What is it?
UK development studios are the biggest producers of computer
games in Europe, and the third largest in the world. This is mainly
because the UK is the largest market for interactive entertainment
after the US and Japan.
According to the Department of Trade & Industry and
games industry association Tiga,
there were about 150 UK games development studios, employing 6,000
people and generating sales of £1.6bn in 2006. In recognition, the
industry gets solid support from the DTI and the Department for
Education and Science.
"There is a big shortfall in the UK for good games programmers
and technical managers/directors," said William Latham, creative
director of PS2, XBox and PC game The Thing, and programme director
of the MSc in computer games and entertainment launched by
Goldsmiths College this
year.
Like many games BScs, MScs, and postgraduate diplomas,
Goldsmiths' course is taught by industry insiders, enabling
students to build career-enhancing networks as well as skills. In
contrast to much short-term and narrowly-focused proprietary
training, these offer a broad education in many related
disciplines, from programming to
artificial intelligence
and 3D design. You also get a lifetime qualification, rather than
one that has to be renewed every couple of years.
For those with a year to spare for a change of career (or two to
five years part-time), the fees are equivalent to two to three
weeks of commercial training (£3,250 to £5,000).
Where did it originate?
With arcade games and simple games developed for the
Apple II and
its peers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As the power of
systems grew, games building required ever-larger teams of
specialists, and games now take up to three years to complete. This
is one reason why, although the number of people employed in the UK
games industry has remained constant since 2000, the number of
studios employing them has halved.
What does the job involve?
The multidisciplinary teams include designers, programmers,
graphic artists, video developers, music composers, and specialists
in artificial intelligence. Someone with knowledge of advanced
physics is usually needed to ensure that the playing environment
effectively simulates the real world, and advanced maths is
required to make that codeable.
How difficult is it to master?
You can come to games development from any programming
background. There are well-trodden routes for C++, Java and
Microsoft developers specialists. One of the most successful 2D and
3D development language families, from
Blitz Research, is built
on Basic.
Explaining who would be suitable for its MSc course, Goldsmiths
College said, "A potential candidate could be someone writing
software systems for a city bank who feels like a career change, or
a bright graduate in computing science."
Although a first degree in a related subject is usually
required, most MSc programmes will waive this for people with
relevant experience.
Training
Universities offering masters degrees in games programming
include Westminster, Teesside, Derby, Hull, Nottingham Trent, De
Montfort and Lincoln, and many others.
Shorter courses are also available:
Oxford University's
Department of Continuing Education offers 10 sessions on
mathematics and modelling for games programming for £138.
For a full list of courses see the
Ucas website.
Rates of pay
Junior games testers are paid between £10,000 and £12,000, but
lead developers can expect to earn more than £40,000.
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