Ok guys this is kind of important, so please don't crush me.
I really need some advice. I've wanted to get into the game business for a long time, and after trying to do other things, I guess it's now or never. I worried that I might end up wasting my time though. I look at the state of the econimy and the gaming world and I'm not sure if i'll even get my shot when I get out of school.
I either want to do graphic design or programming, so my question is, which one of those would be more of an asset to you?
I guess this is for anyone else who is in the buz as well.
Tough question. If you're making a choice based on where the employment opportunities will be when you enter the job market it's very much like trying to predict where a random moving target is going to be. That being said, it's generally easier for a talented programmer to find steady work than an artist. Artists are usually needed in much greater number but for generally shorter periods of time.
But you should really be asking yourself this: What do I want to do with my life even if I never get a big payday for doing it? In my experience staffing a studio I've always tended to hire the people who stand out from the crowd and are proud of their work. The people that go above and beyond the typical job hunting routine. The people who really wanted to work with our crew and not just land any job they could find. I made some bad hiring decisions, but also a lot that really proved to be wonderful. I think that the basic game design courses are an excellent place to learn if your desire to work in the industry is a good idea for you or not. But the best way to get (and keep) a job at any studio is to just be honest, friendly, and professional. So many job applicants are socially retarded with an offensive sense of entitlement that the good people can make the first cut quite easily.
Ok, Dave, first off thank you. Now, I hope your still looking becasue I'm going to describe what I like to do for fun and I want to know if I can apply that to the biz.
Back a few years ago I had a great game called NHL Live 2000 for the PC. I was just looking for rosters and found that I could change the look of the game completely by anding ads along the boards, real ads like Coors and Bell Tire. But I didn't stop there, using a program I found, I realized I could change the stats too. So, I simulated an entire season, got print-outs of every player stat and went to work. I changed the boards, the logos on the ice, some scoreboards, team jersies as well as every stat on every player. Sadly, as I was about half way through changing the actual score stats of the season my moms PC crashed and I lost all my hard work. I still kind of do that now, but I haven't found another program that will let me change the stats like that, so just rosters and maybe some ads.
Now, does that sound like a Programmer, or something esle?
Sounds like you have an interest in general game design which is actually one of the most coveted jobs in any studio. You get to do the fun stuff! The good news is that most people who work their way up to game designer often come from a programming background. It's helpful to have such a background because as a game designer you are usually tasked with designing a game that fits your given budget and only a programmer can truly appreciate and budget for the multitude of features most games require. Again, I think the general game design courses offered by most post secondary schools these days are worth looking into especially because one of the first major projects you will be required to do (by a decent school anyway) is to mod an existing game by replacing art assets and tweaking very basic game code, not unlike the things you enjoyed doing with NHL 2000.
Lucky you, cracking open and editing NHL 2000, the only games I've cracked open to edit are Super Mario Bros, and the Tecmo Super Bowls(In the fair name of trying to add in teams from EA's most ORIGINAL football franchise. Mutant League Football, along with some Mutant League Hockey teams).
[quote][cite] Tommyspud:[/cite]Lucky you, cracking open and editing NHL 2000, the only games I've cracked open to edit are Super Mario Bros, and the Tecmo Super Bowls(In the fair name of trying to add in teams from EA's most ORIGINAL football franchise. Mutant League Football, along with some Mutant League Hockey teams).[/quote]
Ahh, the old Mutant League Hockey.... tear. Dude, to be clear, I didn't crack anything open. If I could I probaby won't need to go to school. I just used and abused two programs that were already made specifically for editing NHL 2000.
Ah, okay then. I've stopped cracking open TSB often though, and have been using a program to edit team names/players/and stats for my MLF TSB Romhack. So far, the romhack is looking pretty good, but I do need to update some graphics, like player faces and team logos and stuff, I'm going to have to crack open the game later to edit the sprites. That can be the hard part, especially when you do it from scratch, XD.
But, anyways, even starting up a program to edit the game itself is something few people do, so it's a great start, for anybody looking for that type of job XD.