Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!news From: "Al" Newsgroups: scee.yaroze.freetalk.english Subject: Re: Decisions about my future Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 12:24:38 -0000 Organization: PlayStation Net Yaroze (SCEE) Lines: 99 Message-ID: <86f1gp$be31@chuka.playstation.co.uk> References: <864sif$3vi1@chuka.playstation.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: as33-s16-151-65.cwci.net X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Hi, Your A levels choices make sense to me. I did A-Levels in Maths with Stats, Computing, French and German before doing a Comp Sci woth French degree at Uni of Essex. You normally need maths to do comp sci at a "proper uni" ;) but almost never computing. My computing A-level helped a bit since I already new what a pointer was and an array and such but everything was taught from the beginning. At Essex you could do a degree in AI, comp Sci, hard ware, Softer Engineering, but everyone did the same first year, then in yrs 2 and 3, you had to choose certain modules to qualify for your specialist area, but it was fairly flexible. If you read some of the programming newsgroups (i.e. regular newsnet) this sort of question comes up a lot with ppl doing Software Engineering over Comp Sci but I think this is because in U.S.A. they are seen as quite different degrees, rather than 2 degrees with the same core but slightly different options. I would suggest though you don't do what I did! I did my degree then started to buy the Edge in my final year to apply for jobs, saw that most wanted demo discs, and though "oh bugger". So then spent 4,500quid to do an MSc in Digital Entertainment Systems (games programming ) at Bournemouth Uni. Which I could(should?) have avoided by sensinbly concentrating on Graphics and AI options and chosing a final year project related to games at Essex. At Bmouth I learned OpenGL and Playstation Yaroze, but I would have saved a lot of money and learned a lot more if I had got a job and taught myslef at home, although it was sometimes nice to play with Softimage on SGs :) As for SE PSX developers, you know Guildford, there's a few there ;) Basically go to Yahoo and filter down to UK regional business computer games companies and then go to web sites to see if they develop PSX! Alternatively www.datascope.com (recruitment agency) has a link to nearly all developers but then you'd have to work out for yourself where they are from their web pages. I remember a while ago Lionhead had a vacancy for a paid internship type thing, and so I'm sure if they do it other companies might do. Good luck Al Rikki Prince wrote in message news:864sif$3vi1@chuka.playstation.co.uk... > I'm coming towards the end of my GCSEs and need to look towards the future. > I'm hoping to stay on at my school's 6th form (depending on my GSCE results) > to do A-Levels, so need to decide which A-Levels I'm going to do. At the > moment I'm thinking of doing A-Levels in Physics, Maths and Further Maths, > and doing one of the new half or AS-Levels in IT (as I my school does not > offer computing, though are thinking about offering a half course in it in > time for my second year of 6th form). Do these sound the types of subjects I > need to be doing to get onto a Uni. course in either Computer Science or > Software Engineering? Also, which would be better for getting into the games > programming industry? I ask this after reading an article on Gamasutra about > how Software Engineering would be better on the theory that in product > making when done by scientists is only in the prototype stage (as it is > usually being researched and developed), and not safe to be released into > the public, but when the engineers create a product it is better for > release, and that this theory should also apply to programming. (At least I > think that was the gist of it.) Anyway, I digress. I basically would like > some advice on which subjects to do at A-Level, what I should do at > university (possibly where would be a good place to do it), and also how > should I go about trying to get work experience. My school does not organise > work experience, but instead offer 'work shadowing', but none of the options > on their list have anything to do with (games) programming. Is there anyway > I could get a list of PSX developers in the SE of England? > > Cheers, > Rikki > >