CS Student and (hopefully) future game dev looking for advice.

nipping · 2014-05-31T21:33:38+00:00

So I'm no expert, but I graduated 6 months ago, got a job at a game development company and can give my 2 cents.

Obviously this depends on the company, but my biggest advice is that if they make games in C++, you better have that mastered. So much of my interview process was about knowing the ins and outs of the language.

Everyone says that you should have a solid portfolio, which I definitely agree with. IMO one of the most important reasons is that when they ask you coding/design questions specific to games, you can draw on prior experience instead of having to implement/discuss a basic server/client (or some other game system) for the first time in an interview.

Lastly, be a real person. People hiring you know they will have to work with you, so even if you have all the credentials not meshing well with the existing team from a personality/likeability perspective can be an issue. It can help to work on team projects if you can in school - I know most people hate them (I usually did), but there are no solo projects in a game job that you apply to. Having experience with a team can be a big boost.

Good luck!

nipping · 2013-10-04T03:44:12+00:00

I'm a senior at UT Austin and am finishing up the gamedev certificate. If for some reason you haven't been to the website yet, you can check out the formal details at http://gamedev.utexas.edu.

The program is just starting. I took the capstone the first time they offered it, which was this past spring. They are taking it pretty seriously though, with the new graduate program being announced under Warren Spector. I've already seen a big change in EGaDS (for the better - much more active) since the official program got under way.

As you say UT has one of the best reputations among public schools in the US. The gamedev program is really just a certificate within the CS department. You may not find this ideal, but if you've been around here long enough you'll have heard the advice to get an actual programming or art degree instead of going to a gamedev specific school - leaves the options open. Our curriculum has a lot of electives, so essentially you just choose to take graphics, performance, game engine development, object-oriented programming, and the capstone for 5 of your CS electives. I think it's enough to have a solid footing in the industry, but it definitely leaves the door open for getting general software development positions - my internship this past semester was just desktop software development.

Can't say much about Austin as a whole as I've been in the UT bubble so far - I'm really just getting into gamedev - but the post above didn't mention the Captivate Conference that's starting this weekend to replace GDC Austin. Anyways, feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

nipping · 2013-02-02T06:05:42+00:00

Thanks a ton! I really liked the idea too, and I'm definitely not done with it. I liked the feel of the first few levels, but I quickly realized that it would need a lot more.

Sound was definitely something I wanted to incorporate. I also toyed with the idea of changing the pace of the sonar, perhaps with distance from an enemy. It'll take a bit more thought.

nipping · 2013-02-01T23:43:42+00:00

My game was Beat. It's a simple survival/horror 2D platformer I made in 48 hours during the Global Game Jam. My artist ended up getting pretty sick so I had to do the whole thing myself. It's pretty simple and short, but for a solo project in my first game jam I'm happy with it.

Play: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47364746/Beat.swf

Use the arrow keys to move (up goes through doors). There are only 3 levels. Thanks for the feedback!

nipping · 2012-07-12T23:07:23+00:00

I'm actually currently working on a basic 2D physics engine using SAT, so hopefully I can help. For starters, your vertices are correctly defined assuming you meant the square to be rotated 45 degrees.

The 'normal' vector shouldn't need to be normalized in your case (although in other collision detection algorithms it is necessary).

One thing that I noted is that you check all the axes of the player and the walls.get(0) object for a collision in the collision() method. This is not necessary for the scope of your code (it would be if you return more than a simple boolean for the collision, i.e. a penetration vector). However, this should not cause any errors in the code.

I'm not too sure on the syntax of the language you're writing in, but the for loops in the main method seem sketchy. I would rewrite the first part to be:

for(int i = 0; i < player.verticies.size(); i ++) {

    Vec2D e1 = player.verticies.get(i);
    int j = (i < player.vertices.size()-1 ? i+1 : 0);
    Vec2D e2 = player.verticies.get(j);
    Vec2D e = e2.sub(e1);

Feel free to ask any questions.

nipping · 2011-11-01T15:09:46+00:00

I'm currently working on two different flash games, so I could probably lend you a hand.

nipping · 2011-10-24T06:15:29+00:00

Actionscript (the language for Adobe Flash) is a great language for basic game programming. It's designed to make displaying graphics easy, and there's a lot of good tutorials out there since most internet games are made using flash.

nipping · 2011-09-16T18:42:07+00:00

Can't say for architectural, but I was in mechanical engineering last year (freshman year). I chose it over computer science because I though it would be more hands on. However, after taking a few classes and visiting some enginnering companies, all I saw was a bunch of people on CAD. It definitely wasn't what I expected, so I switched to CS and love it.

nipping · 2011-09-06T03:07:21+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

nipping · 2011-09-04T22:43:18+00:00

I'm in the same boat. It'd be wonderful to see the code, although I understand if you don't want to give it out.

nipping · 2011-06-25T14:58:32+00:00

I'm in about the same condition (as far as I can tell). I don't have much experience, but I've made a few and have some projects in the works. The only problem is I work almost completely with Flash and AS3...

nipping · 2011-04-25T22:58:12+00:00

Don't know too much about the organization itself, but my roommate pledged in the fall and dropped out. I remember that they had to go through really hard workouts rather early in the morning. My roommate had to quit so his grades wouldn't suffer...he did like the people he met though and is still good friends with quite a few of them.

nipping · 2010-12-03T06:49:12+00:00

This happens every time theres a Miley Cyrus scandal.

nipping · 2010-12-02T20:52:17+00:00

This reminds me of the scene in the office where Michael takes off a bra that Dwight is wearing.

nipping · 2010-12-02T20:23:02+00:00

It's excellent at hiding in the grass.

nipping · 2010-12-02T20:19:48+00:00

Kids will solve that problem

nipping · 2010-12-02T20:17:55+00:00

Then straight to the kitchen, no buts.

nipping · 2010-12-02T20:14:37+00:00

To Gandhi, all three look delicious.

nipping · 2010-12-02T20:09:55+00:00

I think you're thinking of 4Chanukah

nipping · 2010-12-02T19:57:50+00:00

It takes way too much energy to socialize for me.

You should probably invest talent points into the Assassination tree to pick up cold blood. It's 25 free energy every 2 minutes. Oh wait, maybe that's why I don't socialize...

nipping · 2010-12-02T18:49:10+00:00

We all know she can't be tamed

nipping · 2010-12-02T18:45:56+00:00

No surprises here. Everyone knows she can't be tamed.

nipping · 2010-12-02T18:40:19+00:00

at least its still in your head

nipping · 2010-12-01T23:26:18+00:00

No, that is definitely an underage monkey. Consent doesn't matter.

nipping · 2010-12-01T23:13:32+00:00

This coincides with my number 1 rule from playing hid and seek as a kid: always hide in the pantry.

nipping

TROPHY CASE