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 Code contemplations from previous weeks:
Ask a Programmer
The Question: "I've got friends who have graduated and gone
on to work for large companies and are wasting their time
either doing web pages or database work. Of course, they tend
to not mind the work since they're payed very well, at least
by my standards. I've been an avid gamer for years now, and
would love to make that my profession, but am concerned that I
might not make an acceptable living doing so. I hear a lot of
jokes about how pooly paid programmers and designers are in
the gaming industry, but I wonder what the truth of it
is."
The Question: "Compared to normal games, shareware
genarally seems dated and simple. Still, some people are
totally addicted to some shareware. (I don't consider
Doom to be shareware.) Can a good programmer make a
living doing just shareware?"
The Question: "Just how *good* at Math do you have to be
to become a decent games programmer? What type of project would
prove that I was a decent games programmer?"
The Question: "Recently I've heard stuff from people who
think that within a few years C++ and other oops will be dead.
In which case what the heck am I doing learning it?? This
depressing view of C++ also goes along with the prediction
that the new language is Java. Is this true? If not, what
do you see as being the language trend of the future??"
The Question: "At what age do you accept programming
interns, and what sort of skills or school experience do you
look for when choosing them?"
The Question: "Ever since Ultima II, my dream was to
be a game programmer. Now, at age 25, I'm a programmer and I
can see my dream coming into focus. I program all day long (and
love it) and come home and play computer games all night
long (and love that more). I live for the two, but the
programming I do at work isn't the kind of programming I
want to be doing at work. I'm about ready to start sending
my resume out to all the major game companies. What types of
skills do entry level positions require?"
The Question: "I'm a college freshman who aspires to
one day be a game programmer. Every company I've looked at
requires previous experience in game programming. So where
do you get the experience? I've studied Pascal and C++ for
over three years and feel very competent in my ability with
these languages, but I dont know one darn thing about
game programming! Are there special schools you can apply
to, or do game companies offer internships?"
The Question: "I am currently a corporate developer with
some years experience in C++. I have wanted to build games
since my zx81. What is the best path to get to becomming a
game programmer from a more traditional programming job
(MFC/ATL and such)?"
The Question: "If someone just graduated from college and
applied to be a game programmer/designer, what would you look
for before hiring the person? Their GPA? What school they
went to? How much computer/gaming knowledge they
have?"
The Question:
The Question: "How, exactly, does one get 2 - 3 years
professional programming experience when you can't get a
professional programming job without experience?!?"
The Question: "What types of languages should I be
learning so that I can eventually develop computer
games?"
The Question: "Is the focus on up-and-coming as opposed
to existing technology inhibiting design freedom by creating
constant technology 'barriers'?"
The Question: "I'm halfway through a degree in
Physics/Astrophysics (for some reason I can't remember).
The C/C++ courses have naturally been centered around the
basics of the language and physics applications. From this
point, what is the best way to expand on it to get to a high
standard?"
The Question: "Right now I'm in my second year in
University, studying Electrical Engineering. Should I be
taking this field? All the stuff I'm learning right now seems
way out of line for PC games. People tell me that
Computing Engineering is the same as Electrical. And that
Engineering Faculty is 'better' than Science. So, it seems
'in my heart' that I should be going into Computing Science
to learn programming, but what society tells me is that if I
do Engineering then I will be more sucessful."
The Question: "I am a young game designer (well at least I
want to be) and what I am wondering is what engines or
programs do you use to make strategy games. If i'm going to
make games, I want to start off by making strategy
games."
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