Franco Singh-Vigilante April 11,2011

W HAT DID I CHOOSE I chose Game programming as it has constant use of code and sometimes used to create engines, which games run on. Games need programming because programmers define the game, and saying whether it is going to be in first person view or if the playing can just fall through the level at random. Programming uses languages, not like French or Spanish, but using English words and using them in the code, such as the “if” statements and “var”(variables).

Why did I choose it?  At first I was going to be 3D modeler, as I loved the idea of creating your own character and levels, but I found that art skills was needed and I wasn’t the best(its not a lost career for me but I’m not focusing on it now). Then my brother told me a career of programming were I work with code and tell the game what's right and wrong. I found it fun and once you know the key words to use its easy, My brother told me I needed to know math and I was a bit scared their but then I find there's not much math needed in it(there’s still some but not a unbelievable amount I feared of), the math was just algabra which was easy to use and used to define what value “X” has in a factor.  I haven't ventured to far into coding yet but I think I’m going to be ready for what's to come.

 Not to sound anti-social or anything but being a programmer you can work at home and make your own hours, as long as the job gets done. Normally though the hours would around 5 hours if not more as would a normal day would be.  The main risk of the job is being on the computer to long, which can cause back pains and looking at the computer for long periods of time can hurt your eyes. Frequent breaks are needed and daily exercise would be helpful too.

Will this industry be in demand? Yes, yes and yes, entertainment is one of the main industry. During the great depression people had to lay off from buying fancy things, but no matter what people were able to cough up enough money to go see the movies. Games is the next step in entertainment it puts people in the middle of a story and creates amazing immersion, and interaction that can even change the base of the story(some games not all do this). With the higher rate of technology people are expecting higher quality games and want a lot for there money’s worth($60-$70 for a game is a lot and should have a lot to offer) which is why there's bigger and bigger teams being made, EA’s industry almost doubled in size over the years for the demand of developers.

 -Math, mainly algebra as programming deals with defining variables and giving them functions.  -Physics, only if I want to go into a physics team(which I won’t), where say a game like Might and Magic only needs one person to do all the physics(because there isn’t that much) and a game like Battlefield requires a entire physics team.  -Extensive knowledge in C++, yes C++ is the main programming language that creates programs such as flash and can even create sites, knowing this is key to building game engines; however the language is similar to other programs.  -AI Programming, behavior in games is needed for the immersion for the player.  -Graphics(3D geometry and such)  -Tools Development  -the main Educational institute I’m going is CATO which offers a 2 year course in programming.

Salary/Future outlook  A least experienced programmer(less the 3 years) can earn up to $54,600 annually. While developers with an average of 6 years can earn up to $104,000 annually.  Is there a future outlook? Yes video games are a huge demand in the industry right now while most people despise them and think there just a tool to show children violence (and movies aren’t?). Games are the most innovative, interactive experience that movies can’t offer. The game industry grows in higher demand each year with the more expectations for games.

Related occupation Web designer, could be freelance taking jobs as I go. 3D modeling, though I don’t think the things I make in animation class are good perhaps with some training I could use programs to model areas and characters. Flash designer

Made by Franco Singh-Vigilante