Hey all-
I'm trying to get my feet wet in a few different areas of game development to see which area I like best, or if I enjoy the career at all. Being a visual and creative person, I'm really trying to figure out where I'm headed.
The idea of 3d modeling and animating is quite appealing to me. But it seems like it's all about specialization...so I don't want to waste time trying to learn maya if I have a future in level design.
Ultimately, I know it'll be up to me to try each thing out and make a decision based on which I like the best/am good at. But I am just posting to get other's opinions. What do you guys think? What are some pros and cons of these various job titles, and does anyone have any personal experiences they'd like to share?
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Pros and Cons of Animator vs. Level Designer vs. Programmer
Quote: Original post by BGrizzMayne
I don't want to waste time trying to learn maya if I have a future in level design.
It would not be a waste of your oh so precious time, BGrizz.
Read FAQ 51 (scroll up and click "View Forum FAQ," above).
Learning Maya can be useful for many roles.
Level designers use it at some companies to do level layouts.
Programmers use it at some companies to make exporters.
Technical artists extend it with specialised tools.
...but even if you don't end up using it, it's good to have some basic knowledge of what other people on a game team do.
I'd reccommend learning a bit of modelling, a bit of programming, etc just to familiarise yourself with different roles.
It takes a different kind of brain for some roles though, so see which ones you enjoy, or seem to gel with the most.
Level designers use it at some companies to do level layouts.
Programmers use it at some companies to make exporters.
Technical artists extend it with specialised tools.
...but even if you don't end up using it, it's good to have some basic knowledge of what other people on a game team do.
I'd reccommend learning a bit of modelling, a bit of programming, etc just to familiarise yourself with different roles.
It takes a different kind of brain for some roles though, so see which ones you enjoy, or seem to gel with the most.
Author
This is unrelated but I don't really want to create another topic when this is open;
What do you guys think about learning japanese? I'm thinking that taking up japanese (while VERY hard) might set me apart from other applicants when I look for a job. Since games are so big in Japan, it seems like it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing to say you can do. Trouble is, it's very hard, so if it wouldn't be that useful then maybe it's not worth it.
What do you guys think about learning japanese? I'm thinking that taking up japanese (while VERY hard) might set me apart from other applicants when I look for a job. Since games are so big in Japan, it seems like it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing to say you can do. Trouble is, it's very hard, so if it wouldn't be that useful then maybe it's not worth it.
Quote: Original post by BGrizzMayne
1. What do you guys think about learning japanese?
2. Trouble is, it's very hard, so if it wouldn't be that useful then maybe it's not worth it.
1. Nohongo ga suki desu yo.
2. Anything difficult is not worth doing, so sayeth Homer Simpson. Read all of these:
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson48.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson26.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/route66.htm
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson51.htm
Well IMHO if you are not passionate about Japanese or you are not forced to learn it (you are thrown out in Japan and no one speaks English near you), you won't learn it.
So the question of "is it worth it" is pretty much useless. If you are forced/passionate you'll learn it, otherwise you won't. And the question of "is it worth it" shows that the "otherwise" case applies to you.
But maybe I'm wrong. For me, learning a totally alien language (Finnish in my case) is very hard (not the language itself, but to sit and learn those alien words) even if I'm forced AND passionate about it.
For standing out I would go for making a cool blog (well, maybe not, everybody's doing it), or volunteering or recruitment-events/expos/gatherings/whatever instead. Don't learn Japanese JUST to stand out.
EDIT: I'm actually thinking about learning Japanese, just for fun. But now Finnish/Swedish, maybe some German/Russian?
So the question of "is it worth it" is pretty much useless. If you are forced/passionate you'll learn it, otherwise you won't. And the question of "is it worth it" shows that the "otherwise" case applies to you.
But maybe I'm wrong. For me, learning a totally alien language (Finnish in my case) is very hard (not the language itself, but to sit and learn those alien words) even if I'm forced AND passionate about it.
For standing out I would go for making a cool blog (well, maybe not, everybody's doing it), or volunteering or recruitment-events/expos/gatherings/whatever instead. Don't learn Japanese JUST to stand out.
EDIT: I'm actually thinking about learning Japanese, just for fun. But now Finnish/Swedish, maybe some German/Russian?
Author
I'm not great with languages, either. I wouldn't say i'm 100% passionate about the idea, but it kind of appeals to me. I wouldn't mind going to Japan, so if I can feasibly take some classes with my other classes, I might try it. I thought about Rosetta Stone since I tend to learn best when I am doing so at my own pace/through my own discovery. However, I heard that the Rosetta Stone for Japanese isn't particularly great.
It'd definitely be a difficult endeavor, and I'm not sure what the benefits are. Just seems like it could be a great benefit to a potential company if you can speak Japanese and understand their game concepts. Then again, I'm not sure, it's not really something I would want to learn for fun. Just a thought I had to make myself more marketable in the future.
It'd definitely be a difficult endeavor, and I'm not sure what the benefits are. Just seems like it could be a great benefit to a potential company if you can speak Japanese and understand their game concepts. Then again, I'm not sure, it's not really something I would want to learn for fun. Just a thought I had to make myself more marketable in the future.
Quote: Original post by BGrizzMayne
I'm not sure what the benefits are. Just seems like it could be a great benefit to a potential company if you can speak Japanese and understand their game concepts. Then again, I'm not sure, it's not really something I would want to learn for fun. Just a thought I had to make myself more marketable in the future.
http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson48.htm
Quote: Original post by BGrizzMayne
I'm not great with languages, either. I wouldn't say i'm 100% passionate about the idea, but it kind of appeals to me. I wouldn't mind going to Japan, so if I can feasibly take some classes with my other classes, I might try it. I thought about Rosetta Stone since I tend to learn best when I am doing so at my own pace/through my own discovery. However, I heard that the Rosetta Stone for Japanese isn't particularly great.
It'd definitely be a difficult endeavor, and I'm not sure what the benefits are. Just seems like it could be a great benefit to a potential company if you can speak Japanese and understand their game concepts. Then again, I'm not sure, it's not really something I would want to learn for fun. Just a thought I had to make myself more marketable in the future.
What I tried to say: there are better and easier ways to stand out than the almost impossible. Learning a language to stand out for a non-lingo-genius is fail IMHO. Stand out with something else. Browse through all the FAQ:s.
BTW I heard that the Rosetta Stone thing is crap.
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