RE: (sort-of) getting in to game dev
It depends on where he/she lives...Honestly, my son wants to get into the game-dev as well...overseas there are lot more options than here, in Hungary. I'd recommend to forget about it. The current changes to the industry (the free-to-play stuff, mobile platforms, etc) are not really helping the game developers living. They need less art-time so the payment is less. I meet ads where payment is depending on sales. However nowadays sales are not granted. Sometimes I considering moving into tattoo or photography, and leave game development at all...or go back to programming office management programs...eh... From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Chris Chia Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 5:08 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: RE: (sort-of) getting in to game dev +1 From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Nasser Al-Ostath Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 8:53 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: OT: (sort-of) getting in to game dev I recommend full sail university ... they are specialized in game dev On 17 Jun 2013 14:43, Paul Griswold pgrisw...@fusiondigitalproductions.com wrote: Hi guys, My daughter's boyfriend has expressed an interest in getting into game development. He's just a teenager, so he really doesn't have much of a focus yet other than I want to get into games. But I told my daughter I'd get some recommendations on things like what he should study, good colleges for careers in games, different job descriptions, good entry-level positions, etc. So, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Any advice at all would be great. Thanks, Paul
Re: (sort-of) getting in to game dev
But saying he wants to get into game development is a lot better than what he said the first time I asked what he wanted to do with his life. He said, dunno... haven't given it much thought yet... - this is an 18 year old saying this to the father of his girlfriend when asked about his future plans So hearing any sort of direction was a big plus for me! LOL! Well, it's not all about farmers, carpenters, and cooks anymore, is it? Preofessions have become so diverse, abstract and hard to describe that most kids are overwhelmed when asked to make a choice. The only smart answer to the question about future plans a 14 year old can give these days is: What are my options?. An 18 year old could know better, but from what I can tell, most actually don't. To me, and as others have said, it's about finding out what he's really interested in. You won't make it far if you don't really love what you are doing. If it's the (3D) art side of things he might be better off going into Film, TV or commercials work, especially if he's not so techically minded. At least I always felt that creating CG for movies and the likes was more straight forward and less convoluted than making art for games (depending on size of company and specialisation of individual work places there, the smaller the company the broader your skills will need to be, including wrangling congiguration files and bug fixing models that would render fine but just don't live up to the restrictions and technical requirements of the game engine). An art related job in a games studio usually pays less than a similar position in a film studio. The best thing would be to get him into a games company for a few days or better weeks (the shop I worked for used to temporarily hire testers now and then) so he gets an understanding of what positions exist and what they actually mean and do. After that he should have understood... 1) ...that making games is not about playing games! 2) ...that making games is time consuming and requires excessive attention to detail and technical knowledge in pretty much any position. 3) ...what position he finds most interesting and what he will need to learn in order to get there. My 5 european cents. Stefan -Paul On Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 10:24 AM, pete...@skynet.be wrote: Dissuade him - advise him to get a medical degree. Your daughter will hate you for it short term, but thank you long term - when paycheck has more importance than some childhood disillusion. If she stays with him, that’s the long term, so you win. But i f she breaks up, that’s the short term – her hate for you dissuading the boyfriend will turn around when she breaks up anyway. Eventually - if he sticks with the medical degree – once he’s established a profitable practice, he can just buy a games company and ask his new employees to show him how things work. I’m sure Bradley can give some helpful pointers for where to get a medical degree. *From:* Raffaele Fragapane raffsxsil...@googlemail.com *Sent:* Monday, June 17, 2013 2:57 PM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* Re: OT: (sort-of) getting in to game dev Saying I want to get into games is like saying I want to have something to do with buildings. Laying the bricks, engineering anti-seismic structures, or decorating the interiors? :) First thing I'd try and push him for is to form some rough idea of what he likes in a game and how he feels he'd like to contribute (code, art, assets, level design etc.). If he says he wants to be the one that comes up with the ideas (lead game designer), then I think you're allowed to slap him in on the neck repeatedly. If he wants to become a producer you need to change your daughter's mind in regards to this boy :p -- Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are! -- - Stefan Kubicek ste...@keyvis.at - keyvis digital imagery Alfred Feierfeilstraße 3 A-2380 Perchtoldsdorf bei Wien Phone: +43 (0) 699 12614231 www.keyvis.at -- This email and its attachments are-- -- confidential and for the recipient only --
Re: (sort-of) getting in to game dev
I hear undertakers rarely run out of business too. Having had to just replace a geyser I suggest he becomes a plumber. There will never be a shortage of work as people always have to drink, bath (some folks more then others) and they definitely need to use the toilet fairly often. Should that be we paying he can in his spare time start playing with things like unity, blender etc. ;) On 2013/06/18 10:54 AM, Stefan Kubicek s...@tidbit-images.com wrote: But saying he wants to get into game development is a lot better than what he said the first time I asked what he wanted to do with his life. He said, dunno... haven't given it much thought yet... - this is an 18 year old saying this to the father of his girlfriend when asked about his future plans So hearing any sort of direction was a big plus for me! LOL! Well, it's not all about farmers, carpenters, and cooks anymore, is it? Preofessions have become so diverse, abstract and hard to describe that most kids are overwhelmed when asked to make a choice. The only smart answer to the question about future plans a 14 year old can give these days is: What are my options?. An 18 year old could know better, but from what I can tell, most actually don't. To me, and as others have said, it's about finding out what he's really interested in. You won't make it far if you don't really love what you are doing. If it's the (3D) art side of things he might be better off going into Film, TV or commercials work, especially if he's not so techically minded. At least I always felt that creating CG for movies and the likes was more straight forward and less convoluted than making art for games (depending on size of company and specialisation of individual work places there, the smaller the company the broader your skills will need to be, including wrangling congiguration files and bug fixing models that would render fine but just don't live up to the restrictions and technical requirements of the game engine). An art related job in a games studio usually pays less than a similar position in a film studio. The best thing would be to get him into a games company for a few days or better weeks (the shop I worked for used to temporarily hire testers now and then) so he gets an understanding of what positions exist and what they actually mean and do. After that he should have understood... 1) ...that making games is not about playing games! 2) ...that making games is time consuming and requires excessive attention to detail and technical knowledge in pretty much any position. 3) ...what position he finds most interesting and what he will need to learn in order to get there. My 5 european cents. Stefan -Paul On Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 10:24 AM, pete...@skynet.be wrote: Dissuade him - advise him to get a medical degree. Your daughter will hate you for it short term, but thank you long term - when paycheck has more importance than some childhood disillusion. If she stays with him, that¹s the long term, so you win. But i f she breaks up, that¹s the short term her hate for you dissuading the boyfriend will turn around when she breaks up anyway. Eventually - if he sticks with the medical degree once he¹s established a profitable practice, he can just buy a games company and ask his new employees to show him how things work. I¹m sure Bradley can give some helpful pointers for where to get a medical degree. *From:* Raffaele Fragapane raffsxsil...@googlemail.com *Sent:* Monday, June 17, 2013 2:57 PM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* Re: OT: (sort-of) getting in to game dev Saying I want to get into games is like saying I want to have something to do with buildings. Laying the bricks, engineering anti-seismic structures, or decorating the interiors? :) First thing I'd try and push him for is to form some rough idea of what he likes in a game and how he feels he'd like to contribute (code, art, assets, level design etc.). If he says he wants to be the one that comes up with the ideas (lead game designer), then I think you're allowed to slap him in on the neck repeatedly. If he wants to become a producer you need to change your daughter's mind in regards to this boy :p -- Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are! -- - Stefan Kubicek ste...@keyvis.at - keyvis digital imagery Alfred Feierfeilstraße 3 A-2380 Perchtoldsdorf bei Wien Phone: +43 (0) 699 12614231 www.keyvis.at -- This email and its attachments are-- -- confidential and for the recipient only -- table width=100% border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style=width:100%; tr td align=left style=text-align:justify;font face=arial,sans-serif size=1 color=#99span style=font-size:11px;This communication is intended for the addressee
Re: (sort-of) getting in to game dev
Dissuade him - advise him to get a medical degree. Your daughter will hate you for it short term, but thank you long term - when paycheck has more importance than some childhood disillusion. If she stays with him, that’s the long term, so you win. But i f she breaks up, that’s the short term – her hate for you dissuading the boyfriend will turn around when she breaks up anyway. Eventually - if he sticks with the medical degree – once he’s established a profitable practice, he can just buy a games company and ask his new employees to show him how things work. I’m sure Bradley can give some helpful pointers for where to get a medical degree. From: Raffaele Fragapane Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 2:57 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: OT: (sort-of) getting in to game dev Saying I want to get into games is like saying I want to have something to do with buildings. Laying the bricks, engineering anti-seismic structures, or decorating the interiors? :) First thing I'd try and push him for is to form some rough idea of what he likes in a game and how he feels he'd like to contribute (code, art, assets, level design etc.). If he says he wants to be the one that comes up with the ideas (lead game designer), then I think you're allowed to slap him in on the neck repeatedly. If he wants to become a producer you need to change your daughter's mind in regards to this boy :p -- Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!
Re: (sort-of) getting in to game dev
Haha, yes I have friends who went into medical school and they're a lot better off then pretty much everyone I went to film school with. But saying he wants to get into game development is a lot better than what he said the first time I asked what he wanted to do with his life. He said, dunno... haven't given it much thought yet... - this is an 18 year old saying this to the father of his girlfriend when asked about his future plans So hearing any sort of direction was a big plus for me! -Paul On Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 10:24 AM, pete...@skynet.be wrote: Dissuade him - advise him to get a medical degree. Your daughter will hate you for it short term, but thank you long term - when paycheck has more importance than some childhood disillusion. If she stays with him, that’s the long term, so you win. But i f she breaks up, that’s the short term – her hate for you dissuading the boyfriend will turn around when she breaks up anyway. Eventually - if he sticks with the medical degree – once he’s established a profitable practice, he can just buy a games company and ask his new employees to show him how things work. I’m sure Bradley can give some helpful pointers for where to get a medical degree. *From:* Raffaele Fragapane raffsxsil...@googlemail.com *Sent:* Monday, June 17, 2013 2:57 PM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* Re: OT: (sort-of) getting in to game dev Saying I want to get into games is like saying I want to have something to do with buildings. Laying the bricks, engineering anti-seismic structures, or decorating the interiors? :) First thing I'd try and push him for is to form some rough idea of what he likes in a game and how he feels he'd like to contribute (code, art, assets, level design etc.). If he says he wants to be the one that comes up with the ideas (lead game designer), then I think you're allowed to slap him in on the neck repeatedly. If he wants to become a producer you need to change your daughter's mind in regards to this boy :p -- Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!
RE: (sort-of) getting in to game dev
That's a broad question. Having worked in the games industry on and off since the mid 1990s, I can say the industry is going through a lot of change right now, but the overall picture for somebody coming out of high school, the path isn't too different than it was back then. What he needs to do right now is get his feet wet with the concept of what game development really is. If he wants to be an artist or animator, then it's simply a matter of learning to make art, but with an emphasis on being organized and efficient with the output (eg. Make Rome from pocket lint). If he wants to be a producer or designer, then it's a matter of understanding how games are built and going from there. In the latter cases, they usually start in QA and work their way up. Those aren't positions you take directly out of school. Education costs have risen significantly, but a lot of the cost is unnecessary. For example, in most programs your first 2 years are spent on satisfying pre-requisites and other base courses which feed into your major for junior and senior year. Therefore, no need to spend $40K per year on that stuff. Go to community college which would allow money to be saved. That's what I did. I only had to take out a loan for my last 2 years of school and was able to pay it off within 4 years of graduation. There's nothing (relevant) about games development that a college can teach that requires you be in the program for 4 years. In fact, I'd argue to say that a college cannot effectively teach games development as there are no standards and the technology changes too quickly. The best that can be done is to teach students how to think and be efficient with their work. Since students will be doing grunt work their first few years in the industry, spending the extra $$ on game-specific programs won't pay off as they'll be obsolete before the information can be used. That said, avoid game-specific schools like FullSail. What I've seen from those programs is lack of fundamentals from students. They know the buttons to push that they were shown, but they tend to lack attention span and critical thinking - both of which are highly important in games development. Not saying that there haven't been success stories, but the trend is not encouraging. The other point I'd like to make is as technology and methods change, those who went to a more traditional school tend to fare better because they have the fundamentals to fall back on to allow them to adapt. Basically, game-specific programs are like high stakes poker. You're going 'all in' expecting a quick payday whereas with traditional college you're taking the slower route of building up your wealth over several hands. The ones who do best have critical thinking skills and are good at not getting caught up in the hype and crap from the ADD folks who surround them. Matt From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Paul Griswold Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 4:42 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: OT: (sort-of) getting in to game dev Hi guys, My daughter's boyfriend has expressed an interest in getting into game development. He's just a teenager, so he really doesn't have much of a focus yet other than I want to get into games. But I told my daughter I'd get some recommendations on things like what he should study, good colleges for careers in games, different job descriptions, good entry-level positions, etc. So, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Any advice at all would be great. Thanks, Paul
