Bachelor of Science in Multimedia and Computer Games Development

Yedya^

Ok so still LC yea its worst year of my life but it will be worth it,really intrested in this course and ive study very hard i can get a B2 in OL maths even tho im not great at maths (or matamaticly minded?) Ive dropped french for i dont need it and im not counting it.


Just have a few questions
Could someone give me some first hand experince on the course?

Will the points go up or down this year?

Will many be applying for it?

If something went wrong ,ie i broke my arm and couldn't do the Leaving cert is there any other way into this course via IT or something?

TheTownie

Yedya^ wrote: »

Ok so still LC yea its worst year of my life but it will be worth it,really intrested in this course and ive study very hard i can get a B2 in OL maths even tho im not great at maths (or matamaticly minded?) Ive dropped french for i dont need it and im not counting it.


Just have a few questions
Could someone give me some first hand experince on the course?

Will the points go up or down this year?

Will many be applying for it?

If something went wrong ,ie i broke my arm and couldn't do the Leaving cert is there any other way into this course via IT or something?

Not in that course but in something similar and I can assure you no one can give you a proper answer to questions 2 & 3...

Even question 4 is pushing it a bit.

As for the maths issue. If your struggling or just doing ok with ordinary maths then you might struggle with MCGD. Its not necessarily very mathematical but being mathematically minded is often indicative of other traits in a person that would be beneficial to this course.

Have a look here at each module description and make sure you realize what will be expected of you.

Remember CAO points is no indication of its difficulty. This course would be indepth and over the head of a casual PC user.

Not trying to deter you from pursuing this course, just want you to appreciate what you are entering into and for you to be sure this is what you want. Don't be one of the many many first year students who make a naive choice and have to drop out as a result.

Stuxnet

hi, I'm first year computer systems in UL, for first year my course and your "would be" course are identical. And we share alot of joint lectures etc.. Id say there were about a 100 doing your course at the start of last semester, twice as many as mine, but there have been a lot of drop out's since, I would be lying to say its an easy course, it is hardcore,(not so much now, but i know whats coming down the line !) but its very enjoyable. Maybe as Im a "mature student" (31) it took me a long time to adjust into the school life. But im ready to tear into it next week when we get back. The maths started out really tough I found, but if you do the work, the stuff can be done, took me a while to learn this, but you coming from school should have no problem, ....either comp sys, or multi & game dev (they dont like it when it's referred to as "the games course" )are 2 awesome degrees, and the lecturers are really really good and really sound, i couldn't believe how sound they all are

also there is the ul maths learning enter and ict, where you can drop in between certain hours any day, and get free maths grinds and programming help...so dont be deterred by the what seems like daunting maths side of things, i struggled at first, but im finding my feet now,

so i'd recommend either course defo,

Chett

I am currently in my last year of study for Multimedia and Computer Games Development. Like you, I am not mathematically minded (in fact, Maths was always my worst subject) and acheived a B2 in Ordinary Level Maths. As TheTownie stated, mathematically minded students tend to do well in programming modules. Therefore, I feel that I have to spend more time at some modules than other students would. As long as you try to keep up with the material you should be fine.

Personally, I found the course to be quite enjoyable (apart from this dreaded FYP). Though many of the modules require a lot of matematical and logical thinking, you can look at it as building knowledge that will help you to create. Towards the second half of the course, things get a bit more.....creativy. Building mods for Oblivion, comming up with inventions, not to mention a module that consisted of blogging. A lot of writing but I enjoyed it.

So there you have it. I am "mathematically challenged" and dont't play video games :eek: but I am enjoying the course and am doing fine (though that could well change tomorrow morning when results are out).
Quite a messy answer to your question but I tried.
Good Luck anyway.

scruffystack

I put this course as my fisrt choice back in '08. I was into computers a lot and I am quiet good at maths and am logical minded. I found the modules pretty good (Easy) except for the Programming, which of course is the core module of the degree. Looking back now I now know I made a mistake, I went into this course blindly, being naive in thinking, "Awh sweet a gaming course! I'm good at COD so this must be cool!" After one semester I couldn't see myself doing it for the rest of my career so I dropped out and switched course. Now happy with a more engineering based course thank god!
My advice is to really do your research on programming, on code like java and C++... Maybe try and arrange to meet someone currently in the course. Do all you can to ensure you are taking the right step. There is a lot of work involved in it but I'm sure if followed through with would be a greatly rewarding Degree.. Best of Luck and hope it's a help!

Yedya

Wow great replys! Im very good at IT and have great intrest in games and how they work.


Im willing to put the effort in for this course and work hard on the hard parts.That free grind is great and nothing better then good & sound lecturers

Is there really any other way into this course if you dont get the B2 in maths?

Chett

Just did a bit of snooping around there and found some information at http://www.educationmagazine.ie/points/points.htm

The section on How am I offered, and how do I accept a place from the CAO? says:
If enough people do not accept courses a second and third round offer may occur. In this case the points will go down a bit, and you may get an offer of something higher on your list. This can happen as late as September or October. You accept this in the same way as a normal offer. The previous offer will be automatically cancelled, even if you have already accepted an offer. You do not have to accept the second offer if you are happy with the first one.
After all this happens, any places still remaining will be advertised in the national press. If you have already applied to the CAO you can now apply for one of these vacant places at no additional charge. If you are a non-CAO applicant you must pay £18 to apply for a vacant place.

I'm sure there are other ways of getting into the course if you really want it but I would strongly advise getting at least a B2 to garauntee yourself a place.

Also, scruffystack raises a good point with regard to programming. They really do dump you right into it and I wish I had known even just a little bit before going in. The book that pretty much saved my ass was Java For Dummies. In fact, whenever I find some aspect of the course particularly difficult I look for a For Dummies book.

Yedya

Chett wrote: »

Just did a bit of snooping around there and found some information at http://www.educationmagazine.ie/points/points.htm

The section on How am I offered, and how do I accept a place from the CAO? says:
If enough people do not accept courses a second and third round offer may occur. In this case the points will go down a bit, and you may get an offer of something higher on your list. This can happen as late as September or October. You accept this in the same way as a normal offer. The previous offer will be automatically cancelled, even if you have already accepted an offer. You do not have to accept the second offer if you are happy with the first one.
After all this happens, any places still remaining will be advertised in the national press. If you have already applied to the CAO you can now apply for one of these vacant places at no additional charge. If you are a non-CAO applicant you must pay £18 to apply for a vacant place.

I'm sure there are other ways of getting into the course if you really want it but I would strongly advise getting at least a B2 to garauntee yourself a place.

Also, scruffystack raises a good point with regard to programming. They really do dump you right into it and I wish I had known even just a little bit before going in. The book that pretty much saved my ass was Java For Dummies. In fact, whenever I find some aspect of the course particularly difficult I look for a For Dummies book.

Ok thanks for that.

Yedya

Is there usually places even if you get the points and all?

TheTownie

Yedya wrote: »

Is there usually places even if you get the points and all?

Well nothing is impossible just improbable.

Last year 45 people entered the course with the last person in at 325 CAO points.

Is is impossible that this year 45 people who all get 600 points apply for this course? No.

Is it improbable? Yes.

Obviously that is an extreme scenario but when you narrow the extremity, it gets harder to confidently say a scenario is improbable.

So it is improbable that LM110 will go up 5/10/15 points? That can't be justifiably answered.

What are the trends? In the last three years the lowest entry level has gone down 5 points. Will that be indicative of this years request for places? Again difficult to say as the number of college applicants is increasing year on year.

In essence, its best to give yourself a points cushion by aiming for 345 when you only need 325. This is the safest way to approach it otherwise you are taking a risk that might work out but also might not!

If your still eager to know more or get exact figures your best emailing the course director as only he would be privy to student up take in that course.

Yedya

Thanks alot for this info m8!

RyanK

Chett wrote: »

Also, scruffystack raises a good point with regard to programming. They really do dump you right into it and I wish I had known even just a little bit before going in. The book that pretty much saved my ass was Java For Dummies. In fact, whenever I find some aspect of the course particularly difficult I look for a For Dummies book.

I'm a first year, and I think the programming was quite at a slow pace. My lecturer is Dermot for this year. I think he understands that a lot of people struggles in the module, so this year he went very slow and repeated himself loads of times.

FYI to the OP - This year, the first semester is worth 30% and the second semester is worth 70%. So if you did royally screw up in the first semester you can redeem yourself and proceed to the next year. We all got an M grade.

Apparently this course has the highest drop out rate in UL. And don't think just because you only need 325 points the course will be easy. That being said, don't let me put you off. It is a great course if you are interested in HOW games are made, not just playing them. You said in an earlier post that you were good at IT - In what way exactly?

Yedya

Well not programming anyway,just your basics,website design,building a PC,how it works ect ect

Buddha_Statue

Don't know if there's a difference in points between Computer Systems and M.C.G.D but if you do Computer Systems you can switch to Games at the end of first year or at least a friend did anyway. If M.C.G.D is your first choice you could always stick C.S down as second as an added chance of getting in.
If you fail to get the maths requirement in the LC there's a "special maths exam" for courses that fall under the department of science and engineering (which M.C.G.D does). I attempted higher level maths for the LC and got a fantastic F but I did the ordinary level version of the "special maths exam" in the summer and got in on Round 2.
I wouldn't worry too much about the programming. I had no previous experience with programming or anything like that and I manage pretty well. As someone mentioned earlier there's lots of support like the Maths Learning Center and ICT (can't actually remember what ICT stands for right now but it's a fantastic place all the same).

Yedya

Great thanks for that m8! I really want to do programming but im only alright at maths,and LC can be stressful!