Entertainment Systems/Physics

dsignr25

Hi all,

I have applied to WIT as a mature student and am still undecided about my courses at this late stage. I have Entertainment Systems as 1st choice on the CAO but I have recently been thinking about changing to the physics course instead. I managed to talk to the physics lecturers at the open day but didn't get a chance to see anyone about ES so am looking for info from people who are on it - about how they find it and such..

Also I know it's silly but as I am a mature female student, I am worried that I will look a little out of place in the ES course

DailyBlaa

Dont know much about the ES course but I graduated from the Physics course last year. The current physics course is different from the one I did. Having seen the course layout it is a well rounded course. Any of us who graduated from the course over the last number of years are all working either here or abroad. Nothing but positive feedback from any interview I had when they found out about the course and its setup. Lectures on the course are very helpful and always available to offer advice.

I was a mature student myself and didnt have any problem with feeling part of the group. No such thing as being out of place as the number of mature applicants has been rising steadily these last number of years.

b0ardsUser

dsignr25 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have applied to WIT as a mature student and am still undecided about my courses at this late stage. I have Entertainment Systems as 1st choice on the CAO but I have recently been thinking about changing to the physics course instead. I managed to talk to the physics lecturers at the open day but didn't get a chance to see anyone about ES so am looking for info from people who are on it - about how they find it and such..

Also I know it's silly but as I am a mature female student, I am worried that I will look a little out of place in the ES course

Hello!

I'm a graduate of the BSc in Applied Computing course, (In Entertainment Systems you will share a lot of classes with Applied Computing). I was considering doing Entertainment Systems initially (as it was a new course at the time). I opted for Applied just because of my preferences. I can tell you that most of the guys I know who have graduated from ES are in relevant employment. Also, as you intend to enter the course 4-5 years since its been set up I would like to assume they have worked out the 'kinks' compared to the last 4 years between the first rounds of first years, second years etc.

I also know the Physics course (I think I actually know the Daily Blaa personally...) There has been some great success with the graduates of that course also, but that focuses heavily on the physics side compared to computing.

Regarding being a female mature student, I wouldn't be too concerned about that, there has been an increase in the amount of girls taking up Computer Science focused courses. We're not all a bunch of sweaty nerds

a fat guy

A friend of mine does Entertainment Systems, and it looks to me like you'll have programming like all other courses, but your "thing" will be game engines.

Have a look at the Unity game engine, that'll be what you'll be doing in fourth year. You'll also be making textures/skins for character models, and you'll have electives like photography and game design. When I saw them practicing game design, they were playing with dice and cups... It looked fun!

In first year I think you do a little Java, then switch over to C (The main programming language when it comes to video games). Although some of this may seem daunting, you will get used to it quite quickly and it'll be a laugh! I hear that the group has little competitions on who can make the best video game, and they go to national competitions in which you are a part of a team which has to make a video game under a certain time limit.

The course really seems to be a lot more fun than any other computing courses, so even if you aren't a fan of games, I'd go for it.

And there's only about 5 or 6 guys in fourth year at the moment too, so don't expect a huge crowd in first year (a la multimedia).

b0ardsUser

a fat guy wrote: »

In first year I think you do a little Java, then switch over to C (The main programming language when it comes to video games). Although some of this may seem daunting, you will get used to it quite quickly and it'll be a laugh!

It's C++ you will be doing, not C. Just to be a little bit more clear about programming languages if you intend on checking them out. They start you off on Java to get you into the idea of programming. Personally I think they should start you out on C++ but that's a different story.

a fat guy wrote: »

And there's only about 5 or 6 guys in fourth year at the moment too, so don't expect a huge crowd in first year (a la multimedia).

There was a very large amount of people who started off in 1st Year, 1st year in 2008/2009 was about 50+ that dwindled down towards 3rd and 4th year (like other intensive IT courses) because of its difficulty. Applied started out with around 12 and only 3 graduated.

It sounds like a fun course, which I'm sure it is, but from my experience brushing shoulders with these guys on a regular basis, it is very difficult too, and stressful towards 3rd + 4th year.

I'm not trying to discourage you from the course by any means, but its a tough course if you want to do well!