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- This topic has 11 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 9 months ago by Anonymous.
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08/01/2006 at 11:47 pm #4923AnonymousInactive
Hey, I’m living in Galway, and i’ve made my mind up that I would like to become a Games Developer in the future, I would like to get peoples opinion on the way I’m going about it.
For some specific reasons I cannot leave Galway this year or possibly next, so I am thinking of doing the ‘B.Sc in Computing in Software Development’ at GMIT. Its a 3 year course.
http://www.gmit.ie/prospective_students/propectus2006/science/GA775/index.html
On Completing that I am thinking of doing either the 2 year Ballyfermot course or the M.Sc in Letterkenny which is also 2 years I believe.So I am looking for advice.. Would this be a good way to get into the Games industry? or would the Software Development in GMIT be a waste of my time?
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09/01/2006 at 12:29 am #28667AnonymousInactive
If you’re thinking of doing the ballyfermot course I’d say do it first. You’ll get 2 years of games specific training and the can upgrade your diploma to a degree by a couple of other paths, ideal total time spent in college (to a degree) 3 years, if you go the other way you’re talking 3 years for your degree and then a futher 2 years for the diploma.
The Msc I would think be the better route from a level of education point of view. But keep in mind that games specific courses are new and that their vlaue has not yet really been decided on by the industry. Certainly if you want to become a programmer I would think straight up comp si/comp app while leaning your projects towards areas of interest within games would be a better idea.
My general offer as always still stands, if you want to know more about ballfermot from a student there drop me a pm
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09/01/2006 at 11:29 am #28678AnonymousInactive
It really depends on what you want to do with your career. Am I right in presuming that you want to be a programmer?
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09/01/2006 at 11:51 am #28679AnonymousInactive
I’d definitelly agree with doing the Software Development course and then specialising. Don’t close yourself down to a single career path so early, you might try it and hate and and decided to do something else.
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09/01/2006 at 12:32 pm #28684AnonymousInactive
Ya worth doing comp sci, plenty of jobs in databases etc if the games thing doesnt work out. Coz its tough to get the break so its good to have a backup plan.
good luck.
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09/01/2006 at 12:35 pm #28685AnonymousInactive
Geeze, don’t say databases! Say admin and development work. Databases suck.
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09/01/2006 at 1:13 pm #28692Aphra KKeymaster
yes you really need to decide is it programming or art/design or some other role you are interested in. There are loads of new game courses including Carlow IT but your choice of course depends on your interests and core strengths now in school.
there are now a few companies in Galway so it might be worth contacting them to chat about potential paths and some work experience..
Aphra. –
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09/01/2006 at 3:09 pm #28694AnonymousInactive
well if your confined to galway have you consider doing the B.Sc in I.T. in NUIGalway?
i know it’s a year longer than the course in GMIT but it would be a better safety net to have to fall back on, and beside, just speaking from my own point of view that’s the course i did and i manage to get a job in the games industry out of it.
also as the I.T. course in galway is at the moment there is either a business stream or a language stream that ya have to do but when i was in final year last year there was talk of expanding the number of options to 5 and one of the new options was game development.
it might be an idea to send a quick email to the I.T. department to see if this has progressed since i left
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09/01/2006 at 5:49 pm #28706AnonymousInactive
Cheers, thanks for all the help. Yeah, programming is the area i’d like to go into, not so much the art/design side of it. My main problem is that I am confined to Galway for whichever course I do first, and then doing the Gaming post-grads somewhere else to specialise.
From a Game Porgramming point of view could anyone tell me which course would be a better starting point.. the B.Sc of Compuing of Software Development in GMIT, or the B.Sc in I.T at NUI Galway?? or is there much to choose between them?
Also, it is possible to do the I.T course in NUI through an Arts stream, aswell as the B.Sc. Do you know which might be better to start a career in programming?
Thanks.
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09/01/2006 at 6:03 pm #28707Aphra KKeymaster
I am fairly new to the NUI system but here in Maynooth you may not combine computer science with arts although you can do mathematics and music technology as part of the general arts degree. I suggest you check directly with NUIG on that.
Don’t know differents between GMIT and NUIG courses but worth getting both course outlines to check them module by module to see what they cover and to see if either offer a work experience option and what scope there is to do practical projects which you could make more game related to gain experience.
Aphra.
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10/01/2006 at 9:43 am #28722AnonymousInactive
No idea, but software development sounds better than IT, but that could just be a crap named course. IT says admin to me.
Check out the specs of the courses and see which one will teach you most of actual development, C/C++/C#/Java. See if you can do any modules on the courses that are game related that could help in the future; physics, 2/3d graphics, AI,etc… -
10/01/2006 at 10:03 am #28723AnonymousInactive
Geeze, don’t say databases! Say admin and development work. Databases suck.[/quote:c22b34a865]
Majority of IT jobs are in databases unfortunately so may as well be straight with the guy :(
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