Games Development

I'm a game developer (i.e programmer) currently mostly working on crappy Facebook games but moving into mobile games soon , these Games Development or Game Design courses are pretty worthless and I know since I was on one myself. Your better of picking your ideal specialty and looking for a course that relates to that you will learn far more from them or by yourself like I did than those Games Design or Game Development courses
 
Word of advice, do not just expect the course to get you a job, work on gaming related projects , mods, maps, small indie games etc. Things like that count for much much more.
 
Ok I'll offer you some thoughts. A few years back I hired a few ex-game developers. It wasn't for a game but something that required their skillset and was in effect the same without an actual game attached (medical simulation and modelling). The skills I required them to have and recruited them on were as people have already described in this thread: heavy maths, physics and when it came to art - well fine art. I got a stack of CV for the posts and I weeded them out on developers I knew to be good and also degrees + grade of degree and the institution they were gained from. Not one of those was a "Games Development" course. I wanted people to fit into the posts I envisioned for them to do specific jobs that required a specific skillset. The overriding vision and design was mine so as to speak and therefore realistically I was the only one who maybe needed the allround skillset. I have a feeling an actual game development studio will also see it this way. If they want a programmer they won't give two hoots about your design skills or art skills at an entry level - they will want to see a good portfolio, a relevant degree at a good level and also the ability to pass an entry test. You need to have all of that. These are not that easy to do and you would be best to position yourself to meet the niche people will be looking for and then broaden from there if you want to expand out etc. I would say though that portfolio and work achieved was my biggest guide in employing people however I did expect them to pass the tests and quite a few failed including one "well-known" programmer which came as a bit of a shock to all concerned and was rather well embarrassing.
 
Diagro said:
its no lie
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It will depend on the course and the ability of the individual. Based on the Computer Games Technology course at Abertay the percentage getting a job in the games industry would be much higher - for the year I started it was somewhere above 50% with a number who didn't work in the games industry remaining in an IT related field.

The courses aren't universally useless but it pays to be discerning about what and where you apply to - a solid computer science degree is probably better for most purposes if you're interested in programming. It is also much better if you can support the academic work with a portfolio of projects etc that you've completed outside your studies.
 
I did Computer Games Technology Uni, bad decision. I secured a job at a games studio and it was pretty crap, I now work in a completely different industry.

NathanE said:
98.6% of "Games Development" graduates do not ultimately get a job in the Games industry.

Fact.
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Unfortunately, this is so true.
 
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Ewaf said:
I did Computer Games Technology Uni, bad decision. I secured a job at a games studio and it was pretty crap, I now work in a completely different industry.




Unfortunately, this is so true.
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But you DID get a job in the games industry....
 
I would highly recommend people just get a computer science degree.

Games Companies just exploit the naivety of youth, and you end up working long hours, for lower pay for skills than would normally pay a lot more in other sectors.

If you get a traditional degree, you can just switch out if you don't like.
 
Specialist courses aren't too bad either. Friend of mine did a Computer Games Programming undergrad course. He's now a senior programmer at Crytek.
 
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