Which universty and course ?

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Im in my 2nd year at lisburn tech atm, doing computer and software engineering.
Next year i will be heading to universty if all goes well, but at the minute im stuck on where i want to go and waht course i wasnt to do to lead me into the jobs out there.

I am thinking off : -

  • Computer Games development
  • Computer science
  • Computer science-network technologies

Want to do network coms as i have been told its the way forward as well as game development. Don't see many uni's doing it or is that teh one above is Science with network tech . ( Im a half wit, half the time :P )

What else is there ? And what will these lead me on to do .


At the minute i have small business that i build / fix / repair / upgrade systems etc, but work is slow as usal with people not being able to afford it.

Can some of you lot enlighten me so i can get a clearer view.

For Queens Uni tomorrow !
 
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I'm an A-Level student and the grades I'll get are probably get are BBB
I want to do computer science at university and I also want to go into the games industry eventually.

For my firm choice I'm going to go with sheffield (Computer Science 4 Yrs MComp) needs an ABB.
For my insurance I'm going to go with Hull (Computer Science with Games Development 4 yrs MEng).

Basically the best university to go to for computer science is Edinburgh.

But you really need to think about what current qualifications you have and if you want to travel/ live there.

Also take a look at the league tables.
Dunno if this is helpful to you.




Also quickly, the games industry is huge in the UK it earns more than the UK film industry.
 
If you want to go into the games industry I would not recommend doing a 'games course' for your undergrad. Companies prefer it if you have a comp-sci/maths/physics degree. You can easily learn and do game stuff in your spare time and your cv will be a lot better as a result.
 
Computing Science definitely. These "games courses" don't give you the flexibility to do much else career wise.
 
As above, if you are going to do something with games in the title make sure it is a course that says:


Computer Science WITH Games Development

Don't do a course called Games Development etc.

There was an article I read where EA (obviously a massive games company) Will not accept courses of this nature.

The one I was looking at at Hull, Is a 4 years masters degree that follows normal computer science the only difference is that the project you do within years 3 and 4 has to be games related and you do modules on 3D graphics + environments and there will be more physics involved too (e.g. realistic car crashes in car games).
 
Ive been told the Games and networks coms is the way for ward. Atm im heading for ABB or AAB. Im pretty knowledgeable in lot of things, and always enjoy learning something new, if i can use it in the future.

Im trying to stay in northern Ireland the best i can, but wouldn't mind going abroad to America ;)
 
Im trying to stay in northern Ireland the best i can, but wouldn't mind going abroad to America ;)

I have lived in Glasgow my whole life and I am currently doing a Comp Sci/Software Eng degree at the University of Glasgow as I couldn't afford to move away.

I also wouldn't mind moving over to america and perhaps breaking into the games industry there as it much bigger than the UK I believe. Scotland especially has a low number of games developers.
 
Definitely if you can get into a good US university I would definitely do that, would be an experience of a lifetime and America is a brilliant country.

Games and Networking is definitely the way forward as most generic software engineering is slowly but surely moving over to Asia (like most trade has).



But don't be fooled.

A Computer Science degree is still highly regarded it's up there with Maths, The Sciences and Engineering. You get a good degree and at a good university you will have a license to print money. (so to speak)
 
Mason-

Basically if i get a good result out of Computer science , i would be making decent dollar ;)

Mother / Family will have a say like.
 
Games development? Are there even any game studios left in the UK nowadays?

Hmm let me think...

Rockstar North (GTA)
Codemasters (Dirt, Grid, F12010)
Media Molecule (LBP)
Lionhead (Fable)
Rocksteady (Batman AA)
Traveller's Tales (LEGO games 60+ million sold)
Black Rock (Pure)
Crytek UK (working on multiplayer for Crysis 2)
Rare (Kinect Sports)

how's that for a start?
 
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Indeed there are Energize I don't know about companies that are solely run in the UK but most games companies have a branch in this country, e.g. Rockstar in Leeds.

I know it's not the biggest games company ever but the dude who owned it was rated in the top 30 richest UK people, Andrew Gower who owns JaGeX which is the maker of the game RuneScape.
Has over a million subscribers paying 5$ a month, 5 million dollars a month............


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
Indeed there are Energize I don't know about companies that are solely run in the UK but most games companies have a branch in this country, e.g. Rockstar in Leeds.

I know it's not the biggest games company ever but the dude who owned it was rated in the top 30 richest UK people, Andrew Gower who owns JaGeX which is the maker of the game RuneScape.
Has over a million subscribers paying 5$ a month, 5 million dollars a month............


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I would love to know where all the money goes because the game is terrible :p
 
It is browser based :P give it a break lol :)

It was a time sink when I was younger spent a good 5 years on it 11-16 (I'm 17 now) sold my account on a website for 110$ :).

Although what 5 years of 5 dollars membership is like 300$ but I didn't pay for that :).

For me it was a good game in it's time, so many better than it now.
 
Hmm let me think...

Rockstar North (GTA)
Codemasters (Dirt, Grid, F12010)
Media Molecule (LBP)
Lionhead (Fable)
Rocksteady (Batman AA)
Traveller's Tales (LEGO games 60+ million sold)
Black Rock (Pure)
Crytek UK (working on multiplayer for Crysis 2)
Rare (Kinect Sports)

how's that for a start?

Just to add to that.. there are loads more..

It's hardly a barren wasteland :)
http://www.gamedevmap.com/
 
That article is wrong.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/28360/EA-still-unconvinced-by-game-design-degrees

granted it is from 2007 and "games design degrees" is vague but I don't think much has changed.

"Degrees in computer science, maths, physics - which provided more relevance to game development, said Jeffery - were in decline with enrolment numbers falling 10 to 15 per cent each year as "students are often seduced by easier looking degrees and don't see the merit of 'boring core subjects'."
"
 
It is browser based :P give it a break lol :)

It was a time sink when I was younger spent a good 5 years on it 11-16 (I'm 17 now) sold my account on a website for 110$ :).

Although what 5 years of 5 dollars membership is like 300$ but I didn't pay for that :).

For me it was a good game in it's time, so many better than it now.

I played it for a few years also. What I mean is for earning the amount of money they do the content they produce is awful these days.

Even if I wanted to start playing again, the game is completely ruined.
 
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