Hey sups!! I was wondering how is game programming/the industry going? I heard that for game programmers, it''s either u hit the jackpot and make it or you fail. Nothing in between. I''m currently (going to be) a senior this upcoming fall in High School and of course I''m going to college after that. I was wondering how the industry is now and maybe would be in the future, like 5-6 years from now because I know many people that major in informative systems/computer science that were unable to find a job and had to start over and all. Therefore, that''s why I''m trying to find/gather information, as much as I can before I actually make a decision. I currently do not know how to program but would like to learn this year (C++). Any information/comments is welcomed. Thanks

I think you should look at your choice more on what you want to do rather than if it is a good choice or not. Excuse an ''older'' man here for a second and let me pour out some advice. If you enjoy programming then learn all you can about programming and if you love games then combine the two and become a game programmer. But if you only love games and think a game programmer would be cool or hip because you might make some cash, you shouldn''t become one because you are likely to be unhappy. But notice I didn''t say fail, some people are too stubborn to fail no matter how unhappy they become.

Do something that will keep you in the office 80 hours a week if need be and you won''t resent it. Then when the weeks turn into months and months turn into years you''ll always be glad you made the right decision for a job. If the math and logic of programming frustrates you when you are trying to learn it and you fight your way through in learning, you''ll hate it. No matter how much you get paid, you''ll regret not becoming a police officer (or whatever what would make you much more happier.

In my experience it doesn''t matter if an industry is hot or cold. Those who love what they do (in any profession) become good at it and they survive when those who don''t get laid off or move onto other jobs later in life.

IMHO

Triston

My crystal ball ain''t any better than anyone else''s, so I can''t/won''t speculate on the direction of the industry...

This may seem obvious, but make sure you like to program computers (not just play games on them), and are decent at it, before you start planning a career in software development. To determine this, learn a couple languages, and write some programs.

I say this because, in my experience, gamers often make mediocre programmers. When I studied Computer Science in college, some of my classmates were hardcore gamers that aspired to work in game development. Most of them had mistaken their passion for playing games as programming talent, and struggled through their courses. Out in the industry, they couldn''t cut it as programmers, much less game programmers. Now, they''re testers (a very sucky job) or system administrators (not as bad, but still not great).

I''m not saying that you''ll suck at programming just because you like playing games. But get some programming experience before you decide to study Computer Science for four years.

quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
I''m not saying that you''ll suck at programming just because you like playing games. But get some programming experience before you decide to study Computer Science for four years.

That is what I plan to do, to at least learn the language first and see how I do with it. Maybe I was just rushing.

If I''m going to learn C++, Should I start with the language or one of those game programming books, like "tricks of the windows game programming gurus"

If you''ve never played with a programming language before pick yourself up a book on the basics first. My first book was "Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days". It''s important to get a good grounding before trying to move on to game programming. Then move on to one of the game programming books for whichever graphics API you choose to use.

As for realizing what you want to do, sometimes the answers don''t present themselves immediately. I was 6 months away from graduating with a Mechanical Engineering degree before I realized all that I really wanted to do was create and code. So, in the process of finishing my first degree I began work on a CompSci degree which is where I am now. And, a hell of a lot happier too!

Chris Z.

3-4 years ago, I messed around with VB5 & VB6...
But that''s almost completely different with C++...

Don''t bother with Tricks Of The Windows Game Programming Gurus. If you don''t know C or C++ learn them well first before jumping into DirectX and Win32. There are loads of posts here every week with people who don''t know the basics having trouble getting the code in TOTWPG to work.

Start at the shallow end - print "Hello, World!" to the screen.

Helpful links:
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way | Google can help with your question | Search MSDN for help with standard C or Windows functions

then my two cents (cha ching)

start out with a simple c console app, make it say hello world, then make a simple c app that lets you input text, then prints it out ten times(using a for loop) then make a simple class that you can call to do the printing for you (in c++), after that, keep going in that direction until you can make a full console adventure game like zork. like most people, you will probably want after that to jump right in and code a 3d shooter, dont. start simple with direct draw, or opengl(though direct draw would probably be better) and make a tetris clone, pac-man, arkanoid, then mario. once you can do ALL of that, you should be able to understand as you make your first 3d application, which should be no more than a triangle that can rotate.

just make sure you dont jump too far ahead, it''s just like learning to swim, do you start in the shallows, or the deep end?
sure, you could start in the deep end, but that''s not a very good idea

follow the path i hath given you, it''s tried and true.

-Nicholas Anton

Thanks! So I''ll start out with the basics and learning C++ first. I have Borland C++ 5.02 right now (is that the latest version?)... I also have Visual C++ .net (student discount) I''m going to start with Borland first but I was just wondering, when switching to Visual C++ later, will there be any changes/difference?