What High School Credits Is The Best Fit To Go To Game Programming School?

I am thinking of going to game programming school but I do not know which High School credits fits to game programming the most.

Do I need to know Gr. 12 Calculus and Vectors math, Gr. 12 Advanced Functions math and Gr. 12 Physics science?
Do I do not need to know Gr. 12 Math for Data Management?

 

Some basic vector math will help you so calc and vectors and the physics can help too.

Other than that just spend some time learning on your own stuff about your game engine of choice and learning c#.

I think most schools do have kinda a introductory programming course now too. I'd so they will most likely teach you Java which C# is very similar too.

 

I didn't take math or science in any form my last year of high school. Then I went to art school and got a BFA in furniture making.

I'm not saying you should do that (I don't think anyone should do that). Just that you'll be better off taking courses on things you're interested in. And that programming in general doesn't have a barrier of entry where you *must* know X and Y and Z before proceeding.

 

Get as much higher-level math as you can, as early as you can handle it. (Don't make yourself crazy, though.). Even if you don't end up using all of it after school, lack of math will hold you back in certain classes. Strong math skills will also help you breeze through other subjects like physics and statistics. And if you end up doing highly technical programming, like low-level graphics, or statistical analysis for AI, you will end up using it.

 

You'll want to do as much math as you can, at as high a level as you can handle. However, make sure you are aware of the opportunity cost. Every class you take is another class you can't take. There are a limited number of hours in the day. Big companies will hire uber specialists. But small companies tend to want more rounded individuals. And as an indie mixing in some art and literature would be more useful then advanced math any day of the week.

Another way to approach this is to look to your university programme. What are the entry requirements there? Go one step further and look at job ads. Will your choosen university programme lead you there? Be aware that the job market for grads will be different by the time you finish school.

 

My high school used my class and the one after it as a testing bed for a new math program. After the class after me graduated they dropped the course...

So I'm pretty horrible at math. I mean, I use Khan Academy to brush up my skills when the wife is away and my head is too foggy to code. I still struggle on some of the early high school and middle school math. haha.

I think the MOST important thing is knowing of things. You don't need to have stuff memorized or be great at it. Just know what vectors are, the basics of geometry (basics...) and trigonometry. When I was programming games in PyGame with Python I had to know a lot of math. The cool spiral effect for my missile had to be done entirely with math. However with Unity you can use simple vector addition with a start and end location, and animate the spiral.

There are times when I facepalm because something complicated I did had a much simpler mathematic solution, but really it hasn't happened that often to me. So the ratio of time spent in school (I have 0 college btw) vs the ratio of time spent fixing a mistake I made because I didn't go to school would be incredibly high. So, my advice is actually to just save your money and learn on your own. Set a learning schedule for yourself where you set aside study time on relevant subjects, and watch some open education lectures, of which there are plenty.

Now, if you really are going to school and aren't to be persuaded otherwise, I would be decent with math. Not that you'll need it all for game dev, but the exercises you'll get will likely require it.

One last thing to point out. There's a huge different between designing your systems (Like writing all your own shaders, voxel games, procedural designs, new game engines, etc) then you're going to need a crap ton of math skills, ya. You'll meet a lot of people though that will tell you to not do those things though. I've been programming for about 4 years, doing game development for about 2 of those, and my goal is to do some of those things eventually. However, in the mean time I'm creating fun, challenging games that are rewarding that I can play right now, and learning the needed skills for my long term goals as I go. With this method I haven't had the huge stress of school, job, wife, projects and deciding whether or not I want to sleep that day or not.

 

im horrible at pretty much anything related to school. hated school. did actually well in my exams surprisingly, despite having dyslexia that was never found out until i was about 25. im now 30. plus my school did not care to address much of my difficulties. just detentions, lines and kind of abuse of teachers.
not putting on a sob story here, just some background

i think now, with what you can grasp at in education, going to programming school or to very specific things have become quite blurred, because you can view, watch and rewatch things online.
JTSMITH before said about khan academy. that is a great resource and its definitely worth it

but in terms of things like game making. really if you are doing just cold hard learning with no practical methods of implementing it, i find that redundant. not to say its pointless, not at all. but if you wanted to use it for game making, then do it along with it. have challenges, find things that teach you more about what you want to know on the platform you want to apply it to.
classes are good, because then you have questions for people and you also meet others. but i always think about what kind of classes. because i was going to go on something to update skills in code [can't remember what it was now] but didn't in the end because it was not having a direct affect on what i wanted to use it for.

again, not saying you should not do it. but personally i have these things in my busy mind.

 

I don't entirely disagree with the anti formal education sentiments here. There are plenty of things you can learn these days withou the need for school.

That said many industries consider degrees as proof of aptitude for starting positions. My day job is in chemical engineering. If a CV doesn't have an engineering degree listed it doesn't get past initial screening, period.

From what I gather the software industry is no where near as conservative. But the general principle still applies. A degree is a very easy initial check to prove skills. Without a degree you have to work harder to convince people to open your portfolio.

On the other hand, you could spend the time building games instead. It's a much riskier proposition, but you won't need employment if you have money flowing in from successful projects.

My suggestion woul be a middle route. Build games while you are studying.

 

Take drama, drama is fun.

 

i think also. just to add. that if you wanted to take your skills to a company, then the paper showing your skills is good. unless you really make things by yourself and let your creations be your resume.

 

Blizzard was just hiring recently and I qualified for several of the positions. I just didn't want to move out there so I didn't bother applying. And I'm not saying I would have been hired. Just that I met the preferred qualifications. And I have no college. And once your IN... you're in. Getting into a company is all it takes. After that college hardly matters anymore. Your references and impact at your job is basically all an employer is going to care about at that point.

And to be clear, I'm not against school. If you want to be a chemist or a teacher or a firefighter ... go to school. Please. But for games? Baaaahh. The entry level is so low you're likely going to waste your money. There's an insane number of free resources online that will get you where you need to go. Learn programming and become incredible at programming. Everything else will fall in behind. If your game is structurally sound you can put all the fancy stuff on top that you want. But the opposite is not true. Going to school is definitely going to be like defibrillators though. It's going to hurt, but you'll be wide awake after the fact... ready to rock and roll. And then you'll get into the industry and cry out, "It's nothing like schoooool!". Hahaha.

 

This. While there is plenty to be said for and against school, taking classes you enjoy will be far more beneficial then taking classes based on future revenue potential. Scenario: You hate math, then study math for the paycheck, then find yourself in a job doing heavy math, you now hate your job, you quit. You should put in some consideration for the final pay check, but it also has to be something you can do every day.

If Blizzard accepts you without a degree then I'll agree that degrees are pretty useless in the game industry.

 

Don't go to "game programming school". Take normal CS courses instead.

--Eric

 

Quick, Eric, close the thread! You've spoken the almighty truth!! Haha.