need alot of help (game programming)

[Hahaownedlolz]

well i just finished High School, and i have almost no experience in game programming. (i almost finished a game, with a tutorial that explained everything and exactly how. a very simple flash game though). and to be honest, its a little overwhelming. i see all those different courses, and im not sure what to do.


So i currently live in holland, and we don't really have a game industry here. So i am now considering moving to the UK. it's really close to holland so i could still visit often. I want help with what school i should go to, or what course i should follow. What i know is that i want to be programming, so not designing the game. I'm not exactly sure what direction in programming, but my dream job would be to work at Jagex Ltd. in the future.

I know that a good portfolio is very important if you want to get a job. i've read many times that a good portfolio is way more important then a diploma(?). But i have so little experience in it currently, that i definetly want to follow some courses. and in holland i even have to go to school next year because the law says so. Any help would be greatly appreciated, but do realise that i NEED to get into a school this year(after summer).

[jwalters]

I think moving to the UK is a great idea because you need to be where the game companies are to get a game development job (seems obvious but not to everyone). I wouldn't say a good portfolio is more important than a degree -- both are quite important. You need a degree to show companies you know how to learn and can finish something worthwhile; you need to learn basic skills before you can create a good portfolio.

Since you want to be a programmer, and I'm hoping you've at least tried it to be sure it's what you want to do, I would recommend finding a good Computer Science curriculum. If there is a school that teaches game development specifically then you may be in good shape; otherwise just pursue Computer Science and learn game development on your own (from books or the web) once you have the basics down.

I'm hoping Adrir or yaustar will weigh in with school choices. I'm in the US and don't know which school would be best. Good luck!

[yaustar]

Jagex Ltd go against the grain a little as they work in Java whereas the main language in the Games Industry is C++. Keep this mind why studying at University.

Also, when you say 'school', did you actually mean University?