education for game programming/design

Edwards Finance > Computer Engineering

Q. I am a freshman college student trying to figure out what exactly it is I'm going to do with my life . I've always been into computers, so right now I'm majoring in Computer Engineering. This degree is more hardware oriented than software oriented, but would it still be possible to get into the gaming business with it? Perhaps a minor in Computer Science would help? Also- what things would be good to study independently? What languages are modern games being written in? I guess basically what I'm asking is, what would I need to learn?

A. -If you know you want to go into the games industry, why waste your time with Computer Engineering? People study Computer Engineering to build hardware. Games aren't hardware. Ergo, you should be studying Computer Science. And don't waste your time minoring in Computer Engineering, it's useless for games. It's very dangerous to get really good at the wrong thing. Once you're good at a thing, people will keep asking you to do that thing. For a VERY LONG TIME. Heed these words of warning! Plant the correct seeds early, or you're going to wind up in your late 20's trying to make a career switch. Nothing basically wrong with that, but it does leave one wondering "gee what if I had focused on what I really wanted a lot earlier?" Suggest you file the paperwork and change your major today. That might sound inconvenient. But you have no idea what kind of inconvenience you're setting yourself up for later on. Pity that as we go through college, we can't have the gift of foresight. In addition to Computer Science, take a lot of liberal arts electives. That way, you'll have game ideas that are more interesting and relevant than what a bit-head thinks is "neat." Also, if you work on your communications skills (writing, psychology, diplomacy) you'll have an advantage in business situations, which is very important to one's job mobility. -I'm probably not the most qualified person to answer this, but there are a few simple rules if you really are as stuck as you sound. If you want to program for the PC, then the language of choice is C or C++. Java is a trendy language to learn but is mostly of limited interest for now (flame away Java dudes!). If you're programming for the PC then you're programming for Windows, and therefore you also need to bone up on the DirectX API, which is Microsoft's application layer between the hardware of the PC and your game. And if you're gonna learn DirectX then you want to learn to program the Win32 SDK (any Win95 programming book by Charles Petzold is a great place to start).

Ask Edwards a Finance Question

Other Questions:

Is computer engineering right for me?

I am a student attending a local college. I am considering a career in the computer engineering field and was wondering if anyone could give me any feedback (hints, tips) concerning this field.-My best advice to anyone making a career choice is :...

Like, many older folks in this business, I started out in the field without a degree in computer science (in fact, I started with only a tech school diploma). I went on to earn a BSCS, but now find myself needing to either earn a masters degre...

I am a high school student who lives in Ontario, Canada who is interested in going into computer engineering. I have very high marks (a 97 average) and have a number of extracurricular activities, so I think I could probably be accepted to most...

I am a freshman in college and currently taking College Algebra. My professor said that she is tired of hearing from her students, "When are we ever gonna use this stuff?" So now she is making us do a project about how we will use Algebra and o...

I'm just wondering. Do any of you who inhabit this newsgroup work in the field of computer science--particularly are there any females, but are there _any ADDers_ who are computer scientists? I'm wondering about the chances of success of an A...

Edwards Finance Menu

Ask a Question
About Us / Me
Contact Me
Privacy Policy

Sitemap

My Favorite Sites

PFBlog
Google Finance
Yahoo Finance
Motley Fool
Nveille's Financial Blog
AllFinanceMatters
Free Money Finance
2MillionBlog
The Terror Finance blog

Q&A Subjects