Some Basic Game Development questions.. for my nephew

[ddimon]

Hi,

My nephew has a school assignment (7th grade I think) where he has to interview a video game developer (or someone in that industry) who has at least some knowledge of the process. He emailed me a list of questions in hopes that I would be able to answer them or know someone who could. Unfortunately they are specific enough that I can't fake my way through them (I'm a creative director at a production/design company for TV... not close enough :). So in the hopes of getting the "uncle of the year" award I thought I'd check out some forums and landed here. Below are the ten questions he needs answers to. If anyone here has a few moments to give some answers I'd really appreciate it. You can post here or send me a private email.

...And of course he has waited to the last minute so he needs it asap :)

Interview Questions

1. What would best prepare me for making a video game?

2. How long have you been working with video game making and designing?

3. What program is used to make a video game on the computer? Programs?

4. How many steps are there in making or designing a video game?

5. How large is a usual game finished on a disk?

6. What systems do you usually make the games for?

7. Can video games eventually become picture perfect? How?

8. How long does it usually take to make a game?

9. What is different about making games for handhelds? Is it harder?

10. Can anyone make a game to play on their computer with a home computer?

Thanks in advance,
Doug

[majestic0110]

Hi there ddimon, welcome to DaniWeb! I am not a games developer myself but work in the software development field. I can confidently answer some of those questions but others I am a little less confident about- so maybe someone else will pick me up on them and correct me (hopefully!). Here goes:

1. What would best prepare me for making a video game?
A degree in software design, 5 years commercial experience (minimum) and a real talent for coding/stress coping ability. Aslo, a great imagination, with a real knack for knowing what gamers want from a game !
2. How long have you been working with video game making and designing?
Four year degree, one year as software developer
3. What program is used to make a video game on the computer? Programs?
LOADS. In terms of 'applications' used to make games try this: http://darkbasic.thegamecreators.com/. In terms of development without these applications the C and C++ programming languages also seem very popular.

4. How many steps are there in making or designing a video game?
There really is no easy answer to this. Try here:
http://www.makeitbigingames.com/blog/?p=29
5. How large is a usual game finished on a disk?
Again no easy answer it varies tremendously
6. What systems do you usually make the games for?
N/A
8.How long to make a game?
Varies tremendously - from days to years! Look at Duke Nukem Forever Never lol
10. Can anyone make a game to play on their computer with a home computer?
Yes!

[ddimon]

Thanks! I'll pass this info on.

[majestic0110]

No problems, hope it helps! Please don't forget to mark the thread as solved if you feel you got an adequate solution!

[jwenting]

if the kid's too lazy to prepare for his interview, he doesn't deserve the job and WILL fail in it if he does get it.

[majestic0110]

I hadn't realised those questions were for a job interview :-/ The OP had said they were questions for a nephew :-/

[Narue]

>...And of course he has waited to the last minute so he needs it asap
Well, that's his problem, not ours.

Note that these answers assume that by "game developer", you mean a programmer rather than a graphic designer or one of the many other roles involved in creating a game.

>1. What would best prepare me for making a video game?
Professional games tend to ride the edge of hardware technology, so you should be very familiar (not to mention up to date) with computer hardware, especially graphics hardware, and how to interface with it. In my experience, game programmers are among the more talented programmers, so you should also have a strong foundation in programming theory and practice as well as the drive to compete in the industry.

>2. How long have you been working with video game making and designing?
I don't work in the game industry, nor is it a hobby. My focus is on developer tools and compilers, but I've consulted for professional game projects in the past on back-end code.

>3. What program is used to make a video game on the computer? Programs?
No single program is used, but you can expect a good development IDE, usually a 3D or 2D graphics package and a sound manager.

>4. How many steps are there in making or designing a video game?
Pretty much the same steps as any other end user software.

>5. How large is a usual game finished on a disk?
It depends heavily on the game, but pushing or exceeding a gigabyte isn't unheard of these days. Older or less ambitious games can cover the whole range in terms of storage costs.

>6. What systems do you usually make the games for?
Windows. Generally, unless you're talking about console games (Xbox, Playstation, etc...), Windows is the de facto gaming platform for PCs.

>7. Can video games eventually become picture perfect? How?
Absolutely! The leaps 3D art has made even in the past few years should be enough to answer that question. The deciding factor will be how quickly we can get the horsepower to pull off such a feat. CG still images can already be made photo realistic, so it's only (:icon_rolleyes:) a matter of handling the rendering in real-time.

>8. How long does it usually take to make a game?
If it takes significantly more than two years, you've likely lost the advantage in terms of technology and cost/profit ratios.

>9. What is different about making games for handhelds? Is it harder?
It's harder in that you're more limited in what the hardware can do. This means you have to pull out the bag of tricks that programmers a decade or two ago had to use to make up for memory and storage limitations.

>10. Can anyone make a game to play on their computer with a home computer?
Yep, in fact, that's how most professional game developers get their start.

[ddimon]

Thanks for all your replies, I appreciate your time.

[jwenting]

but we're pretty sure your "nephew" doesn't.

[ddimon]

Dude, I'm not really sure what crawled up your ass, but really... lighten up. My "nephew" is actually my nephew. He's 12, lives in a rural town of about a 1000 and has little resource to get some answers. His assignment was to ask someone in the field these questions. I was going to simply have him post, but thought I'd scope it out first because of his age. I (and he) do appreciate the time taken to respond to his questions.

[jwenting]

so, what happened to that "job interview" your "nephew" supposedly needed those questions for?
Child labour?

[ddimon]

Umm... not sure where you got the idea this was for a job interview. The first line of my original post was, "My nephew has a school assignment (7th grade I think) where he has to interview a video game developer (or someone in that industry)"vThe first (and only) time a job interview was brought up was in YOUR first post. I'm sorry you were confused, but before you get all bent out of shape, you should really check the original post.