Hello, everyone!

I am a freshman in college and for my English class, we are required to interview people from the group we chose to write about. I chose to write about these forums mostly because I am interested in game development and programming in general. The topic I chose to write about is the knowledge base and skills that members new to the community are generally expected to have.

I am looking for volunteers that I can interview for my project. I have 7 questions I would like to ask, and I don't think that they will take much of your time. The questions I would like to ask are:

• What background in programming did you have when you joined?
• What background in math did you have?
• Did you teach yourself?
• What have you learned since you joined?
• How long have you used this site?
• What got you interested in programming?
• Why do you use this site?

I've attached a consent form to my post that explains what I will use these interview questions for. Basically it says that I can use information I get from interviews to write my papers for class. Outside of that, I will not use any responses for anything else. If you are comfortable with me using your post to write my paper, please say so. If you do not say so but would like to reply anyway, I won't use your reply in any way.

Sure, you can use this post for whatever.

• What background in programming did you have when you joined?

By "joined" I assume you mean joined GameDev.net. I had some experience in DarkBASIC and a little C++ experience. I was only 14 at the time, and my programming skills were still... well I was still a beginner, that's for dang sure.

• What background in math did you have?

I had always done well in math at school, but I hadn't studied math outside of school. I think I was in ~8th grade, so I probably just had some basic algebra and geometry.

• Did you teach yourself?

Programming? Yes. Math? A little, but I learned most of my math stuff in school (and only learned a few math things on my own). And by "teach myself" I mean I learned from all the great resources on the Internet (especially this site!) and just tinkering around with programming, experimenting and learning continuously.

• What have you learned since you joined?

Waaaay to much to list. I've gone from knowing next to nothing to being able to lead the programming of a device that turns a projector into a touch screen and uses Bluetooth to communicate with phones, tablets, and computers as a Human Interface Device.

• How long have you used this site?

9 years... Wow. I still don't feel like it's been that long.

• What got you interested in programming?

I always liked making stuff with LEGOs and things. Then I got into map making in StarCraft (and then later Warcraft III). The trigger systems in the map makers were something I loved to play with. Finally, when I was 12 or 13, I decided there wasn't enough freedom in these map makers, and started to get into programming. It lets me build things (like I used to with LEGOs and whatnot), but I feel like there's more freedom than with physical building (because I feel like it's easier to run out of physical materials than compute power, and cheaper, and plus there's an "undo" button).

• Why do you use this site?

I learn a lot here. I don't ask as many questions these days (though occasionally I do), but even when I answer a question I learn a lot. Usually I have to Google something to answer it, and putting concepts into words helps me understand them better, so when I answer a question here I'm actually teaching myself something new every time. Also, I feel like I'm part of the community here, and I like that sense of community. This is a good place.

You can use this post if you want.

What background in programming did you have when you joined?

When I joined GameDev back in early 2011, I had a solid background in Pascal/Delphi, some Python/C/Java knowledge, and was enrolled in a C#/XNA class in high school. I hadn't yet learnt a lot of languages but was eager to learn (actually I wanted to learn more about graphics theory and development, that is how I found the site). I was 17 when I signed up.

What background in math did you have?

Up to high school calculus, I suppose, integrals and power series, with a few bits of self-taught college math here and there when I found it interesting or when it crossed over with programming (e.g. discrete math, logical operators and linear algebra, graph theory)

Did you teach yourself?

Programming, yes, nearly 100% of what I know I taught myself. My dad got me started by showing me Delphi when I was 11, and from there I used books/internet to get myself where I am now. Ultimately I have only had two years of "official" software engineering and programming courses at university, so I acquired the bulk of what I know in my early teens (though I am still learning a lot!).

Maths, not really. I've found that I tend to only learn about a particular area of mathematics when I need it, unlike programming. I imagine this is because learning math concepts takes much more effort than reading and writing code for me. So most of the time I go with the flow, and let high school/university guide my math knowledge, occasionally deviating from it as required. In other words, I can teach myself math, but I prefer not to. Worth noting I was pretty bad at maths until I turned 15, where things sort of clicked into place and I discovered how vital a solid grasp of mathematics is.

What have you learned since you joined?

It is now late 2013, more than 2 years and a half after I joined, and I have become proficient in C, Java, C#, and Python, have learnt some of C++ and Go (though I wouldn't consider myself proficient in them), have learnt more than I could have ever imagined in the field of computer graphics and particularly light transport, and starting writing applications of a scale much larger than I had ever attempted before, a lot of this thanks to GameDev. This site has been very beneficial to me, in many ways.

How long have you used this site?

2 years 7 months 23 days

What got you interested in programming?

My father introducing me to my first programming language (Delphi) at 11 or so. The thought of being able to control the computer and have it do what I wanted it to do was fascinating to me, and I was instantly hooked. I also had some game modding experiences when I was 13-14 which helped fuel my passion for programming and vice versa. I also realised later that this early life choice will have given me a direct and relatively safe career path, which I am now well into pursuing. I do not regret this choice, even if I had to make some concessions and sacrifices to be where I am now.

Why do you use this site?

I frequent this site because I enjoy the community and feel welcome here. I like to offer help and answer forum questions when I can, and find replies to my own questions helpful in general. GameDev has a unique blend of members across every discipline and from all walks of life, ranging from developers to artists and music producers, to members interviewing the community for papers or reports (like you), as well as beginners looking for guidance and people in the industry offering valuable business advice. In addition, a sense of timelessness (I wasn't around that long, but I know that GameDev has been around for more than decade) makes me feel comfortable and happy contributing to this website. Also, in my opinion, many of the features available to members (image of the day, developer journals, articles, image galleries, and so on) help bring the community together.

In short, it's a lively and interesting place to be, and I like it

You can use my answers:

"What background in programming did you have when you joined?"

Going by when I signed up as Shane C, I could make or program large games in the programs Game Maker and Scirra Construct 2, and could probably make something between Pong and 2D Mario in a handful of languages with a bit of brushing up.

"What background in math did you have?"

Uhh... I'm a GED graduate who passed college algebra, for the GED.

"Did you teach yourself?"

Yes.

"What have you learned since you joined?"

Since I joined as Shane C 22 days ago, I have learned that you must be really careful giving advice to people, to explain things well. I have learned that you will meet a diverse range of people, some of them will like you, some of them won't. But ultimately you have to brush it off and focus on yourself and improving.

"How long have you used this site?"

Many years.

"What got you interested in programming?"

Truth be told, I am not that interested in programming. My major I picked for college was Game Art & Animation.

"Why do you use this site?"

Because it's fun.

Thank you for your replies! You three have given me a lot to work with!

to members interviewing the community for papers or reports (like you)

I have to say, I really like this site, so once I'm done with my paper I hope to hang around and learn whatever I can from it! Hopefully I will be able to contribute something in the future.

Since people recently did this for me, I can hardly refuse. I agree to all terms as laid out in your consent form. If you need additional responses:

1. I had no background in programming when I joined. I initially asked for information on how to get started with it when I joined here.

2. Math all the way through Calculus II.

3. Yes, though I leaned heavily on books and assistance from members of this site.

4. I am able to create functional programs to do various tasks, but nothing major. I've also learned a lot about how computers operate, and have gained some small insight into how programs might be doing things behind the scenes.

5. Three years, going on four.

6. When I graduated from college I had a lot of free time and not much to engage my mind for long. I settled on learning to do some programming because it seemed like it would be a pretty involved project and something that would be practical (by allowing me to interact with my computer more meaningfully).

7. I've found the members here to be extremely knowledgeable, friendly, genuinely interested in helping others with their projects, and fun and interesting to talk to as well. The site is a great resource for furthering programming skills and even when I'm not doing that, I like the people.

• What background in programming did you have when you joined?
• What background in math did you have?
• Did you teach yourself?
• What have you learned since you joined?
• How long have you used this site?
• What got you interested in programming?
• Why do you use this site?

Sure, why not. You can use this post for whatever you need.

• QBASIC, Visual Basic, Pascal and VC# all on beginner-intermediate levels. Also some experience with WarCraft 3's World Editor.
• All what elementary and high school taught me, plus Math I on my college.
• I taught myself as much as I could.
• In a nutshell, I learned how to write effective programs using various tools languages give me.
• I lurked on site about 10 months, then became more active in the last 6 months. So, in total, about yeah and a half.
• Video games. When I was a kid, I wanted to learn how to create them by myself. That feeling didn't die even after 18 years.
• The experience of people on this site is most important source of knowledge to me. This community actively works in the field I want to work in as well, so I can learn more from them I could learn from college or books. Not to mention, people are nice and it's enjoyable just being on the chat and listening to others talking.