Hello! I am 13 year old kid and like to share how i feel about game develeopment in its present state. I have already told you that i am 13, so that means im stuck waiting...waiting for me to grow up, get in college, go to another collge, and then finally getting a job at a game developing company. It pains to wait this long because i feel i come up with the most extoidinary ideas for games. At the moment schools that teach people how to develop software and games is a bit of uknown thing. But by the time i am heading to one of these schools i''ll just be an ordinary, my wonderful ideas will end up plain and un-exciting, and it will be harder for me to get a job because game develeoping will be much more complex. I''d thought I''d share this with you all to know of the future and just get this off my chest. Comments welcomed. "Today Was Tomorrow"

Dude, don''t spend your time waiting. Get a good book on C++ and learn the damn thing. (I suggest Deitel&Deitel check out the "Books and Software" section of this website for other choices.)

But... but that''s what HITLER would say!!

Why wait? start now, the sooner you start the better. if you can keep it up then by the time you get into college/university you should have good knowledge in C++ which will only help you.

I''m also 13. I started programming a while ago, and it''s very worth it. You should learn opengl and C. They are pretty easy, and you can really make stuff. Try to find some good books.

-~-The Cow of Darkness-~-

The biggest motivation if you learn C/C++ now is that you may know something that none of your peers, or even some of your teachers may not know.


int Dan_the_Kat = 31307; // My signature in C

anything you know ahead of time will benefit you in school. the one person in my AP Computer Science class that has had a good deal of programming experience outside of class does the best. he''s been programming for years, because he was exposed to it- his dad is a programmer at an energy trading company. he has the experience, and he works at the same company as his dad during the summer, and during winter break- and he makes quite a bit for a 17 year old. so even if you can''t immediately get into the game development industry, knowing some programming can get you other jobs at a relatively young age that will be valuable experience (not to mention that it could get you quite a bit of money) that will benefit you later on. plus you could do better than your peers in school.

I''m not saying that you''ll necessarily be able to get that kind of job- he probably wouldn''t have if his dad didn''t work there, but there is the possibility.

so in a nutshell, it pays to get started as early as you can.

like everyone else said, why wait? im a freshman in college and didnt sart until i was a senior in high school. i, like you, wanted to for a long time, but never got around to it. i wish i would have started much earlier. i love doing it, and although im somewhat ahead because i had about a years experience in high school, i still dont know as much as id like to. so go ahead and buy a book and start learning. it will help a lot in the future.

While I agree with everything that has been said, more or less (I started programming at age 6, in Acorn Basic), age 13 to 18 is the kind of time where you do need to make sure your performance in school doesn''t slip. If you suddenly throw all your effort into learning the skills of game development, you might leave the important stuff behind - the stuff which gets you the bit of paper you''ll need to get a job anywhere decent, let alone a game company.

But, yeah. I think you''ll find at least 40% of the people on these boards are mostly (if not entirely) self-taught when it comes to game development. Start fairly slow - I''d recommend a book on C/C++ first (which will be fairly technical, if you get a good one, and so it won''t be easy reading), and then look for a book by Andre LaMothe called ''Tricks of the Windows Game Programming gurus.'' If you know the language, Andre takes you through most of how to apply that language to making games.

And of course, developing games != programming, all the time. You said yourself you''re a little dreamer - get some of those dreams down on paper. If, by the time you''ve got the skills to make a game, you can turn to a fat folder of designs and just pick one at random, you''ll feel much happier. No sitting around waiting for ideas.

Play as many games as possible (even ones you don''t think you''ll like, necessarily) and try and ''analyze'' them a little as you play. What makes them fun? How is the game different to others you''ve played (or is it just a blatant ripoff of something else)? When you can get yourself "thinking games" 24/7 then you''re set. :D

Anyway. I''d also recommend hanging around the forums and seeing what people get up too, it''s another great way to learn.

Hope I helped.

Superpig
- saving pigs from untimely fates, and when he''s not doing that, runs The Binary Refinery.

Thank you all for your wonderdful comments, instructions, and childhood past. I am free if anyone wants ideas for there games...

"Creativity is beautiful.But Originaility is flawless."
~Antonio Nogueras

"Today Was Tomorrow"

I would also say that you should write your ideas down.
Starwars anyone? Lucus wrote starwars when he was 13 ( or there abouts )

quote: But by the time i am heading to one of these schools i''ll just be an ordinary, my wonderful ideas will end up plain and un-exciting

Are you sayin that by the time you get to college, these ideas now will be thought up? - Therefore, maybe a good piece of advice would be to think in a more science fiction realm. Because it generaly becomes reality a little sooner than people think.

I think there is also something to be said about idea i had when i was first getting into games and things vs. now.
Everything was possible then. Everything is still possible now, but now i tend to look at restrictions based on standards rather than possibilties based on little ideas.
Hope this helps. And def agree with what all was said up there^^
Andy