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Forums - Gaming - I want to get into game developing - specifically level design, advice needed.

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sethnintendo on 05 February 2012
blkfish92 said:
SamuelRSmith said:
blkfish92 said:
Your only 15! You have time until college, so I say study your balls off for the SAT and get into a good school for deigital/graphic design.


He's British, so college and uni are actually separate institutions. You start college at 16/17... looking into at 15 is very much the right thing to do.


You start college at 16, then when do you enter/finish high school?

At the age of 9, Doogie Howser, M.D. style.



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blkfish92 on 05 February 2012
sethnintendo said:
blkfish92 said:
SamuelRSmith said:
blkfish92 said:
Your only 15! You have time until college, so I say study your balls off for the SAT and get into a good school for deigital/graphic design.


He's British, so college and uni are actually separate institutions. You start college at 16/17... looking into at 15 is very much the right thing to do.


You start college at 16, then when do you enter/finish high school?

At the age of 9, Doogie Howser, M.D. style.


Uhh what?



           

sethnintendo on 05 February 2012
blkfish92 said:


Uhh what?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doogie_Howser,_M.D.

 

Doogie Howser already graduated from Princeton University by the age of 10 so it looks like Andre is a little behind.



blkfish92 on 05 February 2012
sethnintendo said:
blkfish92 said:


Uhh what?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doogie_Howser,_M.D.

 

Doogie Howser already graduated from Princeton University by the age of 10 so it looks like Andre is a little behind.


Ohh it's a tv show, herp derp to me LOL



           

SamuelRSmith on 05 February 2012
blkfish92 said:
SamuelRSmith said:
blkfish92 said:
Your only 15! You have time until college, so I say study your balls off for the SAT and get into a good school for deigital/graphic design.


He's British, so college and uni are actually separate institutions. You start college at 16/17... looking into at 15 is very much the right thing to do.


You start college at 16, then when do you enter/finish high school?


Infant/Primary School: 4/5-10/11
Secondary School: 10/11-16/17
College (optional): 16/17-18/19
University (optional) - 18/19+



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Andrespetmonkey on 05 February 2012
SamuelRSmith said:
Do not try to specialize so much, if you find yourself disliking it (what you enjoy as a hobby, you may not enjoy as a career), then you're pretty boned.

As for college, don't waste your time on that BTEC. The best plan when you go to college is to get a wide variety of a-levels, and then go down the path you enjoy most at Uni.

At my college, I could take 4 A-Levels (+ general studies 1/2). After the first year, most people dropped one (and just kept the AS grade), but if you didn't want to, you didn't have to. Going by this, and knowing you want to spend time in the game industry:

1 - Math
2 - Computing (forget IT, pointless).
3 - Humanities/Language Course
4 - Art/Design Course

If you're good at a foreign language, take that up as an A-Level, if not, stick to a humanity. As for which humanity, up to you. I find both History and Politics fascinating, but require good writing skills. Economics is probably the most important humanity out there (in my opinion), and most courses don't require amazing writing skills - if you flunk out on maths, some lesser unis will accept economics as a proof of numeracy. If you're really interested into getting into gaming, you might want to consider looking at AI programming, in which case, philosophy will do you really well, going into uni.

If you find pure maths boring, it would be acceptable to switch it into physics, most unis accept that (physics is NOT an easy course, though, don't be under that impression).

Anyway, these are my recommendations as they give you the skills you need to go to uni and study many courses relating to game development. At the same time, it also gives you a couple of fall back courses in case you find that you don't really want to do it full-time, after all.

As long as you have a good A-Level in maths (or related), you will be able to take 60% of uni courses out there (providing you don't flunk other modules), an A-Level that proves your ability to write will probably open up the remaining 40%.

Alright, I think I'll ditch the BTEC then since this isn't the first time I've been told that. How's this?

  • Maths (I'll need to work and revise hard for this though, predicted a C) If I can't get that B, economics?
  • ICT (no option for computing)
  • Geography (I also like History/Gov&Pol but I'm much better at geography)
  • Product Design - 3D design

 

Thanks!



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IIIIITHE1IIIII on 05 February 2012

Level designer? Buy Halo Reach! It'll satisfy all your needs ;)



(except possibly financial needs...)



Andrespetmonkey on 05 February 2012
IIIIITHE1IIIII said:
Level designer? Buy Halo Reach! It'll satisfy all your needs ;)



(except possibly financial needs...)

I would need to buy a 360 aswell :P

I'm fine with Far cry 2s editor, Portal 2s editor, CIV5s scenario editor and sketchup pro at the moment :)



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fillet on 05 February 2012
blkfish92 said:
SamuelRSmith said:
blkfish92 said:
Your only 15! You have time until college, so I say study your balls off for the SAT and get into a good school for deigital/graphic design.


He's British, so college and uni are actually separate institutions. You start college at 16/17... looking into at 15 is very much the right thing to do.


You start college at 16, then when do you enter/finish high school?

In the UK we don't have "high school". That only exists on infantile internet forums and crap american teen movies.  :p

High school = "6th form" (if you decide to carry on in school, suitable for the less mature and people who can't motivate themselves).

High school = "college" (specific learning institution for people of 6th form age or older, often have mature students also, for people who can motivate themselves given the extra freedom it allows)

 

US College = UK University.

 

 

Like already said OP. You'd be a fool to take that BTEC course unless it was purely a leisure activity you enjoy doing, it will do nothing whatsoever in terms of getting you a job in that area in the future. Your best be is to stick with MATHS - hate it or not - tough luck. Nothing else matters, your product design won't hurt as you will use CAD and whatnot which a uni will like, by no means essential.

 

If you chose core subjects and ICT you can do whatever you like at uni anyway, if you do the BTEC, come uni you will just look stupid and top end uni institutions won't want to know.



fillet on 05 February 2012
Andrespetmonkey said:
SamuelRSmith said:
Do not try to specialize so much, if you find yourself disliking it (what you enjoy as a hobby, you may not enjoy as a career), then you're pretty boned.

As for college, don't waste your time on that BTEC. The best plan when you go to college is to get a wide variety of a-levels, and then go down the path you enjoy most at Uni.

At my college, I could take 4 A-Levels (+ general studies 1/2). After the first year, most people dropped one (and just kept the AS grade), but if you didn't want to, you didn't have to. Going by this, and knowing you want to spend time in the game industry:

1 - Math
2 - Computing (forget IT, pointless).
3 - Humanities/Language Course
4 - Art/Design Course

If you're good at a foreign language, take that up as an A-Level, if not, stick to a humanity. As for which humanity, up to you. I find both History and Politics fascinating, but require good writing skills. Economics is probably the most important humanity out there (in my opinion), and most courses don't require amazing writing skills - if you flunk out on maths, some lesser unis will accept economics as a proof of numeracy. If you're really interested into getting into gaming, you might want to consider looking at AI programming, in which case, philosophy will do you really well, going into uni.

If you find pure maths boring, it would be acceptable to switch it into physics, most unis accept that (physics is NOT an easy course, though, don't be under that impression).

Anyway, these are my recommendations as they give you the skills you need to go to uni and study many courses relating to game development. At the same time, it also gives you a couple of fall back courses in case you find that you don't really want to do it full-time, after all.

As long as you have a good A-Level in maths (or related), you will be able to take 60% of uni courses out there (providing you don't flunk other modules), an A-Level that proves your ability to write will probably open up the remaining 40%.

Alright, I think I'll ditch the BTEC then since this isn't the first time I've been told that. How's this?

 

  • Maths (I'll need to work and revise hard for this though, predicted a C) If I can't get that B, economics?
  • ICT (no option for computing)
  • Geography (I also like History/Gov&Pol but I'm much better at geography)
  • Product Design - 3D design

 

 

Thanks!

If your having trouble with Maths at GCSE...you're in for a world of hurt at A level. I'm trying not to laugh just thinking about it and I don't mean that to offend you but so you can understand the gravity of the issue.