Hi GameDev community

I read in a lot of places that I need a good education and a good portfolio to get an opportunity in the game industry.
So I made two 2D games using SFML and SDL, and one 3D game using Irrlicht.

Also I read that I must focus on a specific field, so I chose Artificial Intelligence.

In this area like the others (graphics, physics, gameplay, etc) there are differents techniques. What is the best way to show what I learned??

I thought two approaches:

1) I learn a technique (steering behaviors, pathfinding, etc) and immediately I must made a game that use THAT technique

strong point: I will have one COMPLETE game for each technique that I learn.

weak point: I will need too much time to make a game per technique.


2) I learn a technique and immediately I must made a LITTLE application showing that technique.

strong point: I will not need to much time to make a little application, so I will have more time to learn a new technique and then repeat the process.

weak point: Maybe the best proof that I learned a technique is to show a COMPLETE game showing the technique and not a simple application.

What do you think???

It really depends on the individual technique you want to show off. For most things the important bit is proving that you understand the algorithm/model/etc. in question; whether that takes the form of a real game or just a simple demo app is pretty much up to you.

I would suggest striking a balance between simple demos that highlight your toolbox of techniques and skills, and a couple of decent-sized, very well polished games that show you know how to apply the technology to the gaming field. That should serve you fairly well.

I agree with you, maybe I can follow this process:

- Learn a technique.
- Code a simple application.
- Upload the application to my portfolio and the source code too.
- Repeat the process.

And some times when I find a good game idea, I can join some learned techniques and make a game with that.