Entering The Game Industry

I want to learn both programming and game design/art.

So basically what do I need to enter the gaming industry?

What programs do I have to learn to program game? C#? C++? Java?

How easy/hard are these languages to learn?

How easy/hard is Unity to learn?

How easy/hard is 3D modeling, and designing?

Any other information is welcome, let me know!

 

The only way to find out if you'll find something hard or not is to try it out, and see if you enjoy it.

Try and find some tutorials / classes on the internet. This isn't a help section for career choices.

 

OK that's fair. But tell me what is needed? C#? C++? whats the diff??

 

Y'know, Sythe does have it's own Programming section (albiet, alot smaller than it used to be due to the shifting userbase)

http://www.sythe.org/programming/

I'll request this to get moved.

 

Connections, creativity, and some luck is how you get into the gaming industry. As well as a lot of know how. Unity is more of a platform and it is very popular among indies because of the power and the ease of use. Languages are fairly easy to learn as it is mostly getting the basics of a syntax down.

 

Moved!

 

Every company does things in different ways... you can really just pick any language and learn it if you don't have a specific company, then it'll be easy to adapt to other languages. If there's a company you want to work for, just research them and find out what languages they do their work in.

 

I was part of the games industry for a while and still like to make my own stuff in my free time. I'll answer your questions.

I'd like to stress that the games industry is highly competitive. You have to be good at what you do. You can't expect to sit down and learn a couple things to an okay-ish extent then apply for jobs. It doesn't work like that. Some people go through years of education specifically for game development and are still turned down at job interviews.

Game development is largely portfolio based. Regardless you should always pursue an education in the field you're interested in, but in game dev it's not necessary if you're good at it. If you go to an employer with an impressive portfolio, you won't have a problem getting hired. The difficulty is getting that portfolio together.

The games industry is also EXTREMELY saturated right now. Everyone wants to do game development, from people studying business management to people studying computer science. It's a big industry and is expanding, but the harsh reality is that it's hard to get into and once you're in, you have to work to stay in. Some game jobs are based on contracts so once a game is finished you could be out of a job. The industry right now is made up almost entirely of the best of the best.

Not to discourage you. I wish you all the best. I wanted to just give you the reality of things before you think it'll be an easy ride in.

So basically what do I need to enter the gaming industry?
An education will give you that kick-start - some employers, especially the big companies like EA and Ubi, hire right out of universities and colleges, at sometimes even require you to have some sort of formal education related to what you're applying for within their company. If you want to start your own firm, you need a shitload of funding, a good, marketable idea, a team, and a near-perfect knowledge of most fields related to game dev. The latter is not recommended for beginners.

What programs do I have to learn to program game? C#? C++? Java?
First off, programs are what you make in programming languages. You're not learning programs, you're learning a language to make a program (your program being a game). The games industry is all over the place, most games being in C++, some being in C#, some in Java, and some in Python. Most of the time the core of the game will be made in a heavy language, then new features and patches will be written in a secondary, often interpreted language. Games like WoW use C++ as a core then LUA for scripting, and games like Runescape find their foundations in Java but have their own custom-made scripting language.

How easy/hard are these languages to learn?
As long as you're not dealing with low-level ASM languages (e.g. ASM, MASM, bytecode, etc.) your first language will often times be the hardest one to learn. Programming is all logic. If you know the logic, learning a new language is as easy as learning the new syntax. For instance, if you gave me a day or even half a day, I could learn a new programming language well enough to use to make good software. The more languages you know the easier it gets to learn new ones.

How easy/hard is Unity to learn?
It has a bit of a learning curve, but is really easy to use once you get the hang of it. Think of it as Photoshop, but instead of manipulating images, you're manipulating games. You should learn to code first if you're interested in Unity, however, as the scripting plays a big part.

How easy/hard is 3D modeling, and designing?
I haven't done too much myself, but I've heard it's easier to teach someone to model than it is to teach someone to draw. Modelling is a good way for people who aren't too artistically-inclined to make good looking assets for their games.