actually can program. And WRITE GAMES in your spare time. And then do some more. Please - I'm crying out for junior programmers that can do anything with the remotest confidence in C++. Sod java, sod prolog, sod d3d (I know, odd isn't it?), sod team work. If it's not teaching you C++ then don't bother. Games courses are too appealing and misrepresent what a games programmer actually does. Which is WRITE GAMES in C++

I rest my case.
I rest my case.
I rest my case.
I said it three times.

Shrew

 

Perhaps you're seeing graduates from the wrong institutions

We're quite spoilt here in Dundee having Abertay on our doorstep that produces pretty damn fine Games grads. It was one of the first, and definately one of the better courses out there. From what I've seen, the Games courses in the South East suck serious donkey.

The OP is talking about 2 1/2 years of courses as compared to a 4 year CS degree. If he knuckles down, gets a good pass and that still doesn't get him a job in the industry, there are plenty of post graduate diploma courses in CS which get you the CS degree and only take up a year of your time. Better solution to my mind than a straight CS degree...

 

I can't comment on whether games courses are any good or not, but I would definitely say that students need to use C++ in their spare time.

I returned to uni a few years ago. I'm sitting my finals now so I've been through many of the courses available and have heard about the others from uni guys.

A couple of the courses gave a whistle stop tour of C, and that was it. I'm not saying that general CS/SE courses should teach C++ instead of Java, as it seems to be only our backwards industry that insists on using it, but just that a uni grad can't be expected to know any C++ if they've just attended the uni, copied other people's notes and partied the rest of the time. Which is what most of them do, so look out.

I think C++ is too much of a tricky language to migrate from Java in a matter of weeks/months. Anyone who claims it is either a genius, or kidding themselves about how well they know the language (and how many hidden bugs they're introducing into the codebase).

The real problem is that we're using C++ in the first place, but that's a rant for another day!

 

My only complaint about the game school I attended to was that it's very hard to become a skilled programmer in 1 & ½ years unless you have quite a bit of knowledge already before attending. I can say that 1 & ½ year at the game school I went to is a hell of a lot more than 1 & ½ year at a uni / college.

I'm working at a small up and rising company which is struggling with a lot of overtime, and it almost feels like holiday time compared to the school I went to . Now that might sound a bit destructive, but when you're at a school where the environment is made up of people burning to create games it's very easy to put in unreasonable amounts of time into developing yourself towards that goal. In the end I think it's a lot up to the individual, if you're very passionate about games and can maintain the discipline to create games on your free time through the 5 years of a CS degree, then that will naturally also create a capable programmer.

 

@OP: Dude, .. are you really sure? Why you actually want to get into the industry? Chances to work on a game that you would love to play are negligible. Are you sure you don't wanna aim for a good salary, 9 to 5 easy mode, good family relations etc values?

 

I'm sure. As far as the 9-5 with a good salary, I have that now. When i get a job as a junior programmer my wage will drop most likely. As far as family goes I have no plans for children (and no I won't be changing my mind about that)

I am doing this because I believe i will enjoy a career in the industry. Where I am atm is ok but not what I want to do forever.

 

I wouldn't work for a company which didn't offer all of those.

Apart from having to work 9 to 5. The rush hour commute would kill me.

 

why?

 

Huh???

 

Going back to the original question, I would go with a CS degree over a course at somewhere like AIE.

1) If later you want to move away from games to something that pays better or demands less hours, it will be easier with a CS degree than with the game focused courses (it still might be hard, but just easier).

2) Since you're in Australia, you might want to work in the overseas at some point (after you get sick of being treated poorly from the local developers and tired of wondering if they'll be around next week, yes I started in Australia, does it show?) and the better paying game development jobs are in the US, which means you'll need a visa, and having no degree would make this much more difficult (and it's painful enough with a degree).

In the end, I'm not sure either education would change the quality of code you write, I've seen people who have degree's who are terrible, and self taught coders who are awesome. My point though is that when choosing an education, the quality of that education might not be the only thing to keep in mind (as ridiculous as that sounds, its true, fighting it will only make life hard).

Good luck

 

It depends on your short term and long term career goals, what kind of programmer you want to be and how much time and money you want to invest in your education.

The shorter game focused course will teach you what tech the industry is using now - it's designed to fill existing industry shortages. But, will the degree still be relevant to you after 1 - 3 years? Or 5 - 10 years? Tech changes quickly...

A computer science degree from an engineering school may be more suitable for the long term. A good engineering school will teach you how to think and solve problems - which will suit you well the rest of your career regardless of how technology changes or what you decide to do later in life.

Either way, spend a good amount of time working on personal projects and demos.

Good luck and have fun!

 

What I did was get a BSc. in CS and then do a MSc. Games Programming got me a job.
The Msc. though was very programming oriented and learned you all the ins and outs of C++, so it kinda also depends on the quality of the games programme you are joining.