I need some game career guidance

[cmjoe]

I'm 24 years old. Also about being well rounded, isn't it good to be well versed in other fields and not just one.

[Adrir]

Originally Posted by cmjoe

Also about being well rounded, isn't it good to be well versed in other fields and not just one.

Having a well-rounded education can be a benefit because it helps us understand the other disciplines. This makes us better communicators and able to work in a team more effectively. Furthermore, we gain the advantage of having a broader range of experience and knowledge to draw from as well as more general skills. However, if you become a jack-of-all trades and a master of none you will not be able to compete in the job market. You have to have a focus that you are very good at. If you can't perform well in at least one area at a professional level you won't get a job.

[ladyaurora]

In fact, I really like drawing, graphic and creating cool characters ever since I was in 8th grade but I haven't drawn or had an art class for like 6 years.

Drawing is a skill just practice, practice, practice. Start with 30 minutes everyday if you can.
These books will give you a start.

"How to Draw What You See" by Rudy DeReyna
"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards

When it comes to video games, I would like to create my own characters and environments for a video game. I was always interested in art but I would like to be more focused on creating video game characters or just random cool characters.

For characters study figure drawing and anatomy with authors such as Burne Hogarth, Glenn Vilppu, Andrew Loomis, Robert Beverly Hale, and George Bridgman to name a few.

You can get most of these books at your library to try out before you buy.
Do a google search for Loomis to download pdf, or I can let you know where to download if you can't find. Vilppu sells on Amazon.

I just picture some stuff in my head therefore, I thought that learning how to use graphic art or graphic animation software or learning how to draw would help me express my graphic ideas.

Learn 2d art first this will help immensely with your 3d art.

[yaustar]

When it comes to video games, I would like to create my own characters and environments for a video game.

Draw and model. Download a 3D modelling package such as Blender, XSI SoftImage or Wings 3D and work your way through tutorials and books Usually these exist on the site where you got the software). If you are focusing on environments and levels, also take a look at level editors that ship with games such as FarCry, Unreal and HalfLife. 3D Buzz usually has a number of tutorials for the major software packages and also a busy forum community.

I want to learn some game design and study more of it so I could basically learn how to design a game.

Then start making games. Board games, card games, dice games, etc. The more you do, the more you get a feel on what is fun and interesting. Read 'Rules of Play'.

I actually want to learn how to mod games because I think its a great start to creating your own game while using existing stuff in the game your moding.

Modding isn't a skill, it is a accumulation of other skills such as Modelling, Design and Programming.

I want to learn how programming is applied to games and then learn it. One time this student (now graduated) who is a software programmer was explaining to me how programming works in a video game.

Programming isn't applied to games, it is used to make them. Video games are software and programming is about engineering software by telling the hardware what to do. That is it, there are no secrets to it. Fundamentally, 'game programming' is programming, there is no distinction between the two.

I never took programming before and I thought programming was very visual.

Most of the code that is written, the player will never see or even think about when playing the game. Everyone who starts programming will usually start off working with text on the command prompt as it is the simplest interface to display feedback to the user so it doesn't hinder you from learning to program by adding more possible obstacles.

Also about being well rounded, isn't it good to be well versed in other fields and not just one.

It is, but unless you are skilled enough in one to be employable, it is pointless.

[jwalters]

Originally Posted by Adrir

Instead of accumilating more and more sticky threads, we'd only need a few stickies spread across the forum. Each would contain a series of questions. Along with each question, there would be a brief answer and links to specific resources relevent to the topic. These resources could be useful threads, relevent articles or interesting websites.

Is this something close to what you mean?

Yes, that's pretty much what I had in mind. The only reason I thought of putting them all in Getting Started was I figured that's where most people start out their reading here. I didn't look into the Programming section at first, even though being a game programmer is my ultimate goal.

Let me know if you want any help digging up common questions/answers for an FAQ; I'd be happy to help!

[jwalters]

Originally Posted by cmjoe

I took some time to think and I put a list of reasons why I want to learn the things I want.

Excellent! Knowing WHY you want to do something is just as important as knowing THAT you want to do it.

I would like to create my own characters and environments for a video game. In fact, I really like drawing, graphic and creating cool characters... I was always interested in art... I thought that learning how to use graphic art or graphic animation software or learning how to draw would help me express my graphic ideas...

It really sounds to me like you should focus on being a graphic artist, perhaps using tools like 3D Studio Max or Maya to create game characters.

I want to learn how programming is applied to games... I thought programming was very visual.

As yaustar already mentioned, programming isn't applied to games, it is the primary means of creating them. Of course, it relies heavily on the work of artists and other specialists to create a game. Programming by its nature alone is NOT graphical -- it's logical, specifying where items in a virtual world should be placed, determining if the character has died based on number of hits taken and health remaining, etc. Special programming interfaces such as OpenGL or Direct3D are used to draw items on the screen, and rendering the display frequently (with subtle changes each time) is the process of animation. But even with graphics APIs we still use art from an artist and much of the code performs non-visual tasks.

In short, if you didn't like your Java class you probably won't like game programming either. It's the same stuff, just used differently. But if you want to make a game in a visual way you might consider using a tool called Game Maker (google it).

[arcadeninja]

Howdy Cmjoe,

I'm going to throw in my 2 cents on this whole argument but be forewarned that I did skim over most of the replies. I just want to respond to this post quickly because I've had this argument in my head (I know I want to make games for a living but I don't know where to start) over a thousand times and I believe I'm on the cusp of understanding how to work it out.

Firstly I just want to say that I'm a firm believer in the idea that ANY kind of person can get hired in ANY kind of industry even one as competitive as the video games industry. Take all those preconceived notions of talent and special kinds of mindsets and attitudes and throw them out the window. Does such a thing as talent exist? Absolutely. Are some people more suited to better roles than others in the business? Of course. But if you let something like fear of being untalented or "not the right kind" of person stop you from pursuing what you really want out of life then there’s no point in trying because you've already decided your fate. Remember Sun Tzu "Every battle is won before it is fought....." Also keep in mind that no matter how exceptional you become in your endeavors there will always be someone somewhere more skilled than you. So rather than expend useless energy comparing yourself to others or making some kind of arbitrary grade, your time is much better spent on learning as much as possible about your craft and always putting out the best kind of work that you can.
That said I do believe that there is one constant deterrent that separates those who are successful and those who are unsuccessful. Hard work. Talent is arbitrary, it comes and goes and is random in our world but there is always the opportunity to push and push yourself and give it your all. At the end of the day that's all you can really count on when it comes to being successful in any field (from my point of view anyway).