To get a better perspective into the world of "pop" gaming, I suggest you guys pickup Masters of Doom... It chronicles the rise and fall of the two Johns (Romero and Carmack)... Pretty interesting read as it shows the 2 extremes in game creation (Go for tech, or go for design) and they both came away with rather lacklustre results.

So, don't rule out programming just yet, but at the same time, design is equally as important.

degrees in gaming is not necessary, however it is nice for employers to see something tangible and authoritative. It lets them quickly judge you so you pass the first step (got solid basic knowledge or not).

I just updated the 1st post about a document that's just got released. It's about jobs in the game industry, and it's about RM20. IIRC the 2003 version was released for free cuz I read it before, try finding in on the site lah (or google it up, I'm sure you can find it from there).

Also if you guys know of any game designers' blogs (like Unreal's CliffyB) pls share with us

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Aug 12 2005, 03:36 AM

wat H@H@ say is very true, game developement is not just only the programming/technical part,the game design itself is equally important.

and about game design, u cant really learn it from school, u learn it by playing more games. More games means more variety of games, not just stick to one types of game and play it 12 hours a day. playing old pc/console games help u to gain more ideas too.

recently i got meet up with this fellow which have a excellent degree in game developent/design. but in reality, that fellow is not that great.

in malaysia, i rather suggest ppl who is very interest in joining game developement industry to focus more on technical part of it. Coz that is wat malaysia is lacking now.

just think about it, Nowadays, eveyone think they play alot of games and can design a good game, in reality, they are just another small guy with a big dream that duno their design is actually not that great. but, not all the boss in malaysia is smart to see whether that guy is actually good or not,

i c many of u expect very much from gaming industry, u ppl wan to make ur game, a very awsome one, with 3D graphic n very fast engine, coded with the infamous C++ language... that's true who dun wan right?

but do u know where to start? i mean, all u ppl think of is only programing, it's like, with programing skills u can guarantee to make a game, but wat about others? artist? games designer? level designer? do u know wat it takes to make a game? how bout game content? most important thing, have u ever try to make a game b4??

i bet when u go to interview they will sure ask u wat have done related to game b4, then wat u going to tell them? that's y i said, at least start some project, very simple one will do, then slowly go for more advance, after u understand how to make a game more a bit.

honestly programing is not the only thing, design is important also, as well as other aspect, like graphic design n so on...

i agree, but wat i m saying is there is many designer around, noob one and expert one,

but there is not many ppl taht is good in games programming here in malaysia,

totally agreed many ppl want to be game designers, they have their ideas, their vision bla bla, but who the heck is going to write the damn game for them? in malaysia, unless u have the money, nobody is going to write for u, so do it yourself... if u knw game programming but not good at art design, u can still find someone to do it for u, if u r only n aritst, or if u only have an idea... u can wait for another decade till u can easily find game programmers in malaysia

the same goes for the definition of a gamer... i dunno how to consider someone a gamer , or a hardcore gamer , but for sure, those who alwaz 'pou' at cybercafe's msot of them arent gamers at all.. what do they know bout games? cs, wc3, ro, bla bla. only those at the cafe's. ask them about ut2004 or half life 2, most of them havent even heard of it....

so in this world... there are people who only dream, and there are ppl who take action to realise their dreams.

Ok, thx guys 4 sharing ur thoughts as well as experience. i wish 2 know if developing a games need to develops d game engine or graphic engine? wat is an engine? is it used to generate the graphic of the game? does every game need it?
thx........BTW, im interested in modelling using Lightwave3d, currently, i've some halfway finished model such as Nissan 350z, Stitch. i really havnt figured out how 2 finish them...if anyone need models, feel free 2 let me know, i will try my best if I can.

yo crabjim, actually im not very sure of the answer for your question , last time when i program, i started from scratch, means i learn to program the game engine too, but it seems not it is not necessary anymore, there are so many sdks around which u can lay your hands on... well some free , some like the source engine sdk, u have to buy the original, which i don have

but in my opinion, it is better to start game development by making mods, use engines like the unreal engine or the source engine ( i want it badly but no money to buy ), it is easier, and u don have to worry so much about the technical part, u only need to know the concepts the basics and so forth, from there on, once u r familiar with making mods, u can go deeper by trying to understand n develop a game engine, get some books, they are important.

as for models... sorry man, im a total idiot in that, hahaha but if i have a need for models, then i will find u.

i wanan ask a question le, anyone here tried using managed dx with vb.net?

i agree with you, hwa107 that we would need to proceed into this industry step by step. By starting a project it will guarantee us to proceed slowly but surely. Well ultimately everyone would want to create a game that will change the gaming world like how Half-Life2 and Doom 3 did for the gaming world. imo, for the strategy section, what warhammer40k:DOW did to distinguish itself from other typical RTS games.

Well hwa107, i believe what you said should be taken seriously by those who wish to seriously enter the gaming industry.
Just hope i dont die before making that dream game of mine.


Well could i just get a show of hands, how many of you are going to the AGDS and zzap

me! me! me!

in case everyone's wondering where did i pop up from, don't bother...

but whoever's going, y don't we all meet up there?

huh?? meet where? up there? u ok or not bro?

Just got this email from my school. It points to this particular site about Microsoft Tech Ed thats gonna be held in the sunny Gold Coast. But what's interesting is this:



w00t!!!!! can't wait! Siap bagi free bus from school somemore

and later got party hehehe....



FYI my school starting from this year did an agreement with M$ to teach us some stuff about games development using XNA (obviously another M$ scheme to lock us up to use only M$ tools, but I don't care ) so it's gonna be great I hope

Engine is what drives a thing basically. Car engine, game engine, etc. It is a very very generic term so there's no real definition. But you can say the thing/code that starts and runs the game is the engine.


well FINISH IT! I've seen (and done) quite a number of projects that show a lot of potential in the beginning, solid presentation, proposal, requirements specification, but never made it till the end. One very very important thing that employers look at is your ability to finish your work (in a set amount of time). You are nothing if you can't finish your work. It is true, the last 10% of the project is the hardest, but do see it till the end. This is one of the benefits of having a degree - employers can quickly tell that you made something, you passed the minimum requirements for it, and you complete it. Even if that might not be the case lah


Gambatte!

edit: Added MIND to the 1st post

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Aug 12 2005, 02:50 PM

thanx jason ,.....u had answered what i dont know........chill out! feel free 2 look 4 me in creating model but i'm not an expert.


C-Fu, thanx for ur answer n advice too , i will look forward 2 finish it after i finish my Uni final report

u guys dont have any tutorials to share with us ah? or developers blogs.....

updated 1st post for 32bits and popcap game framework

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Aug 13 2005, 04:45 AM

www.32bits.co.uk

tis is the best of the best of the best game development tutorial site... trust me... he is good...

added some links about other parts of game design - modelling and sound.

just an update: J Allard, M$ punya XNA architect fell down in a bicycle accident. He's ok though.

Quake 3 Sourcecode to be released soon!!! This is going to be major guys!

Well i got these from a friend. Hope this helps

http://www.highend3d.com/3dsmax/tutorials
http://www.techtutorials.info/3dmax.html

The Education Arcade's 2005 Games in Education Conference was organized by MIT Comparative Media Studies, the MIT Teacher Education Program, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison with support from the Entertainment Software Association and E3Expo and sponsorship from LeapFrog Enterprises and BellSouth Corporation. Video archives and supporting materials from the conference sessions are available here: http://www.educationarcade.org/modules.php...artid=67&page=1

FYI this was held in conjunction with the last E3Expo. There are video torrents there that are worth watching if you guys are interested in games + education.

Hi guys, can i join?? I've just found this thread.

Okay let's put it this way...I'm a bit like Hunt...too old to be changing careers(actually for Hunt, 24 is NOT TOO OLD!!!)....but i DID dabble in the industry for a short period and actually make some working demos.

But now, all my C++ and DX is but a distant memories...still i like to see u young guys to succeed, where i did not.

U know, if u guys are really serious, you really should start a simple project to get the ball rolling. Even a simple space invader game is good enough. Don't be over ambitious, start simple and progress from there.

I can contribute where possible, if only as a hobby, but I doubt i can do much now...too old and not enough time!!! LOL.

As for game designer vs game programming, i believe both are quite different. However, it's the people with the tech skill that is most lacking now.

In this age, a single person hiding in the basement to work on a project for 5 years (something mentioned by Cheese i think) doesn't works anymore. Time to market is very important. That is why many companies are taking the easy route by buying license for game engines. I fully agree to this...no point in re-inventing the wheel unless your wheel can fly!!

Unfortunately, these license cost millions(USD) and unless you've a solid team with experience, it is a very high risk.

For noobs, with no experience, no exposure and NO MONEY (LOL!), this is definitely a no-solution.

Okay, enough for now, later guys.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Aug 18 2005, 11:23 AM

Cool. That is actually in HEXADECIMAL format. Basically, when you compile to an executable file. It'll become BINARY format..zero's and one. Assembly and C compile to this. Not sure about Java/Flash etc coz those are more likely interpreter than compiler (means it converts to binary run-time in real-time and execute from there). i've no experience with those.

You can use DEBUG to un-assemble any binary file and see the code...provided u can read code in HEX...LOL.