Many students who enjoy playing games think that working in games would be their ideal career. Unfortunately, there is a world of difference between playing games and producing games. It's ok with 2-D games - the coding concepts behind 2-D programming are pretty simple and any competent programmer should make a good fist of programming a 2-D game. However, when it gets to 3-D then the situation becomes more difficult. The addition of the third dimension doesn't make the game 50% more complex, but 500% more complex. As a student, you don't just have to be good, you have to be really really good, and you might not find out that you're not actually that good until you're in your second year, when you're coping with vectors, quaternions, and many other advanced ideas.
So, you could find yourself at the end of the second year, frantically having to resit your exams to stay on the course, whilst being worried that there's worse to come in the final year. In most cases, the option of transferring to the final year of another degree course probably isn't open to you. A worrying situation.
When you graduate, there are relatively few companies who can take you on, and to say the competition for jobs is stiff is a definite understatement. The companies can pick and choose, and you're competing against all the graduates being turned out by all the universities in the country. If someone has a 1st class honours and you've only got a 2:1, then tough on you.
So, if you take a games programming degree, you could find yourself unable to cope and with nowhere to go, other than starting again with a new degree ... or you could simply find yourself unemployed and, because you don't have a traditional computing degree - unemployable outside the industry.
Even if you get your dream job, the reality is that you will be expected to work long hours performing repetitive tests - and all the time there will be newer graduates breathing down your neck. If you decide to leave your job then you've probably nowhere to go, unless you start a micro-brewery in Taunton.
So, if you are a really really talented student with strong maths who already understands 3-D graphics and you're prepared to work incredibly hard, then Games Programming is a viable option. However, if you just think that games sounds like fun and you'll be able to bum through three years of uni playing WoW and then stroll out into a well paid job, then you're in for a terrible shock.
The courses are different at different universities. Pick one you are considering and check out their website and look at the specific courses they offer.
A company that does NOT do games might have a negative attitude about potential employees who have Games Programming on their transcript.
I understand there are;
Computer Science
Computing
Software Engineering
Games Programming
Could anyone describe/help me out on which ones is should be thinking of doing?
Any other help is much appreciated :)
