very OT sorry

Hello All,

Sorry for the off topic but I'm at a loss. My neighbor across the street's
boy want's to get into 3D game design (animation not coding). Does anyone
know of a NG that he could hook into that might be of some help.

His mother and he are checking out different schools and getting conflicting
opinions about what courses he should be taking.
They came to me because I'm the "3D computer guy".
I only ask because I know a lot of you are computer gee... I mean very
knowledgeable about computers and thought maybe there are some former gamers
in the audience.

Any thoughts or advice would be most appreciated.

Much thanks,
Muggs

 

Hi Muggs,

My son is using the program Gamemaker. He makes very nice 2D and 3D games
with this program. It's easy to start with and making your own games. When
you're more advanced you can also do some programming in it.
The program is free to download (http://www.gamemaker.nl) and there are also
sample programs on the website.

The forum of this program is also very active (http://forums.gamemaker.nl/).

\/\/im

"Muggs":..

 

I would also recommend contacting games manufacturers for information. We
used to have Acclaim games here on Long Island, and although they have since
went under, they used to hire teens part time to be game testers. This
allowed kids to get their foot in the door and also allowed to company to
sort out the "cream of the crop" talent to go after and hone for the future.
There may be other gaming companies in your area to investigate that might
do that type of thing. It couldn't hurt to give that a try, at the very
least they should be able to give you direction.

Scott

 

Muggs wrote

What is his age? Has he been around computers a lot in his lifetime?

Learning software like 3d studio max and Maya would be a good start. Graphic
design is another field that he should know. There are schools that offer
courses specifically in 3d game design.

quick google search came up with this link
http://www.champlain.edu/majors/egame/highlights.php

 

Your kid isn't the only one. I think a lot of young people these days
think they can do this for a living.

 

I remember reading some years ago that a school in Vancouver, BC, was
starting what was supposedly the first program in game design, so I did a
Google search on "game design vancouver" and pulled up their site:

http://www.vanarts.com/

That same search also found this site:

http://www.gamingschools.com/

They're not news groups, but he or his folks might find them of interest.
There might be some links to news groups on their sites, though I didn't
spot any right off the bat.


Jerry Steiger
Tripod Data Systems
"take the garbage out, dear"

 

Hey, thanks guys!

I knew that someone(s) here would know of something. VERY helpful stuff,
I'll pass it along.
I'm sure they will be grateful as I am to you all.

Muggs

 

Some of these groups may be helpful, There are games groups in other
hierarchies besides comp, don't be afraid to use your news readers
newsgroup search tool.

comp.ai.games
comp.games.development.art
comp.games.development.audio
comp.games.development.design
comp.games.development.industry
comp.games.development.programming.algorithms
comp.games.development.programming.misc
comp.games.misc
comp.games.video
comp.os.os2.games
comp.sources.games
comp.sources.games.bugs
comp.sys.acorn.games
comp.sys.amiga.games
comp.sys.ibm.games.action
comp.sys.ibm.games.adventure
comp.sys.ibm.games.flight-sim
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.announce
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flightsim
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.marketplace
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.misc
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.naval
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.space-sim
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.sport
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.sports
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategy
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.games
comp.sys.mac.games
comp.sys.mac.games.action
comp.sys.mac.games.adventure
comp.sys.mac.games.announce
comp.sys.mac.games.flight-sim
comp.sys.mac.games.marketplace
comp.sys.mac.games.misc
comp.sys.mac.games.strategic
comp.sys.mac.programmer.games

 

Well of course for real studio work he will need to know Max, Maya etc.and
there are student editions of those available and they have their own forums
I think.
Websites like this one might be a help http://www.cgsociety.org/
Probably there are many out there that have just the sort of info your
neighbour needs about gaming in particular if they go searching.
There is quite a bit to creating games - concept art,story, sound etc so
there is potential to do related stuff even if he misses out on the glamour
job of animator.Maybe he should take an overview of the industry activity
before he sets his sights on one particular job.
There is a lot of competition.CG stuff seems to attract youth like being an
astronaut once did.

On a side note- if he would like to experiment with animation a bit as a
hobby - because it might be a passing phase (no insult intended) -there is
Blender -free open source. http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Home.2.0.html
You can see a screen shot on the home page from a 10 min movie short called
Elephants Dream finished recently and which should be available to download
from the net in a few weeks.About beginning of June a new release of Blender
should be out incorporating a lot of goodies that emerged from the studio
during that production.
Most Blender users at the forum http://blenderartists.org/forum/ are 15-25
but of all nationalities.
Blender has a game engine although it is a bit restricted and I don't think
I would recommend it as a stepping stone.
HTH

 

If he wants to get into the art part of the game, Sheridan College in
(Oakville, Ontario,) Canada might be a good start. Thier animation
programme is highly renowned and industry seems to scoop most of the
grads up.

Although I would argue that coding is (or at least can be) another form
of artful expression, animation is certainly 'art' as everyone knows
it. So, concentrate on an art school that will give a foundation in how
to draw what.

This is recommended because, barring luck, opportunity, and
soft-skills, (educational) credentials are the universal discriminators
in the job market.

 

Hello All,

In my opinion he should definitely start learning OpenGL. It is very easy
and there are lots of online tutorials, such as http://nehe.gamedev.net/. I
learned OpenGL from such sources of information, and pretty soon I was able
to write simple games, screensavers e.t.c. It was damn fun.

-h-