hello, my name is kyle and I want to be a video game programmer when I am older. I have an essay in my English class and I have to do an interview with someone who is a game programmer. the only problem is I don't know any game programmers. could people who are game programmers answer the questions below for me?

Name:

how much does a person starting off in video game programming make?

how did you get started?

how many hours per week do you work?

what is the your favorite thing about your job?

what is the hardest part of your job?

how much schooling do you need to become a game programmer?

how can I prepare my self to be a game programmer?

what programming languages should I learn before going to college?

what do you program in the games you make?

are you self employed or work for a company?

if you work for a company what company do you work for?

what platform do you program games for?

do you work at home or at an office?

if you work at home what are some advantages and disadvantages of working at home?

if you work at an office what are some advantages and disadvantages of working at an office?

what is your most memorable moment in your work so far?

I think there should be some effort made to not over generalize. I'll talk about some less popular kinds of video game programmers.

At one end of the scale, game programmers can be hobbyists who do their thing in their free time, release their work as freeware, and not make any profit. People might do this as a way to practice their skills, to produce a portfolio of work, and also out of community spirit.

Prior to the golden age of video games, before the big software houses were formed, this was a very common method of development for commercial games. Individuals might contact a publisher with a game they had privately made, and if the publisher was impressed, they would be contracted to refine it, and produce a couple more games. But this doesn't tend to happen nowadays.

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I ain't pushing no moon buttons.

Name: Sean Chapel

how much does a person starting off in video game programming make?
If varies wildly, my first job right out of University was 45k. I would say anywhere from 40k-60k is pretty average for a starting salary with no experience.

how did you get started?
I started programming when I was around ~14 in my spare time and by the end of high school I had made a few games.

how many hours per week do you work?
Typically only 40 hours but when crunch hits I can do anywhere from 60-80. Usually I will only have to crunch for 2-4 weeks a year.

what is the your favorite thing about your job?
Having creative freedom to help with the design of the game and implement it how I want to.

what is the hardest part of your job?
Dealing with clients. Most of the clients I've worked with have unrealistic expectations and constantly change their mind without thinking of the impact it will have on the programmers.

how much schooling do you need to become a game programmer?
I know a lot of people without a degree in the games industry but it's a safer bet to get one. A four year degree is more than enough, I wouldn't waste your time getting a masters.

how can I prepare my self to be a game programmer?
Practice. If you don't program and learn to create things for yourself your not going to be very good at it later on. Learning to be independent and knowing where to find your answers helps a lot. Get use to always being in a learning mood, the computer science field requires you to constantly learn.

what programming languages should I learn before going to college?
Look at the course you want/have to take and see what programming language they use. My university started off with Dr Scheme and then to Java, C and C++. Really knowing any programming language will help you understand the concepts which transfer over to most languages.

what do you program in the games you make?
I've done pretty much everything. I've done fully engines, AI, handwriting recognition, networking, databases, menus etc.

are you self employed or work for a company?
I've worked for two game companies so far.

if you work for a company what company do you work for?
Right now it's a small startup making iPhone, Android and Blackberry games.

what platform do you program games for?
At work I do mobile devices at home it's for the PC (linux,mac,windows). My last job I did mostly Nintendo DS games.

do you work at home or at an office?
At an office.

if you work at home what are some advantages and disadvantages of working at home?
I don't work at home but I have to say for my personal projects working at home I have more distractions. If I had to work as a team communication would be annoying as I can't just walk over to someones desk.

if you work at an office what are some advantages and disadvantages of working at an office?
Being able to talk to people and ask questions at the task at hand is the biggest reason I like working at an office. Being at an office helps reinforce the idea that your there to work versus at home where you are more inclined to get off task.

what is your most memorable moment in your work so far?
That's a tough one. I have to say after a big project that you have been working on for awhile finally gets finished are the best moments I have.

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My Development Blog | My Website | My Current 3d Engine

i was just generalizing game programmer so i can get an interview with different ones so i can find out more about them. so far i think i want to program ai but i dont know any programming languages except for web building languages. i am reading c++ for beginners and next semester i am taking a java programming class.

post above is mine i forgot to sign in when i posted it.
thank you Seoushi for the interview.