Some questions from a Computer Science rookie student...

[Bartman]

Hello guys ,

I've been studying IT for 2 months now and I would like to share with you my thoughts about something.

First of all, I wanted to study in this area because of my love on technology , computers , videogames ,etc. so it came naturally to study computer science . My dream is to be something on the videogame industry.

So far , the 2 months that I study in this area Im studying Introduction to CS , GAME fundamentals and Introduction to Programming (C#).

The first two are pretty easy and interesting subjects , the 3rd is also interested but I think that it's not my thing to code. I find it very difficult to understand .

I have three questions for you guys :

1. Because Im not that good with C# , can I continue to C++ in the next semester ? As is a subject that I need to learn if I want to continue my studies in Gaming Development.

2. If programming isn't my thing what else can I do in order to study what I love ?

3.To be successful in the Computer Science area , you need to know at least one programming language?

 

Thanks for your time ,

Georgios Tsoukatos

Edited September 5, 2012 by Bartman

[ivanv]

Don't give up, feeling is outstanding when U manage to nail down into machine some i.e. real-time physics engine that does above-average things.

 

C# and C++ for beginning they teach there?

In my opinion, after intro fight with procedural programming it would be much easier to understand object oriented concept that honestly rocked on computer industry.

 

Why don't they teach firstly some simpler languages like Pascal and QBasic? After all, as far as I remember from computer theory, Pascal is the language that was invented mainly for learning purposes. QBasic is pretty simple too. Both of them use "procedural programming" arrangement of code, which is much simpler than dealing with modern classes, inheritance, objects, interfaces and other cool mumbo-jumbo implementation. Any of those two would be a good start, i'm not aware of anything simpler that exist in presence. I like Pascal more than QBasic, it has stronger compile time variable type checking that helps in detecting errors. Borland Turbo Pascal and MS QBasic can be easily found on Internet, only a few megs of download, both DOS applications, sorry. Certainly there are short "tutorials" available for download.

 

Although it has its fans, C++ is the pain in the ass for me at code-compile-run developing process, but it provides higher level language features while it is pretty fast, near to machine code, which is sometimes a crucial thing for game development. Someone should finally make a compiler for Java or C# that would be as fast as C++ compiled code. C++ is experiment of history if I'm asked. Java and C# are more mature, they are widely accepted stuff now and I'm sure that they would rock in game industry if they would achieve only 70% of C++ speed.

[Bartman]

Dear ivanv , they're teaching us C# in the Introduction to Programming course and what the professor does is that he is lecturing about the new things that we have to learn , he is telling us what to study from the textbook and then he is giving us exercises to do for the next time. I did all exercises with a 80% overall success .

I have manage to understand the language's basic concepts and how Microsoft Visual c# works. Now , that I have a big assignment to do with a lot of tasks with it I feel confused and dont know from where to start.

 

I think that the fact that I started C# without knowing any other programming language was rough for me and also how the professor approaches the class is not good enough.

I was looking at this video http://www.youtube.c...h?v=KnKFjNpA9J8 and I realize how important role does the professor plays in classes like Programming.

Edited September 5, 2012 by Bartman

[Greg H.]

I have manage to understand the language's basic concepts and how Microsoft Visual c# works. Now , that I have a big assignment to do with a lot of tasks with it I feel confused and dont know from where to start.

 

I'll give you the same advice one of my comp-sci professors gave me - when you have a huge project to write, start small and work your way up. Think about what objects you might need and create those classes - if you forget one, it's not really a problem, because you can always go back and write it later.

 

Keep your methods as small as possible, so they are easy to debug. If you find yourself with a method that's more than about 200 lines long, ask yourself if it really needs to be that large.

 

Break what needs to be done into manageable chunks and focus on writing those, then bring them together at the end.

 

Write reusable code - if you find yourself putting the same piece of code into a lot of different methods, that's a good candidate for it's own public method that can be called from multiple places.

 

Learn to love your debugger.

 

Finally, just start writing the code. You'll make mistakes, your program will explode into glorious error messages and you will occasionally bang your head on your desk to induce creative thinking, but the best way I have found to learn to write code is to just write it, break a few things, and then find out why it's broken.

[Pantaz]

... Introduction to Programming (C#) ...

Is the class, "Introduction to Programming", or "Introduction to Programming C#"? If you have no previous coding experience, then you should be learning about basic principals of programming and machine architecture.

[Bartman]

Is the class, "Introduction to Programming", or "Introduction to Programming C#"? If you have no previous coding experience, then you should be learning about basic principals of programming and machine architecture.

 

The course is "Introduction to Programming". I have no previous experience whatsoever in programming . I only did "Logo" when I was ten but that doesnt count

[khaled]

Remember, it doesn't matter if you program with C++ or Java .. if you learn one high level Programming language well, you will realize that all high-level programming languages seem similar

[YemSalat]

If you decided to study CS because you were inspired by video games - I think you've chosen the wrong field.

Programmers in the video game industry don't do much (or even anything) that is relevant to the game except for the code.

 

Perhaps you should have chosen a game design course? That's where you get to create a game, relying on the existing code. But it is more centered around the aspects of the game such as - storyline, AI, game mechanics, game world, etc.

[khaled]

I also add .. that in game development, there're several things important to learn:

 

- Object Oriented Theory

 

- Trigger-Event Model

 

- User Experience Design

 

- Artificial Intelligence: Intelligent Search

 

- Knowledge over end-user systems & devices (Mac, Linux, Windows, iOS, Android .. Desktop, PC, Laptop, Tablet, Smart Phone, Mobile)

 

.. good luck

[Juliana Pasteur]

If you decided to study CS because you were inspired by video games - I think you've chosen the wrong field.

Programmers in the video game industry don't do much (or even anything) that is relevant to the game except for the code.

I don't think it's that horrible for a choice; programmers in the video game industry face a lot of challenges and it is a valid field if not one of the best for a programmer to sharpen his/her knowledge and experience.

[YemSalat]

I don't think it's that horrible for a choice; programmers in the video game industry face a lot of challenges and it is a valid field if not one of the best for a programmer to sharpen his/her knowledge and experience.

Yes, but it is much more about programming rather then games.

[Juliana Pasteur]

Yes, but it is much more about programming rather then games.

Indeed, if you love programming and all you need to know is that the end product will be a video game then it's a good choice; however it's not a good one if you want to be really involved in design choices or anything like that.

[khaled]

Yes, but it is much more about programming rather then games.

 

That's a misconcept, they code more, but if it's just programming then the result won't be a game

 

Game development is the highest level of user experience (check User Experience Design)

[YemSalat]

That's a misconcept, they code more, but if it's just programming then the result won't be a game

 

Game development is the highest level of user experience (check User Experience Design)

Programming itself has nothing to do with usability. It does not involve the user in any way.

 

I am sorry if you do not realize the difference between game programming and game design.

Edited September 29, 2012 by YemSalat