Becuase,
I need to ask....
What GCSE courses should I take to be a programmer, or a developer?
ARE THERE ANY GAME DEVELOPERS/PROGRAMMERS HERE!?
Mon, 12/31/2012 - 14:15
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 14:34
#2
I am unfamiliar with GCSE,
I am unfamiliar with GCSE, but the courses you would take for a computer science degree are mostly computer science courses, with a side emphasis in math and logic (and other technical things, there is more focus on sciences than there is on the humanities). It would also help to pick up some basic programming skills if you don't have them; there are a handful of sites that provide good instruction about programming, although you generally need to pick a programming language first.
This isn't really in the right forum section as it isn't related to Spiral Knights.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 15:32
#3
There aren't any programmers
There aren't any programmers that read video game threads, silly.
Look into FIRST robotics, see if you've got a team nearby you can join. It's a blast, but I personally do 3D work. Otherwise just look through your course booklet (or whatever you have) for Computer science/object oriented programming/javascript/etc plus math and stuff. A plus computer science (google it) is very good.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 15:33
#4
Do you know anything about programming, or just got the idea to create videogames out of the blue?
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 15:36
#5
Nothing wrong with a split
Nothing wrong with a split second decision that changes your life forever and prevents you from meeting women or making any sizable quantity of money.
*Cries*
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 16:12
#6
For people wanting to make
For people wanting to make games, I will say that the vast majority don't have what it takes. Game development isn't about having A BUNCH OF AWESOME IDEAS FOR THE BEST GAME. And most people don't really -get- programming in the first place.
And I know the whole "not meeting women" thing is a joke, but I'm a software developer at a company and about half the people I interact with on a daily basis are women (the other half, strangely enough, are men). Most of these people are engaged or married, too, so I'm pretty strongly opposed to the stereotypes about software devs and not having social lives.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 16:24
#7
But, why do I have no social
But, why do I have no social life?
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 16:30
#8
Ever heard of the Annoying Orange?
/hinthint
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 16:39
#9
How dare you compare me to
How dare you compare me to that abomination of my favorite color.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 16:50
#10
Easily. :P
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 16:52
#11
So I've taken a peek at the
So I've taken a peek at the GSCE, and it looks to me like the only course that would be relative to progamming would be Computing, unless I'm mistaken.
In all honesty, however, if you want to get into that, you're going to have to learn some coding languages. To my knowledge, some of the big ones are C++ and Java. There are numerous others out there, like Actionscript, which is Adobe Flash's coding language. I'd recommend picking one and start looking for tutorials on it and making some small programs and such. It's not an easy thing to pick up that's for sure, and you're likely going to need to do some studying over it outside of coursework.
Also, this is would belong in Gremlin Chatter, as it does not deal with SK.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 17:27
#12
If you learn Java, you can
If you learn Java, you can pick up C++ pretty easialy, and vice versa. You'll want to learn one of those plus Matlab.
"Learning" how to write valid code isn't actualy that hard. Being good at it is a whole nother problem.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 17:33
#13
I would always recommend C#
I would always recommend C# over C++ for a beginner.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 17:36
#14
Outside of the mandatory
Outside of the mandatory stuff like maths and science, I would be incredibly surprised if your GCSEs had any lasting impact on your pursuit of a career in development, beyond the influence they have over your A-Levels. Different local education authorities allow students to make different choices so I dunno how useful any advice could be in this thread; generally speaking though, go for anything to do with computers (or electronics, if that's a DT spec available to you; it may not seem directly applicable but it does teach a certain approach to problem-solving that'd be useful).
The crushing thing about GCSEs is that their importance as a certificate more or less completely evaporates the second you've secured an A-Level place, so focus on that.
(Caveat: I am not a programmer or a developer; I'm an illustrator, but I've worked extensively with them.)
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 17:50
#15
I am currently learning python. To help me learn others.
Like C++, actionscript and Java.
I always had a aspiration in the gaming buisness, and I'm soon getting GSCE choices.
I kinda looked at Insomniac game's Gameplay Programmer stuff. So with smaller companies, I know.
I'm in development of a simple app like game.
Thanks.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 20:32
#16
@Orangeo
What are you talking about, I do nothing but scour these forums.
Tue, 01/01/2013 - 21:35
#17
Knowlege from the Internets!
So you want to get into software dev huh? Well I don't know about this test you've referred to, but I can point you to some free material to get you started. I'm going to provide you with material for beggining to advanced programming so don't get overwhelmed but stuff that's over your head. Browse through the material until you find something at your level and work you way up from there, and if you don't like my first source of materials move on to another.
Here check this out. Here are some labs for CS1 courtesy of RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology)
http://www.cs.rit.edu/~cs1/Labs/
If you want more advanced coursework see ~cs2,3, and 4 (without the /Labs) and click on schedule, then pick labs from the list.
From what I can tell this is the work for the old Java sequence. RIT also has a newer CS sequence that begins with Python, but I'm unsure where to find those course sites. If you're interested I might be able to find someone who does.
If you're working with java javadocs are your friends. They're a great reference and if you know what you're looking for you can learn a lot from them.
I've also heard that MIT is posting full lectures for free - there should be some great stuff there, as you can litterally step through class by class.
If you're not a fan of those excersizes Hobart and William smith colleges provides the following material. The main sequence here is 124, 225, 327, but you may find yourself interested in the other courses once you've tackled the basics. The first number of each course is the year level the course is generally taken in, so keep that in mind. You should be able to find the full course site for the course and semester linked in each course handout.
http://math.hws.edu/eck/coursesTaught.html
Finally if you find yourself competent with general development consider the following course websites.
Software Engineering General Sequence
http://www.se.rit.edu/~se361/
Increment the course number for progressive.courses
Software Testing - because automated testing can be really useful - idr the course number, but it shouldn't be difficult to look up
Sat, 01/05/2013 - 13:24
#18
@Zeddy
It was a joke, refferencing how game designers supposedly never read suggestions.
Also, FIRST robotics kickoff. You fools missed the boat. We need to make a robot that climbs and shoots frissbies.
....