just curious about the various courses availible.

[Anonymous]

well i just found this site so i’d just like to introduce myself, i’m a leaving cert student and hopefully next year i will be going to third level.

while searching the web for information relevant to the various courses i put down on my CAO i came across this site. i’ve found the info here really helpful and it has really opened my eyes as to what is availible.

anyway i’d basically like to do computer game programming but i have a few qualms about it. i have absolutely no prior experience with any computer languages except that i have a bit of experience with HTML (if that even counts), i’m kind of worried that i’ll be out of my league when/if i go to do a course.

the courses i have put down are (via the change of mind :D ) are;
Multimedia and Computer Games Development in UL,
and thats all.

i live in munster and it doesn’t seem like a real attractive option to move to Carlow to do the course there (even though i gather it is the best in the country)

another thing is that i’ve missed school since 5th year (i did up to november) and have only come back to 6th year since January.
the points required for the UL course are around 330 but i’m cautious if i will be able to get even that, so i have a back-up course in LIT http://www.lit.ie/Departments/IT/LC331.html

is this course any good or would i be better to just repeat if i don’t get the points?? i was thinking that i could do a post-grad course that specialises more in computer game programming after i finished the course. but would those sort of courses even be available to me if i did that course??

i’m sorry about all the questions but i am totally clueless and have no-one around here to ask for help (i live in a bog and my career guidance teacher is an alcoholic)

anyway thanks in advance,

peace

[Anonymous]

Not knowing a programming language before going into college shouldn’t hinder you at all with regards to entry to the course. Entry to these courses is determined by the amount of points you get from doing your leaving cert. While for Limerick, honours maths is not a requirement, I would strongly suggest you study for it, as you are going to have to be comfortable with your maths for games programming.

You seem very reluctant to move to Carlow, so why even think about it? It depends on what you want most and what compromises you are prepared to make. Why even go to Limerick? Why not try an ‘ordinary’ computer science degree at UCC and then decide what you want to do. The reason I say that, given your reluctance to move to Carlow to study, how would you feel about having to move abroad to work when you finish your game programming degree? At least with a CS degree you would have *a lot* more options to work over here (and in Munster). If you choose a CS degree, go for one with a high maths content and possibly one with a game programming module in it as well.

My advice to you would be not to worry about the post-grad option just yet. Concentrate on getting the amount of points you need for the course of your choice. If you don’t mange to attain the points that you need this time ’round, then consider repeating. Take one step at a time. Also, try and learn some programming language in your spare time and see if you like it or not. I’d recommend you start of with ‘C’ first and if you like that and get reasonably competent with it, then try C++. If you discover that programming is not for you, then simply look for a different course!!

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the help, the reason i have a reluctance about moving to Carlow is simply because Carlow is a small town. i live in a village now and really want to experience "city life" and after college my main aim is to move abroad.

Courses at UCC are closed to me because i’m going to fail german (a foreign language is needed for most colleges but not for UL).

Ahh, about the honours maths. I was previously doing honours maths and physics but dropped both subjects. i’m now doing pass maths (which i should get full marks in), will the fact that i did pass maths hinder me in college??

any info on the LIT course??
the link is here http://www.lit.ie/Departments/IT/LC331.html

[Anonymous]

I can understand your reluctance to move to a small town as I had to live in a few while working over in England myself. However, experiencing "city-life" is one thing, getting the degree you desire is another and this is where compromises have to be made. After you finish your degree, you’ll have plenty of time left to experience "city-life" and Carlow is a rapidly growing town to say the least.

You also say that you dropped out of honours maths & physics. Considering that you need at least two honours subjects for any course, what honours subjects are you doing? If anything, I would have focussed on honours maths & physics and done the rest as pass subjects. If you are pretty competent with your maths, then you should be OK going to third level with a very good mark at the ordinary paper, but it’ll still leave you with that little bit extra work to do when you go into 3rd level.

I had a look at the LIT course. While it looks the more or less equivalent to most CS courses, I can’t comment on how good it is myself. Maybe someone else on the forums can help you out there.

My final piece of advice to you would be not to rush into things. The quality and choice of your degree are going to be with you for the rest of your life. For this reason, think long and hard about your choices and choose wisely.
If Carlow is your first choice, then compromises are going to have to be made!! Why settle for second best??

[Anonymous]

If Carlow is your first choice, then compromises are going to have to be made!! Why settle for second best??[/quote:365b70081b]

yeah i know what you mean, i’m going to put Carlow IT down first but it looks like i’m going to be heading to LIT (lower points requirments)

[Anonymous]

CAO points are out. I always like to check on my old course to see how the applications are doing. Anyways for those of a youthful persuasion here are the courses this year with game in the name.

IT CARLOW
CW208 Computer Games Development: 305

DUNDALK IT
DK820 Computing in Games Development: 255

UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK
LM110 Multimedia and Computer Games Development: 355

IT TRALEE
TL330 Computing with Games Development: 275

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