Newbie

BlatzMan · 09-02-2010, 10:40 AM

Hi, I'm 19 and I'm going to a technical college in MN for an Associates degree called "Virtual Reality" it has a lot of important classes dealing with programming, graphics, and general computer skills, but I see there is a lot of stuff I'm going to need to learn on my own as well. I recently started using the Game Maker software to try some basic game design, I like it because it's fairly basic but at the same time versatile allowing me to try several new things without having to find new programs. And I'm aspiring to be a Designer

so with that in mind here are some questions I have:
1. How important is a Bachelor degree? (I've read several time's that it's fairly important but that having experience and good demo's works too.)

2. I am learning different programming languages but I don't want to be a programmer, so how far down that rabbit hole should I fall?

3. I like Game Maker for now but is there any resources for learning new software and such?

4. I'm not the best at getting to know new people or making lot's of friends (I'm not a bad or scary person, I've just alway's liked having a few close friends rather than a lot of different friends) So I don't really know anyone else who I can talk to and colaborate with, So any suggestions on place's or way's to meet people?

tsloper · 09-02-2010, 11:21 AM

1. It could be vitally important, depending on what entry path you plan to use to get to Design. Read http://www.sloperama.com/advice/designprep.htm and http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson14.htm
2. As far as you want, and no farther.
3. Yes. http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson56.htm
4. Read http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson54.htm

havensole · 09-23-2010, 01:01 PM

As said, it is more about what you can do, and prove, than your degree. They used Game Maker in one of my early classes too and you will quickly learn that there are much better programs out there. Check out Unity as it is versatile and will help you get ready for later development. As a designer it is good to know a little of every field.

Knowing C++ is always good. You will find as you learn more that most languages operate roughly the same so learning one and toying with others is always a good thing. Some designers are tasked with doing scripting, which helps in tuning a game, so learning Lua, Python, or Pearl is a benefit. Unity uses a multitude of languages for scripting so you have a good selection to choose from.

Knowing some of the modeling packages out there is good too. You never know what they will throw at you in the "designer" role.