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Computer Science or Game Programming

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  • 23-02-2013 6:23pm
    #1
    MaTaTR0N
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭


    Hey guys!

    Im currently in T.Y. and im seriously considering taking a computer science or game programming course, however im unsure which course to take (if you guys could make some suggestions on which ones are the best it would be greatly appreciated) or what skills or computer languages i should work on before i take a course ( suggestions on where i should learn computer languages would also be greatly appreciated)

    Thank you in advance for all your guys feedback and suggestions!
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    #2
    Jackobyte
    Registered Users Posts: 6,321 ✭✭✭Jackobyte


    A local CoderDojo would be a great place to try some programming and see whether you like it or not. It's not to everyone's taste when they actually try it, so getting some experience before going into any course is vital.

    Regarding Games Programming/Computer Science, I'd advise just to read over the modules covered in each course and go to the relevant talks at the open days. They'll give you a good idea of the distinction between the two. They will be a pretty large overlap between them anyway, but computer science is more theoretical whereas games dev concentrates on applying the programming available to you(or so I've been led to believe) and of course be directed towards(but not limited to) the production of games. Computer/Software Engineering courses would also have a similar direction of lots of applying programming skills.

    Don't take my word for it though, read up on it yourself. I, myself, am only a 6th year hoping to go into the field next year so don't know everything. Also, if you were to attend one of the coderdojo around the place, you will meet people in industry as well as people in academia who may be able to direct you better.


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    #3
    GavinFlud
    Registered Users Posts: 51 ✭✭GavinFlud


    I'm currently in my final year of Software Design (Web Development) in Athlone IT. We're mixed in with the Game Development side of the course for 90% of our modules so I've a good knowledge of what they study too. In terms of the differences between Computer Science and Game Programming (or any Software Engineering course for that matter), there's not a huge difference.

    CS is much more "theory" oriented and you'll gain a good understanding for why certain things work the way they do. It also goes much more in-depth into things like algorithms and mathematics in general. Some CS courses also make you take on a business or language module too. Be under no illusions though, CS isn't all theory, they do a lot of programming too.

    SE is more focused on programming itself. It usually covers more programming languages, frameworks, etc. before moving on to things like networking, computer graphics, database development and software design principles. Obviously this will differ between courses but, in general, SE will be more hands-on.

    As for gauging whether it would be an area that interests you, I'd definitely recommend what Jackobyte said and encourage you to look at CoderDojo. Depending on the size of the group, you can go in and learn the basics or just ask the volunteers for advice. We're always willing to help out people who have a genuine interest in any area of programming.


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