I'm being totally serious here: you need to take an English or Writing class first, then worry about that stuff.

Austin seems to be one of the main hubs for game companies in the country, so you're in a good spot.

As someone going through the hiring phase right now, my advice to you would be to take what classes you can. If you really want to try to get hired straight out of high school, you would need to develop an impressive portfolio (of outside projects, especially small games), work on your professional writing, and code absolutely every day. Personally, I'd say to just have fun in high school, and then work hard in college.

Oh, and learn C++, finish every project you start, and never miss a deadline. (those last two are the key to success in any field)

n00bz hAxx0Rzzzzzz

Originally posted by Larrik ...finish every project you start...

Opps.

You should also consider attending the Austin Game Developers meetings to make contact with Austin game development professionals.

austingamedevelopers.com/

Buying programming books is definately a great way to start off. Mike's book may get a bit advanced for you, but it should point you into the directions you want to learn more about. Good luck, man, and we'll be here for whatever questions you may have.

Originally posted by DarkPenguin

Originally posted by Larrik ...finish every project you start...

Opps.

Heh, yeah.... Oops.

I actually have managed to defy all logic and reason by landing a position as "Lead Programmer" (read that as "only programmer" at the moment) on a mobile game project in Java (not my first or even best language). It's going ok so far - but the gist of it is that I just stumbled into this gig by accident. I've got about 28 credits of college under my belt, almost all of it programming (C++) and 3D animation (and a semester of Korean). Pay's not great (~$30 an hour) but the schedule is as flexible as it gets and I'm contracted for %30 of profits after ship (which is very generous from what I understand - assuming it sells at all).

This came about because of a very odd twist of circumstance - I am the local chapter coordinator (now co-coordinator) of the Las Vegas IGDA Chapter. My boss contacted me looking for information on our meetings. We were dormant at that time and have since resurfaced, but basically I ended up interviewing via email and he practically stuffed the job down my throat. So Mike's suggestion that you get involved with a game dev association is a very solid one - personal contacts are important in any industry.

Programming books are your friend - but don't forget your math! Get a copy (or check them out from a library) of The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth and read them! Don't scrimp on the math. I can't emphasize this enough - makes things an order of magnitude easier (math isn't my strength and I'm still paying for it in brainsweat).

Um, another rambling post - I should keep my mittens on over long weekends....

I've played with Flash quite a bit (the menu for my comic book website is in flash). I feel Flash is an excellant technology, but the actual program needs a little help. It's definately marketed towards artists, rather than coders, and the reference material is seriously lacking (especially the online reference material). It's also heavily misused online, and plenty of people hate Flash sites. I'd say learn it, but not until you are comfortable in a real programming language.

This isn't always obvious, but once you get good in a programming language, and have used it extensively, learning other languages is a matter of hours (if that). Just make sure the language you learn first is C++, C, Java, or Pascal (or something like them), and avoid BASIC, Perl, etc. Perl is great, but you may end up learning a style that doesn't translate into other languages.

Also, keep in mind that there are plenty of other languages out there to learn. The functional languages like Lisp, Scheme (which is Lisp), Matlab, Prolog, and ML are radically different to use, and you should definately make sure you pick one or more up at some point.

"Tricks of the Window's Game Programming Gurus" is a great book but you really need a good C/C++ base. The same applies to "C++ for game programmers" you should have a good understanding of C to even start looking at these books.

I would suggest getting a book like "Jasma's C/C++/C# Programmings bible" if you are a fast learner and then find someone around you that knows C++ and ask them tons of questions. It takes a level of devotion to get to where you want to go. So grab a Coke and get to it

I've read through LaMothe's book that you're talking about, and while good, he isn't Mike.

Learning a language, and learning to program are two different things. You need a good intro to C/++ book (assuming that's the language you learn), and then you need a programming book that teaches you how to really program. For actual game development, you really want to know C++, so for that simple pragmatic reason you may want to choose that as your language of choice.

As for BASIC, many decades ago, one of the greatest computer scientists ever, Esdgar Dijkstra, wrote some papers about why "BASIC considered harmful." In there he would say things like, "Anyone who learns BASIC first is forever brain damaged, and can never be a real programmer" (that's not a direct quote, but he said something a lot like that several times). He's right, don't learn BASIC first.

Technically, any text editor will do. In practice, however, programs like Microsoft Word or Works don't work. You want either Notepad, or a program designed for writing code. You also need a compiler (Windows is pretty much the only modern operating system that doesn't come with one). Microsoft has a free one available...somewhere...

You should probably get Bloodshed's Dev++ (bloodshed.net), its free, and it comes with an editor and all. Editors ("IDE"s) aren't too simple to use, so be warned! Also, Bloodshed uses the UNIX compiler architecture, so the options (especially for adding libraries) are a bit different than if you were to use Microsoft's Visual Studio or Borland. Don't worry about that now, though.

Just create an empty project, and choose Console application (as opposed to Window application), or your build will fail. It could very well take hours before you get your first program to compile, so don't feel defeated when that happens, you'll get used to the process.

Open it in DOS-Promt or you can add getch() before the return and that will act sort of like "press any key to continue"