Hello GDNet!

posted in Journal of FunLogic

Published March 07, 2007

Hello GDNet, how's it going?

I've not exactly been the most active member of this community since my registration - more of a lurker really - so I guess an introduction is called for. Well my name is Adam, and I'm a Computer Games Programming student. Over the coming months, I'll be using this journal to report back on progress I'm making with a number of projects as well as to complain about random things [probably game or programming related].

My programming experience this far has mostly consisted of self-taught C/C++, as well as C# and some DirectX / OpenGL. As well as that I've also been involved in some XNA work, since I attended the GSE Launch Event in Warwick and got given my free Creators Club Membership [smile]. However at the moment, I'm turning my attention to getting back up to speed with DirectX 9 and starting to look into GPU programming.

In 6 months time I start my second year of university and begin searching for an internship - suffice it to say I want to be prepared, so I'll also be brushing up on more advanced C++ [I'm currently working through Sutter's Exceptional C++ so expect a bit of commentary from me on that].

Also - If your hoping for another 'awesome picture everyday' journal, then you'd best bookmark this one for a much later date.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Next Entry Progress?

0 likes 5 comments

Comments

HopeDagger

A very hearty welcome to the world of GD.NET+ Land. It sounds like you'll have some interesting stuff for us to read all about in the coming weeks! Venturing into GPU programming and shaders with DX9 is a topic I've been eager to look into more, so maybe I'll snab a thing or two from your experiences as you post them. [smile]

March 07, 2007 07:25 AM

jbadams

Hi Adam - good to see another journal started up. [smile]

March 07, 2007 08:27 AM

Aardvajk

Wotcha.

March 09, 2007 06:02 AM

DecipherOne

Welcome, I previously had always wanted to go into a gamedev degree program. It's something that I ended up turning away from however and instead decided to go at learning as much as I can on my own as I continue to work fulltime. It's taken a lot longer I'm sure, but it's also allowed me to develop my skills with hands on experience and forced me to be diligent in my research and development phase before actual implementation(True sometimes, sometimes I just tried implementing stuff that I thought I understood, only to find out later that I didn't, so I had to go back and relearn what I had learned).

So..., I was curious what you thought of the program in which you are involved? What's good about it? What's bad about it?

March 10, 2007 07:29 AM

FunLogic

Thanks for all the greetings; my next post is coming soon!

Quote:So..., I was curious what you thought of the program in which you are involved? What's good about it? What's bad about it?

I have to admit, I was very concerned about taking a game development orientated degree. There are a lot of horror stories from students who have studied at other institutes who after finishing their degree still have no clue how to apply their skills to starting (and completing) a project of considerable size, and have zero chance of landing a full-time job in industry.

As for the good and bad of my particular course / institute?

Good:

Core Module lecturers all have 5+ years of industry experience, are incredibly friendly and supportive of any project we pursue outside of our assignments and modules.

There are excellent employment opportunities in the local area, and a great emphasis is placed on getting yourself noticed by these companies. Some of the students currently looking for internships have got interviews through staff recommendations.

Resources! Independent study is - in my opinion - a great way to learn if your disciplined, but the greatest advantage to studying at university (especially on a games related degree) is the resources provided. There's no where else I'd be able to get my hands on; PS2, GameCube and Xbox 360 devkits.

Plenty of like minded people around to bounce ideas off of, or get help from when necessary.

Bad:

I've been studying here just under 6 months, and I'm yet to learn something new from the material our modules cover. This isn't meant to sound arrogant; it's just a result of the 1st year being designed to get all the students up to speed in preparation for the 2nd year. Material we've covered so far has mostly been mathematical theory and programming concepts (through C#).

Any course with 'game' in the title is going to pick up a few individuals who are there just for an excuse to play games. As far as I'm aware my program has been quite successful in filtering out these people by the second year (I've been told 50% changed course).

March 10, 2007 04:31 PM

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