Hi, I am currently in my second year of a Computer Science degree. So far, so good. I am persuing my Honours degree and at the university I am attending there are two options; Software Engineering, and regular Honours degree. I talked to my advisor and he said that Software Engineering prepares you to work directly in the private sector developing systems software. Regular Honours degree is more based on breadth of knowledge and learning much of the theory behind computer science. Now, to my question. Which degree would better prepare me for a job in the games industry. I''m leaning toward Software Engineering as some of the stuff I''ve read tells me that the game industry is moving more and more to a structured, traditional (so to speak) approach to designing the software. I was just wondering what you guys think. We are here on Earth to fart around. Don''''t let anyone tell you any different! - Kurt Vonnegut

pls correct me if I''m wrong.
1)From what I knew, OOP is the recommended approach towards game programming.

2) Software Engineering methologies taught in unversities SDLC, Spinal etc. "usually" only applies to Business Information systems Development but not in game development. I don''t see any developer going around meeting gamers all around the globe during requirement analysis phrase. just my PPOV hehe

Singapore == !(Game Developers)//ouch! that hurts...

The road may be long, wind may be rough. But with a will at heart, all shall begone. ~savage chant

If all you want to do is program, take the software engineering degree. They are designed to teach you how to program, how to design, how to work with others in a company setting, etc. These techniques very much apply to game development, and will definately matter more and more as the industry matures.

A traditional Computer Science degree is more mathematical analysis of algorithms, proofs of correctness, and other research and theoretical topics. This is the degree for you if you want to be a professor, work in an R&D department, or work on cutting edge algorithms that aren''t well researched yet (and probably aren''t being used in games.)

There are computer science courses that are taken entirely with pencil and paper. Computer science doesn''t necessarily even require you to touch a computer, let alone program one.

Computer Science degree is a piece of paper. Once you learn a language and take data structures the rest is so much bunk filler so they can act like they''re giving you your money''s worth with their dated 70''s methodologies. Ever wonder why you meet so many comp-sci majors that can''t program their way out of a paper bag and don''t know what the hell Win32 is? A few schools are trying to do better or be more innovative, but there are plenty left still basing everything on Pascal, for crying out loud. Also plenty of schools that have all Mac labs. That''ll really impress employers when you tell them how much training you have developing console apps on Crap-n-toss. Most people who are successful with their CSI degree spend plenty of free time learning RELEVANT USEFUL CURRENT technologies on their own.

I did the honors thing. Lot of extra work and access to exclusive liberal arts classes where you can act like some kind of stuck-up elitist. Employers don''t give a sh*t. They want somebody who can program.

Damn. So i should get a CS degree for the sake of the piece of paper?

Right now i am teaching myself c++, and bitwise math. My freind (who is taking the CS course at UCR) is telling me i know everything they have taught him so far. I am a scared of spending the money on something i already know, but if it helps me float through the classes, then cool. At least i will finish in the top of my class, and have actually have learned something (re-iteration of theory), unlike the people who (apprently from that last post) don''t.

The JC (junior college) i am attending right now offers a programming certification, and these are the classes i have to take:

Intro to programming (Visual Basic 6 and C++ 6, which teaches you nothing, except that they can take your money.)
C++ concepts (syntax through beginning arrays)
Beginning VB
Advanced VB
COBOL
JAVA
HTML
CIS 111 (how to use a computer, ie Word, excel, windoz shizznit)

I could probably hold my own in an entry level programming gig, but without a piece of paper, i am SOL.

Sucks yang.

Don''t get me wrong -- you need your education. But don''t think sitting in the classroom like a knot on a log is going to get you there. I know way too many "Computer Science" majors who graduate and then start trying to get their MCSE or their CISCO so they can dork around on a help desk. That''s a great return on your college investment, let me tell ya''.

yes. you are getting a piece of paper.

thats all, get over it.

I am in the second year of a BSC S/E degree and it includes a Game programming module.

You sound embittered, Anon. Any reason?

Yes, it''s true that many computer science gradutes don''t program well. But that''s because (as I said) a computer science program isn''t designed to teach programming. It''s designed to teach computer science. Software Eng and Comp Sci. fields overlap slightly, but it''s like the difference between theoretical physics and mechanical engineering.

You wouldn''t expect a Physicist to design an automatic drill press, and you wouldn''t expect a mechanical engineer to conduct particle physics experiments.

I''m not bitter. I just learned the useful/marketable stuff on my own while paying money to watch crusty out-of-the-loop prof''s catch the rich kids up to the level I had been at when I entered college, at which point they still didn''t really know anything. And plenty of schools don''t offer a distinct SE program, just CS (and that joke IS). I mean, you spend such an inordinate amount of time doing some kind of excuse for programming, so why aren''t you supposed to learn programming? That doesn''t make sense to me.