Slightly Less of a Noob Than the Last Guy

Gbear

I didn't want to hijack that other guy's thread so I decided to make my own.

There was some interesting info there and I took that on board.

I'm wondering more on the professional side of things. Can I get a job in industry or else do something independently without getting a degree in Computer Science or Game Development?

Some background.

I'm 24 and fairly computer literate. I have no college degree.
I did a year and a half doing Electronic Eng. which included some VB. That was back when I was 19/20.

I was sent this link by my brother more recently: http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/NET/vbNet.html on VB.NET so I did that. So I have a basic knowledge of VB.

I've done a little bit of ASP.NET but after about 1/4 of the book it's seriously hard going. I have no interest in building websites.

Whether or not I can make a career out of it it's something I'd like to have a look at regardless so the suggestions from the other thread (getting acquainted with C and C++ in particular and having a go off Unity or GameMaker) are ones I was going to follow up.

ChRoMe

Gbear wrote: »

I'm wondering more on the professional side of things. Can I get a job in industry or else do something independently without getting a degree in Computer Science or Game Development?

Sure but you will need the the equivalent programming skills of a CS graduate with a first. I'm afraid VB won't be taken seriously however C#,Java or C/C++ would be

Gbear

ChRoMe wrote: »

Sure but you will need the the equivalent programming skills of a CS graduate with a first. I'm afraid VB won't be taken seriously however C#,Java or C/C++ would be

I'm not suggesting they'd hire me tomorrow.:P


I mean, is it possible to get a job ever without going to college.

If the answer is "yes", the follow-on question was going to be, what sort of level of self-teaching do I have to reach and, in the absence of a shiny degree, how do I sell myself to an employer?

Basically, I'm looking for a vague idea what I need to do to become a professional game designer(/developer) in some capacity but I don't want to get a degree.

That's a better way of phrasing it.:o

satchmo

Yes it's possible, but you're going to have to stand out. Like ChRoMe said, you're going to need at least the equivalent C++/C# programming skills of a CS graduate, but more importantly you'll also have to have plenty of impressive example work to show off.

As an employer, without a degree I'd expect there to be some major gaps in your knowledge, so I'd have to see serious potential in other areas (eg. creativity, in-depth technical proficiency) to offset that. Otherwise what's to make me like you over someone else who also shows talent and creativity but also has a good well-rounded degree?

ChRoMe

satchmo wrote: »

Yes it's possible, but you're going to have to stand out. Like ChRoMe said, you're going to need at least the equivalent C++/C# programming skills of a CS graduate, but more importantly you'll also have to have plenty of impressive example work to show off.

As an employer, without a degree I'd expect there to be some major gaps in your knowledge, so I'd have to see serious potential in other areas (eg. creativity, in-depth technical proficiency) to offset that. Otherwise what's to make me like you over someone else who also shows talent and creativity but also has a good well-rounded degree?

Exactly, a portfolio can trump a degree, but its going to have to be of the same quality.

Genghiz Cohen

I'm working with a guy who got hired without a degree.

It is all about the portfolio. It not only shows your skill. But it also shows your willingness to create. If your portfolio is varied it can also show a willingness to learn new things, which in this industry is vital.

Start now with some low level DirectX and OpenGL projects. And keep an eye on AMD's Mantle tech and see how much you can learn of that too. I have very high hopes for that.

Your projects don't have to be fully fledged games. My idea of the perfect portfolio is a collection of tech demos. With one larger project making use of them.

Here is me applying all sorts of mappings to surfaces and lighting them.
This is my attempt at soft shadows.
Here is me blending animations together.
This is a control scheme I thought was novel.
This is me messing with sound emitters and listeners.

That kind of thing.

You'll also need experience with game engines. Very few people build from the ground up anymore.

Unity3D
Cocos2D-x
Unreal/Source

If you had some experience in those you'd be doing very well.

Torakx

Thanks for the portfolio tips
I am just finished college and need to work on that very thing now.
Have really been dragging my feet on that one, I am having way too much fun learning C# and Unity and using GameMaker.Although those things i do need for my portfolio

To the OP, having a presence on LinkedIn and facebook will also help a lot.

Gbear

While something like a computer science degree is something I'd rule out because of time, money and so on, what about something like this?

http://www.gcd.ie/certificate-in-computer-games-technology/

So if I had something like that as well as a portfolio would that make a stronger case for me? How would those sorts of courses be rated by industry?

Torakx

Gbear wrote: »

While something like a computer science degree is something I'd rule out because of time, money and so on, what about something like this?

http://www.gcd.ie/certificate-in-computer-games-technology/

So if I had something like that as well as a portfolio would that make a stronger case for me? How would those sorts of courses be rated by industry?

Same level of course I just came from.
There are students leaving these types of courses and getting into start up companies.Thats my planned progression. Searching for internships now to gain more experience and make more contacts.
But I should stress, in a level 6 I don't think you will learn to be fully proficient in any one area.
They seem more for an introduction to each area of game dev in the industry. The talented ones are getting employment with small start ups though.

From research I think to get into a big company for serious games, you need a bit more than that course or some real talent in a needed area.
A lot of it might just come down to your own talents. If you have enough, it can balance out the lack of certificates.
The best way to find out is keep working on home projects or with others and put your work out everywhere you can.
It seems a good portion of my opportunities have been from making contacts rather than cold calling and firing out C.V's or portfolios.
The college has helped in that regard.

I think a lvl 6, or a 7 if you can get in and think your ready, would be a great starting point for you.
It will answer a lot of these questions for you and also help you gauge your talents and where you want or need to go next.
The 9 month course I did helped me figure out if I am willing and ready to do a few years of college, or if I have enough skills and learnign ability to go the other route you are considering.
Also helped me take the route I wanted, which is not more college hehe

Gbear

Torakx wrote: »

Same level of course I just came from.
There are students leaving these types of courses and getting into start up companies.Thats my planned progression. Searching for internships now to gain more experience and make more contacts.
But I should stress, in a level 6 I don't think you will learn to be fully proficient in any one area.
They seem more for an introduction to each area of game dev in the industry. The talented ones are getting employment with small start ups though.

From research I think to get into a big company for serious games, you need a bit more than that course or some real talent in a needed area.
A lot of it might just come down to your own talents. If you have enough, it can balance out the lack of certificates.
The best way to find out is keep working on home projects or with others and put your work out everywhere you can.
It seems a good portion of my opportunities have been from making contacts rather than cold calling and firing out C.V's or portfolios.
The college has helped in that regard.

I think a lvl 6, or a 7 if you can get in and think your ready, would be a great starting point for you.
It will answer a lot of these questions for you and also help you gauge your talents and where you want or need to go next.
The 9 month course I did helped me figure out if I am willing and ready to do a few years of college, or if I have enough skills and learnign ability to go the other route you are considering.
Also helped me take the route I wanted, which is not more college hehe

If you don't mind me asking, what course did you do?

I'm not one for lengthy courses but year long courses that either make me proficient in one area or broadly competent in several seem like a good 2nd step for me.

For the first step I'm hanging around with my brother this week and I'm learning VB.NET. I'd already done a bit in that so rather than trying to learn the logical thought process of programming in general (which I haven't learned yet) and also a new syntax (like C) I think the best thing is to stick with VB until maybe christmas, and go from there.
I'm making a little game. Contents aren't terribly important for the time being but I feel like I'm learning about the general principles.

Torakx

http://www.pulsecollege.eu/gaming/game-development-project-management

I think if you are doing something your really interested in, you will learn a lot either way.
I haven't really covered much in the 2D area. We used Unity to make our 2D game and the same for the 3D game.
The goal there is to get a good overall view of the whole development process.