Um, listen kid, if you want to start your own company like millions of others have tried and failed to do, learn the business first. Get a job doing that kind of work. Getting a job requires you actually have some credentials and an education, try maybe a CS degree or a specialized degree at a school like digipen. While you are trying for you degre(if you decide to), you might want to take advantage of internships available, which in the gaming industry are usually stiff with requirements, requiring well above a 3.0 at your school, and while that sounds easy breezy, maintaining a 3.0 is not as easy as it sounds at any GOOD school. There are plenty of second rate CS degrees out there, dont take the easy way out. There are thousand upon thousands of people just like you wanting to do the same exact thing. And even if you know your stuff, actually organizing and following through on such a feat and actually developing a game that would be able to compete in the marketplace when you decide to start your start-up will be next to impossible without the right people and funding. Plus with these thousands of people in front of you already, it''ll be even harder. So listen, just saying "me and my buddy wanna start a game company one day" means squat, and you are sure to fail. So if you want to succeed, #1 Get educated, and #2 Get organized. finally #3 Get realistic. Hope this helps kiddo! Happy dreaming, because if this is what you really want, it is possible! Good luck!

If you are interested in programming learn a language like C, Pascal, Basic or similar either by reading a book or better still actually studying a course with an instructor (which is a better way of learning if you have questions to ask). Once you have some programming skills you will find that you can understand the more generic commands (those that are common to more than one language) and all you need to do to apply your skills to any language is to learn the ''syntax'' of the one you like.

Getting your hands on an existing level editor can be helpful not only if you want to learn how to design levels, but also if you intend to program and you want some basic understanding of what your game ''engine'' is supposed to do. Which parts of your game are actually coded in the engine and which parts are considered level data. You program has to interpret the levels you design so you will need to decide what information should be included in your level and how that information is processed by the main program.

Also, Anonymous Poster is right - you probably won''t just roll into your ideal career after finishing study. If you have the credentials try and land yourself in a related industry. I know of someone who is contributing to a program for the building industry - how is this related to gaming you ask? They are developing a 3D walk-through technology which lets potential customers see their dream-home before it is built. The obvious connection here is that his team wants to move into entertainment later on, and he will become one of the level designers (which is sort of what he does at the moment).

The other important thing Anon said is that even if you know your stuff you still have to follow through and have the organisation to complete your project. It is not easy to keep focused on the finished product when you are in the early development stages. I am sure it is not impossible to get to the end-result (otherwise I would have given up already) but you do have to be realistic.

Good Luck,
Paulcoz.

Getting educated does not necessarily mean getting a college degree. However, i recommend this because you have the oppourtunity to learn from many of the leaders in the software industry and you get a good well rounded education from a 4 year school. Digipen does offer a 4 year program however it is less mathmatically intensive than the traditional 4 year CS degree programs(i checked) and is more specialized to cater to game programming and development (duh). If gaming is really what you want to do then I see no reason why digipen would be a bad idea, but you should be absolutely positive that''s what you want to do beforehand. You''ll be able to develop games using some of the more up to date methods as well as be able to build a portfolio there. When you are trying to get a job, usually the portfolio has a greater impact on employers than the degree and school. However, if you decide to move into other areas of software development you might not have the same background from digipen as you might get from a normal university and therefore in some instances you may be at a disadvantage. For instance if you wanted to go into compiler design, or OS design etc. or any number of things. There is always the option of attending a 4 year university and then attending the 2 year program at digipen or fullsail. You may be able to obtain advanced credit status at digipen and obtain an associates from there in less than 2 years. You would have to ask them though. Anyhow, college isnt for everyone, and this path isnt always the right way for everyone. But hey, dont listen to me, listen to yourself...

If you haven''t already, look at the articles in the Industry section. There are many articles there covering getting into the industry.