by Kellea Croft

Created on: March 16, 2008   Last Updated: May 13, 2008

Digital creative industries are growing at a faster rate than any other entertainment or content production. Depending on the type of programming you are hoping to achieve is how expertly you must become in different aspects. The good news is that there are many great schools out there to get you going. Specialization is the way of this industry, and you will want to prepare in advance.

Programmer positions: Junior programmer, lead programmer, engine programmer, tools programmer, graphics/special effects programmer, audio programmer/engineer, artificial Intelligence programmer, multi-player networking programmer, UI programmer, input programmer, porting programmer, technology programmer, game physics programmer and scripter.

Varies concepts involved with different programming positions: Begin with a basis in C++ and work into other fields. DirectX, AI principles, basic graphics programming (unless graphics programmer who needs to be expert in all fields of graphics), 3D math, physics, sound programming, collision systems, path finding algorithms and game design theory, 3D rendering, 3D animation, multi-player/networking, object oriented programming, database management, APIs, understanding of game engines, target systems knowledge, interface design perception, linear algebra, advanced calculus, MIDI standard, audio production/mixing/recording processes, real time synthesis, audio compression standards, signal processing, DirectMusic, Robotics, Biology, Psychology, client/server architecture, network security, basic network protocols (i.e. TCP/IP or UDP), multi-threaded code, database creation, and network APIs like DirectPlay and Winsock.

The most popular game development language is C++, but Java and C are also popular. Assembly is necessary for some video game console programming for fast and little overhead. Fringe languages such as C#, Ada and Python have very little impact upon the industry. They are primarily for hobbyists, although picking the knowledge up for developing game development tools would not hurt. XNA may change items like C# soon, so watch the market.

Platforms are different gaming types that programmers can specialize in such as PS3 or Windows. Artificial Intelligence, sound engineering and user interface design programmer abilities are transferable to various platforms, so they are less tied down to one type of company. Not many people, if any, specialize in more than one platform so choose wisely for the company you want to use or speciality

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