I'm 20 years old and im a student majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Physics.. My very first programming experience in my life started 4 months ago..However i fell like im kinda late to learn the game development stuff that will get me a job in the gaming industry.. My main focus is to get a job as a game programmer but i see all thse people claiming that they were programming since they were 9, 10 or 12 years old..comparing with my age...the difference is SIGNIFICANT... Am i loosing my time in trying to be a game programmer? Should i change and focus on Physics instead of game programming?

Offcourse not.
Although other people might have started at an earlier age won't mean you will be any less of a programmer than they are. You might have a harder time in programming classes now but eventually you'll also grow into it. I, myself, would hardly bother listening to those people yapping about how long they've been programming and how good they are at it.. Persevere, sink your teeth into the matter at hand and remember it will take some time, however, sooner or later you will find yourself at an equal level as those who bark so loudly about it.

pudit, actually i do not find any hard time in programming so far.. im working on C++ and i even tutor in my school but the basics from Variables - functions..

however i do know tha there are "darker days" comming in my prgramming as it will get more complicated, especially when we talk about GAME programming. But thanx for you reply. I appreciate it! :-)

I wouldn't really worry.

Game programming, like so many fields is simply HUGE.
The actual "programming" is really easy and sometimes people than brag to be good at it just because they spent X years are just bad programmers. There is AI, physics, networking, rendering, standard gmaeplay, scripting... so many things... and very few can master them all.

So...
write clean code, understand well algorithms, be creative, be reliable, be able to work under stress, be passionate about your work and don't have a huge ego that will make your teammates hate you. Be like that and everyone will want you :)

btw. one of the best programmers I ever knew had a major in physics.

good luck and enjoy!

Quote: Original post by Txkun
I wouldn't really worry.

Game programming, like so many fields is simply HUGE.
The actual "programming" is really easy and sometimes people than brag to be good at it just because they spent X years are just bad programmers. There is AI, physics, networking, rendering, standard gmaeplay, scripting... so many things... and very few can master them all.

So...
write clean code, understand well algorithms, be creative, be reliable, be able to work under stress, be passionate about your work and don't have a huge ego that will make your teammates hate you. Be like that and everyone will want you :)

btw. one of the best programmers I ever knew had a major in physics.

good luck and enjoy!

Yes actually somebody told me minoring in physics will be a big plus for me :)

Quote: Original post by Greek89
Yes actually somebody told me minoring in physics will be a big plus for me :)

Don't make your decision on what other people tell you. It's YOUR life. Study what you WANT to study.

I didn't touch a computer till high school and I know it hasn't affected my ability to program, especially when compared to others.

Ironically enough I decided to join the Navy for Physics rather than IT(even with it as my degree).

Quote: Original post by Greek89
I'm 20 years old and im a student majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Physics.. My very first programming experience in my life started 4 months ago..However i fell like im kinda late to learn the game development stuff that will get me a job in the gaming industry..

My main focus is to get a job as a game programmer but i see all thse people claiming that they were programming since they were 9, 10 or 12 years old..comparing with my age...the difference is SIGNIFICANT...

Am i loosing my time in trying to be a game programmer? Should i change and focus on Physics instead of game programming?

Oh come on! Being 20 years old is like if you just had been born!
Start coding right now, you may have learned something by when you're 30!

Twenty years of age is almost nothing here. You may find the occasional teenager here, but think of the old coots here who have been working with game development since the Atari 2600 age. I'm just getting started with the entire business, and I feel like I'm getting a late start at sixteen.

Just go with what you feel like is best for you and what you are better at. You might be a good developer who may be earning hundreds of thousands for being on the team of a blockbuster team, but you wouldn't know until you continued your dreams.

I believe you're much more likely to fall into bad habits of programming if you learn it when you're younger. I'm 22 now and I wouldn't touch any of the code I wrote when I was in my teens.

So, learn how to code the "right" way. Learning to use good naming conventions and writing well-documented code are more important than when you started learning.