Hi all, This month I'll be moving and taking a degree in software engineering. Its 3 years of study with 1 year of industry placement. I've had cold feet. Are there any people in the UK who can give me some guidance? Based on what I can do now, my technical knowledge, and the experiments I have done with these things in the past, I feel I will be ready to produce my first complete game by this time next year. I want to build up a portfolio, and first on the list will be a GTA3 clone. (engine is 1/3 finished). Following that will be original ideas of my own invention. Is there any point studying for 3 years if I can produce a variety of small games in that time to demonstrate my skill? Will a degree be any improvement on a portifolio of small games I have written and released publicly? Is it a better use of my time and money to practice modding existing game engines? Suppose I put a team together while I'm in UNI and we all work on a decent game. What are my chances of finding other students doing the stuff I do, or finding people better, who I can learn from? I've learned a lot already here on GDNet. I'm sure people here have both done a degree and entered the industry without a degree, and can tell me of their success. I'm just now finishing off the last few forms before I start signing contracts and sending money to different places.

I've got a 3 year BSc in Computer Science, but that didn't really come up much in my interview (I'm in the games industry). It certainly helps, but it's more about experience and what sort of portfolio stuff you have.

I'd recommend doing a degree, and working on your own stuff at the same time (Which is what I did). You can meet people from uni if you want to get a team together, and if you decide that you don't want to do games development, or you can't get in for any reason, you've at least got a degree you can use.

Wow... Didn't think I'd get a reply at least until the UK wakes up. Burning the midnight oil too?

So thats one point in the direction of doing my degree. Thanks.

Quote: Original post by shotgunnutter
Burning the midnight oil too?

On holiday this week [smile]

Get the degree. -
1. People with a degree earn more over their life time than those without.
2. It isn't just about learning what you need for work. You learn more about life and meet people too.
3. Some companies only recruit graduates so not having a degree reduces the pool of available employers.

Quote: Original post by Obscure
Get the degree. -
1. People with a degree earn more over their life time than those without.
2. It isn't just about learning what you need for work. You learn more about life and meet people too.
3. Some companies only recruit graduates so not having a degree reduces the pool of available employers.

I agree with Obscure. Everyone that has recently joined the company I am at either had a degree or proven track record in the industry.

Quote: Original post by shotgunnutter
Is there any point studying for 3 years if I can produce a variety of small games in that time to demonstrate my skill?

Will a degree be any improvement on a portifolio of small games I have written and released publicly?

Is it a better use of my time and money to practice modding existing game engines?

One of the great things about uni is that you tend to get a lot of free time (and typically, a limited amount of money). The upshot of that is if you want you've got a lot of spare time to work on your own games with very little interuption - and when things go wrong, odds are you'll have somebody nearby who you can talk to about it (of course they might not be able to help you, but at least they won't stare at you with a blank expression).

Going to uni isn't just about learning the stuff there's also the opportunity for networking. It may not seem important now but, by the time you come to apply for a job it does help if you already know a few people in the games industry. Several games studios and recruitment companies in the UK actively recruit at universities every year so doing the course will benifit you more than just getting a degree.
There is also the building of social skills whilst at uni. You can be the best programmer in the world but if you can't comunicate with people or inteviewers just don't like you then you won't get the job.
There is also the fact that you are already working on your own stuff which will put you at an advantage to some of the students who turn up to uni and expect to be told how to do everything and do the bare minimum amount of work required by the course.

Okay, I'm not from the UK (Sweden), but I worked in the UK games industry some years ago as a programmer, having come straight out of high school. I joined the company at the same time as two UK CS graduates and despite their degree we had the same starting salary. I got that job based on a decent enough portfolio and perhaps some lucky circumstances (it's difficult to know). I worked there 2002-2004, so I'm not quite up to date on the current UK games industry job market. My experience though, indicates that it's definitely possible to get a job if you show skill through your portfolio and passion at the interview, no degree required.

However, I did eventually leave the UK to pursue a degree (in a non-CS related field) because I felt there might be more out there than video games. Basically I was afraid of turning into a one trick pony. Indeed there are other things to learn (even in CS) that are just as interesting as making video games.

So far, my advice would be that you can always try getting a job right away making games, but in the long run it might be a good idea to get a degree for your own personal development.

A degree makes a big difference. It's an assurance the individual has the minimal set of skills and knowledge for the job, but can also keep up with the industry's pace. And that last part is very important as the amount of math-intensive features in interactive applications grows. You also need a good dose of social networking; boxing yourself in the basement for 3 years in order to produce demos is not going to impress anyone.

Here are 2 examples, taken from my experience at a former employer and at about the same time.

We hired this genius who can write DCC tool plug-ins in his sleep. He didn't have any degree, but boy did we have loads of funky tools to play with. Then one day we had to cut back on staff and we couldn't afford to have one dedicated plug-in guy on staff. He was put on the animation team, but didn't cut it. We tried the modelling team, and that worked for a few months until we moved to NURBs-based modelling where he could not do any useful work. He was then offered a position in the video editing team, where he lasted - oh - 2 months before he quit the company.

At about the same time we hired a B-grader with a master's degree. He had average grades, had a wide and varied software engineering background, and was involved in all sorts of social activities. He was hired in the modelling team because he had some pointy knowledge of NURBs. Within 12 months, he moved up to team lead, and then to group lead another 12 months later. Moved to another company / industry as VP Engineering 3 years later. He now runs that company.

-cb

[Edited by - cbenoi1 on September 5, 2007 8:05:10 AM]