Need Someone Else

I’m 14 years old. I started programming in 3rd grade with Pascal, eventually moved up to C/C++. In 7th grade I started working with my friend on on web-based MUD game at dusk.wesowin.org. This year, I’ve started working with OpenGL.

It may seem sad, but on weekends, i can spend over 12 hours straight coding, and when I’m not coding, I think about coding.

I would like to be involved in a real project, to make a 3D game preferably. About all I’ve done in that direction so far is get my OpenGL program to read a world file describing rooms made of quads and portals. However, I haven’t started the code to draw the rooms yet ( I just finished the portal stuff today, give me time). There is absolutely no one I know near me who I can talk to about this subject, at least no one my age or that I know of.

Would anyone like to join me and start work on something? How many people do we need? What are we going to make? It doesn’t have to be anything big, just a fun project to make a small game, maybe like GL Tron.

-Tilgovi

I forgot to mention, even if working directly with someone would be too difficult given distance and things, is there anyone who I could talk to often about questions or ideas? I am Tilgovi on AIM and 100767765 on ICQ.

-Tilgovi

Heh, sounds frighteningly like me.

• Matt

Me too; I’m 16, working on my own game engine (so far only designing the game). I design (on paper) the modules at school, then code at home (quite often into the night, until I realize what time it is). I too don’t have anyone around me either that is either up to my ability level or who cares…long lost brothers!? Anyway, if you really want to hear about my project, I could (if you’ve seen Babylon 5 before, then you’ll know the premise)…at any rate, good luck on whatever you do.

I think most of us here are prolly like you . I know I am, but I’m 25.

I have a team helping me with my game already. It’s simple. I would closely relate the culling method to a quad tree; think tiles. I don’t know bsp trees or portals so I’m restricted to what kind of games I can make . One day though; I will .

ahh a familiar storie…
Back at 15(me is 22 now) I starded doing games with freinds.

But heres a thought, you are looking for coders to join you in your efforts.
(this is not easy)

Why not set your sites on game projects you know you can do without help.
Then find friends at your school who do stuff like drawing, painting, 3d modeling, sound recording, play music or even wite cool stories(plot).

Get to gether a range of tallents and produce simpler games at a very high quality.
The experiance of knowing how to work with these people will come in usefull.

I did this, and the experience (and freinds) was reely worth it.

just a thought…

It sounds like me aswell, I bet we all started out that way or another.

Wouldn’t it be cool if OpenGL.org fixed an entire irc server for us GL freaks , with different channels for different main topics.

If it already exists, tell me where to find it.

In the mean time, we are forced to post questions or post replies on these forums in an endless stream of virtual learning.

Originally posted by mcraighead:
Heh, sounds frighteningly like me.

Really??? I’m a bit surprised. I kinda expected you would be a bit older than 14. You sound pretty mature for your age

But I echo those words. Except I’m 25…and married (the wife does get a bit bored at times). I spend quite a bit of time coding (including the majority of this 3-day weekend). I work for a web-dev company during day (rather dull work by comparison…I can hardly stand it…but it pays pretty good), and spend most of my free time doing game-dev. I’m trying to get something finished/sellable as quickly as possible so I can hopefully get some sort of income (even if its not a lot) started from it, weed away my current job, and eventually just do game-dev.

ahh, nostalgia…

anyone remember coding for the Motorola 6502, “Player Missile Graphics”, Graphics Mode 8? Hehe, back then I thought 256 colours was a pipe dream…“the human eye can’t even recognize that many!!!” Sometimes it’s just plain good to be so wrong

Tilgovi, you’re on the right track, and believe me, many of us have delt with the same frustrations. Even thru college I couldn’t find coders that loved their work as much as I did. On the brighter side of things, you already have a head start on those mediocre programmers you’ll find yourself surrounded by over the next 7-10 years.

Sorry to use this thread to reminisce (feels good though), I’m sure with some perserverance you’ll manage to pull togehter a team and begin realizing your dreams.

Good Luck!
Dave

oh yeah, I forgot to mention to LordKronos that I feel your pain. The wife just dosen’t understand, and how many lines of ASP/TSQL code do I have to write before I can get back to writing another OGL demo!!!

[This message has been edited by lpVoid (edited 04-16-2001).]

No, I mean, it sounds like me at age 15.

I’m currently 19.

• Matt

How can one have a job with 19 years???
I have the feeling that I have to learn 10 years in school and university until I get a job. What’s the trick?

Sounds like me, but I seem to be “old” compared to some of you since I am 18!

I found I didn’t have enough time to do any real programming. I spent all the time at school thinking about the problems or sometimes coding and then I would type it up at home (and find it doesn’t work!). There still wasn’t enough time so I left school (there were a few other reasons like I couldn’t be bothered revising for exams that I don’t need (I have my Uni place)). There still isn’t enough time, especialy with my parents nagging at me. At least I wont have my parents at uni but maybe the lectures will get in the way. I am hoping that whenI am at Uni there will be some others that have a similar interest in making games. I also agree that you should try to make smaller projects; these a usualy very good and a lot of fun and are successful, however this is something that I have never yet done. In my 6 years of programming i have never yet completed anything that I have started. Origionaly I would start making an intro, complete it and then get bored and ditch the project. Now at least I am attemting to make the engine first and then make a game but my problem will be that if I ever complete an engine, even a level viewer with collision det. and sound that after completion I will start again since I will have learnt a load of new techniques and there will be a load of new technology to use.

Originally posted by Michael Steinberg:
How can one have a job with 19 years???
I have the feeling that I have to learn 10 years in school and university until I get a job. What’s the trick?

A job! Why would you want a job? You have your freedom! Enjoy it, it will be over soon enough!

EricK:
I don’t really want a job now. I just want to feel nearer to it. I have serious problems in school right now (well, at least mathematics and physics run well… ). School pisses me off. I hate the teachers. I hate my classs mates (well, most of them. in my region the people are led by money). I don’t have anyone sharing my interrests here (Hi Tim!).
Well, I’d like to be in the uni now. I want the feeling to be productive, not to learn stuff that I’ll never need again (yeah, I know one should know a bit about all).

Tim:
I’ve got about the same problems. Well, I always program little demos of effects, they actually work. But I don’t come far with my engine, because I don’t like to write the framework. Currently I started from scratch and hang on my windows/variable/console/texture subsystems alltogether. It’s getting me down, but I have the feeling that when I have these systems running well, I have very easy work afterwards. AND, it doesn’t run yet. I wrote it down and don’T even know how many logical bugs are in there…well, can’t be too much yet…

Originally posted by Tilgovi:

It may seem sad, but on weekends, i can spend over 12 hours straight coding, and when I’m not coding, I think about coding.

Sad? I’m 26 and still do the same!

Would anyone like to join me and start work on something? How many people do we need? What are we going to make? It doesn’t have to be anything big, just a fun project to make a small game, maybe like GL Tron.

Have you considered going over to SourceForge and browsing the Help Wanted in the thousands of open source projects currently going on? Or starting a project of your own?

There are over 2000 projects under the category of “Games/Entertainment” at SourceForge in varying stages of development.
Check it out: http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=80

I started a simple little project on SourceForge (in LISP even!) and within 2 weeks I had two pretty experienced LISPers helping me out. Pretty sweet. (Shameless plug: My project is Doxymacs ).

So that would be my advice… head on over to SourceForge, get involved in a project, or start your own.

Have fun.

[This message has been edited by rts (edited 04-16-2001).]

Originally posted by mcraighead:
[b]No, I mean, it sounds like me at age 15.

I’m currently 19.

• Matt[/b]

heh, im 19 too

How can one have a job with 19 years???
I have the feeling that I have to learn 10 years in school and university until I get a job. What’s the trick?

i have a job too, theres no trick - just luck really - keeping a job takes skill (unless you work at a big crappy COMPANY…like MS or whoever Neo worked for in the matrix…then you can suck and stay employed for years).

Yeah… I had a little job, but nothing this big. I was happy to earn 1000$. And, if that weren’t enough, I had to code with FORTRAN!!!
One has to be really good to get a better job, I believe…

my current job is ok, im on a decent salary, boss isnt an *******, and its pretty interesting work (electrophoresis image analysis in C++/MFC - say that after a few beers )

Originally posted by Yorvik:
keeping a job takes skill (unless you work at a big crappy COMPANY…like MS or whoever Neo worked for in the matrix…

Well, I am working for one of the biggest engineering consultant in the UK and I really do not think a big company is a crappy company…

Moreover, I can tell you that you need skills to stay in a big company as well…

Anyway… Actually, perhaps I thought the same way than you when I was 19… (I am 25).

Regards.

Eric

[This message has been edited by Eric (edited 04-17-2001).]

hmmm…big companies, skillful employees.

I’m comming to the conclusion that getting a good job and keeping it is a bit of luck, a bit of talent, and a bit of geography.

I’ve been making money off of code for longer than I can remember, but only within the last few years did I ever get into the “industry.” Most of it had to do with relocating from South Carolina, USA, to Washington DC. In SC, there just aren’t many jobs for programmers to fill, and they’re coveted. There, you can’t even get an interview without a degree. I never finished my degree, just couldn’t get past all the electives and filler courses.

So I moved up to the DC area and man, it’s like they’ll hire anyone who knows how to click with a mouse. We’re a windows shop and try to keep up with the latest technologies, especially ATL/COM+, yet we hire programmers with absolutely no C/C++ experience…

It just blows my mind. So I came to work here feeling intimidated and doubting my own talent, simply due to my lack of that damn piece of paper. Well, I’ve doubled my salary in less than 2 years. Having a degree dosen’t make you a good programmer. That comes from inside you.

I guess the moral of all this is that it’s a constantly changing industry, and the old school rules just don’t apply anymore. If you love to code, don’t loose faith. While I’ll have to admit that that degree will get you in the door, once you’re there it’s easy to see the division in talent.

Now, getting a job in the game/graphic industry…

well, as soon as I figure it out I’ll let you all know

Dave