Certificates, Do i need them?

Community Off-Topic
1

Ok, so to give aal readers a bit of background on me, here goes

I have always been a gamer since i was 5, and when i entered high school(year 11) i wanted to break into making video games, i started with a small no name maze game that is quite primitive made in Game Maker, sadly i wouldnt pursue making games for a little while because schoolwork was piling up and i was trying so hard to get it done.

then when i left school(i got bad grades in Year 12 so i did a 13th year to get my grades up, but i left halfway through Year 13 because i had enough of the school as a whole) i saw to resume my desire to make games, but i learned very quickly that a few skills were needed to make a proper game, and on top of thaty my father said that maths was one of the many subjects i was required to get a’s in(Maths was my weakest subject, mostly comprised of F’s) i tried to ignore that fact and i tried to jump in, i got ID Tech 4 and was intimitaded and confused as to how to make a game in ID Tech 4, so i did some research and found out that ID Tech 4 was made with C++, so i tried to learn C++, which i was intimidated by.

after i learned all this i learned i could get qualifications that would help me code in C++, so i did my research, then something in my head said:

Start from the beginning(Certificate I in Information, Communication and Technology), and work your way up.

a few years later i thought to myself(i was living by myself by this time) ok i don’t have the budget to hire coders, and graphics people and music makers, so why not get all the qualifications i need to make a game(Graphics Design, Music and Sound Design and Programming) then i can make a game without hiring anybody.

now comes the question

besides Programming, Music and Graphics Design, what other Qualifications should i invest in that will definitely assist me in making a game(not just in making the game itself but the buisness end of game making too)

here is the certificates that i have researched that i think will help me

Certificate I Information, Digital Media and Technology
Certificate II Information, Digital Media and Technology
Certificate III Information, Digital Media and Technology
Certificate IV Programming
Certificate IV Digital and Interactive Games
Certificate IV Information Technology
Diploma Information Technology
Diploma Software Development
Diploma Digital and Interactive Games
Advanced Diploma Information Technology
Certificate II Music Industry
Certificate III Music Industry
Certificate IV Music Industry
Diploma Music Industry
Advanced Diploma Music Industry
Certificate I Visual Arts
Certificate II Visual Arts
Certificate III Visual Arts
Certificate IV Visual Arts
Diploma Visual Arts
Advanced Diploma Visual Arts
Certificate IV Design
Diploma Graphic Design
Advanced Diploma Graphic Design

Please keep in mind i have a ladder learning thought process which means i wont do a Advanced diploma untill i have a Diploma, and i wont do a diploma untill i have a Certificate 4, etc

2

Most diplomas and certificates are pretty worthless. The only one people will take seriously is a degree.

This is the games industry though, and it’s your portfolio, not your qualifications, that count.

3

Usually they will look at where your degree is from as well, there are a lot of places that don’t have modules up to modern standards.

4

This many times. The most time and money-effective way to make yourself employable in the industry (or go it alone), is to start making games. Download UnrealEngine, come up with some simple game ideas, build them. Doesn’t matter that they’re rubbish, just make them.

5

Like everyone’s already said, don’t bother with certificates. If you want a degree get one in computer science. Otherwise, just start making a game, look at tutorials, try to recruit team mates who will work on it with you, splitting ownership, instead of thinking you just hire them.

6

Certificates are needed,but the value for certificate depends.
Get a degree in computers science and start making your game.

7

But they contain knowledge which i lack

Sadly my Game Development portfolio doesnt exist, the certificates will help me learn what i need plus after i have learnt it all, it DOES dress up my resume and “not yet existent” portfolio

8

If i don’t bother with certificates i wont gain the knowledge i need to make video games, i mean yeah sure YouTube is a great source for educational videos, but sadly it’s hard for me to absorb mass amounts of information(i will be completly straght with you, i have Autism which means i see the world differently and i do things differently, and for me personally it also makes learning a struggle)

Computer Science??

I admit what i’m about to say is certainly not the best method, but if i were to use YouTube to learn what i needed i would make a habbit of grinding, or anotherwords, watch video, after video, after video, after video, and basically binge watch

I have no buds who can make music, or code video games or make texture or make 3d models or does 3d animations, all my buds mostly just PLAY the games, i only have one other bud who is studying to become a game maker, but he still uses Game Maker, a primitive software which i strongly want to get away from(my only game in game maker was a top down maze game)

9

which requires you to have the knowledge to make the games in the first place, and i have no knowledge of how to make games, hence why i am aiming for the certificates, to gain the knowledge i need to make games

i got 5 game ideas, a Commander Keen HD sort of thing(please don’t ask me to note the details) and 4 games revolving around each of the 4 horseman(same story, different perspective)

If Unreal Engine allows me to make a game WITHOUT having to type one letter of code then sure fine, i’ll give it a try, however most if not all games, require coders to actually WRITE the code needed to make sure the game runs at its best

That’s the problem right there, if i make a game that is rubbish, i scrap it and start again, and i do that untill i have a game that has been polished till it shines

10

With UnrealEngine and blueprints you’ve never had a better environment for learning from scratch through tutorials and trial and error. If you were to take any certificate, then make it the programming one, but the best thing to do is start making games.

Your first games are going to suck. But every one you make you will learn and get better.

The best advice I can give is, start simple, listen to advice, and don’t get frustrated, you’ll need patience. But after a few games things will start to click.

I’m a programmer at Ubisoft, and am also on the autism spectrum like you. Don’t let that be a hindrance, there’s a good chance you’ll pick up programming a lot easier than most people once you get into it. Try and make sure you have a distraction free environment to work in, use whatever methods work for you to remember things (I’m very visually oriented so I scribble down loads of flow charts).

11

Yes, Computer Science is the very best degree to get. It teaches you the foundations of programming languages, algorithms, data structures and most schools now have some specialty classes or focus available for Game Development. If you have a solid foundation in programming you can learn any area of game programming easier because you have a good base of knowledge and it’s much easier to learn new things because it’s building on what you already know. Plus, programmers get paid the most of any of the disciplines a the regular employee level ( excluding execs / founders ).

While stuff on YouTube can be good, it’s also random, not kept current with engine versions, and sometimes hard to follow or put it all together. There are paid tutorial sources that are more focused. Such as:

http://www.hourences.com/tutorials/

https://www.3dbuzz.com/

You should pick a disciple, the one you have both the most talent and interest for you. For me it was originally Level Design and then transformed into Programming over the years. Just work on that one skill and team with others. You don’t need to allready know the people. There are Game Jams, such as the current running one, Epic’s Mega Jam, but there are many more. Check out http://globalgamejam.org/, it’s in January. There are hosting locations for it literally everywhere. You just show up to a location and join a team.

Also. These forums have the Got Skills / Looking for Talent section. Look on it, there are many threads recruiting people for royalty, or even just to learn with other people self teaching / or new to Game Development.

12

Most games courses don’t actually teach you how to make games, and a lot of them crib their materials from free sources available on the Internet. ‘Not knowing how to make games’ is a pretty poor excuse, since all of the knowledge required to learn is available online.

Computer Science degrees are a good place to learn to program, though I would recommend a Software Engineering degree as they are more practical and less theoretical.

13

I have a very distinct interest in music because i aspire to become a Country Music artist, i got the voice talent, i just need to learn music making(yeas i have used YouTube to try to learn music, and even went so far as to download various music teaching apps, but learning music has SO MUCH i need to learn, way more than programming, as a artist would say “Music is like a language, it takes time and some dedication to master”)

Interesting

But that’s the thing, as much as i would LOVE to break into the world of music even more than i already am, i dont wanna make music the only thing i am well educated in, i wanna try to “Grow as a person” and increase my skillset.

Where i live in Australia, as far as i’m aware there are no game jams in Australia, and plus to afford a ticket to one of these jams(as well as accomodation and airfare, etc) thats money i cannot hope to save up quickly enough, to be put directly, i am unemployed(where i live job vacancies are rare, and when one does come up, it gets snagged before i get a chance to put my own resume in)

And knowing me i’m always aiming for AAA(i wanna be among the gods of gaming like ID Software) so i try to look for AAA people, but sadly AAA people cost money to hire and as i noted before i’m unemployed so, it’s difficult to find the funds i need to do so

14

Your Point??

Ok then, ask me a question relationg to game making, try something along the lines of C++ or Java

Ok.

15

That 3D Buzz site shows some promise, i may have to invest into watching a few video before i go to bed tonight

16

Hmm so your saying i CAN make games through Unreal Engine 4 WITHOUT having to type a single letter of C++ Code

Ahem, evidenced by my extremely primitive top down maze game made in Game Maker.

Would doing a full on HD 3d Commander Keen remake-ish game be simple?

Advice comes from those who have experience, and experience is the best teacher

Chances are if something isn’t working the way i want it to, i will more than likely get fustrated

Patience is something i don’t have, although i will admit i am trying to develop patience

Wait, did you say what i thought you said

Long story short, i personally wish i never had Autism, because everyone treats me differently, i prefer to be treated the same as every other tom, **** and harry on thye planet

How would my Autism be a hinderance, i think it’s my mentality that is the hinderance

I’m trying to remember a case where that sort of thing happened to me, but i cannot remember any cases where it did

Impossible, i got so many things around me that can distract me, my tape measure, my dvd player, my bed in the bedroom, i got more distractions than a cat has lives

Repetition helps me to remember things, one off things i do then forget

Flow Charts, the term i remember, the method of the term i have forgotten

17

My point is that there is no point paying for someone to give you links to online tutorials you could have easily found yourself.

If you want to learn how to make games, and get a career in the industry, you can do it all at home, in your spare time. This is how a very large number of people got into the industry themselves (myself included).

18

Yes.

Not ‘simple’ but with the side scroller template in UnrealEngine you’ve got a good base to start.

Correct, and the only way you will get experience is by starting.

I always get frustrated when I can’t get things to work…which is why I’ve spent half of my Sunday fighting with the APEX Destructible features in UE…but I got there in the end, and now I have ‘Destructible meshes’ stored away in the mental toolbox.

Gotta have patience, no way round it.

Yes.

Well, you are different, at least you know it when you’re young ( I didn’t). You’ll probably need to but a bit more effort into removing distractions, headphones and instrumental repetitive music work for me.

Use whatever method for learning suits you best. I have a very accurate visual memory so when I’m learning/designing something I draw it in shapes and arrows and program flow, then I have a nice perfect image of it in my head to recall. Can’t do it with text, or numbers though. I suck at maths, but luckily you don’t really need to understand the maths in gamedev, you just need to know what mathematical methods produce what results, the how and why is largely irrelevant.

19

This is great, I like Unreal Engine even more now.

Truth be told, being a dedicated ID Software fan before i discovered Unreal Engine, i was hoping to make a game in ID Tech 5(at the time ID Tech 6 was announced but there were no games released that used ID Tech 6), sadly Bethesda made it so only sub companies have access to ID Teach 5 and 6. After i learned that Unreal Engine 4 was free i checked it out, i was like “This engine looks pretty good” fast forward to now and its safe to say i have chosen my Game Engine to be Unreal Engine 4

Hmm time to start studying the original Commander Keen sprites and take a crack at making a 3D HD Model of Commander Keen(but learn Blender first, then i will learn what i need to to use Blender properly)

I understand that 100%

I got 2 games that have Ubisoft on it(unsure if they were published or developed by Ubisoft)
i got Racing Simulation 3 and Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2(Sadly Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2 doesnt work on my Windows 10 pc, thanks Microsoft for no backwards compatability all the way back to dos)

If i had my way i would remove my Autism from me, then i wouldnt have it, sadly Autism is genetic so my chances of removing it is not likely

Music distracts me for sure, seeing as i am an ok singer, when a tune(instrumental or not) i know the lyrics to comes on i sing to it

As noted repetition helps me learn best

I dunno what kind of memory i have lol

I was good at English, but my Maths grades sucked, much like you i suck at maths, my father once said “Maths help you to understand computer code”

Face Of Relief Phew

So maths IS still helpfull??

20

Your gonna need more than certificates to get into this industry, however they can be nice lil additives to further your knowledge a bit.