...which means back to Belgium for me.
Been in Belgium now for a couple of days, as of thursday 29th of April to be exact, and I miss things from Germany. On the other hand I'm glad to be back in Belgium as well.
Today's post won't be about those things though. I'm currently semi active, looking for interesting positions but I honestly don't have a clue what to do. Going back to University all sounds great, but several people close to me said that experience is more valuable then knowledge, while other people say the exact opposite.
Personally I want to work with the C++ language, but I'm hearing from all sides that it's a dieing language in the current industry and that I should focus on the .NET environment. I personally have no problems with the .NET evironment, but I'm afraid that if I focus too much on working with the .NET technologies, I will lose my skills and knowledge regarding the C++ language, and that it will become a disadvantage when I finnaly have the required experience to apply for the positions in the gaming industry.
Which brings me to my second point. Alot of people mentioned that I should make small games myself or programs related to games. All nice and well, but I really don't see myself making such a things, due the fact that creativity isn't my strongest point. I don't mean to say I can't think up stuff, as I can be pretty scary in that, I just lack the design skills to make myself some images or 3D stuff. And I honestly don't see the point of starting up a small team just to get stuff going. The trouble it brings isn't really worth the effort at the moment.
Been trying to build up a modelviewer for WoW to analyze the files, but it's so difficult finding information regarding the way Blizzard build their files, and I honestly don't expect them to tell me how they did it...
Hey Arne,
ReplyDeleteI recently had a discussion with a friend of mine who is in the gaming industry as a developer (in australia). The key really is to have at least a small body of work that you can show off. Where you create this -- in the modding community or programming games from scratch or just small demo's for yourself -- isn't really that important. But having something to show off is crucial.
This can be in C++, or even in .NET. Don't forget that while performance-critical code is games is C++, there is a often a large toolchain built around that with languages such as .NET or scripting languages. This can be a valid way to get into the industry, too. Just look at the modding community which often creates its own toolchains, which is a great way to learn about modern game development.
Lastly, you might have to be willing to move to get the job you want, Belgium isn't exactly the hub of the gaming industry. Your changes could be better in e.g. Germany.
I'm glad though that after my teaching you are still excited about C++. ;)
-- Geert-Jan
I'm aware of those issues, experienced them first hand :)
ReplyDeleteCurrently I'm looking for new opportunities as general programmer, just to learn more about programming and to get a better feel for the languages. And just general experience on how to handle problems.
And as for C++, I just love the language. Soo much you can do in it, and soo much you can do wrong as well ;)
Arne,
ReplyDeleteFeel free to have a look at http://jobs.ordina.be/(where I currently work) to see if anything interests you. If you send me your CV I will forward it with a recommendation.
Email: geertjanvdb (at) gmail |dot| com