Should I learn to program (well)?

mister_s · May 2013

Hey guys.

I'm working on my senior project and haven't had any time to really work on personal stuff. As a result my portfolio is thin and I grow more and more worried about finding work in the current market.

Ideally I'd like to work around level design/environment modeling/asset modeling. I'm trying to have fall backs as well, but I don't really want to waste too much time since I'd like to get better what I want to do.

This brings me to the question in the topic. Should I try learn to program in addition to what I'm doing?

Right now I've had a few Java/C++ courses throughout my time at my university and I know the basics of programming, but nothing too in depth. I definitely haven't applied it to gaming.

I don't dislike programming, I've just never been interested enough to make it my primary field of study. I'm not sure if taking extra time out to learn how to apply it to gaming situations will help in the long run or not. I would think there is a fine line there between stretching myself too thin if I'm not trying to get programming positions (even though the abundance of them makes it even more tempting).

Not sure if this is off topic in this particular forum, but I didn't really see anything else that fit the question as well as this one.

Froyok · May 2013

Why bother learning more programming when you are saying it's not your primary focus ? Wouldn't it be more interesting to use the free time that you are already planning for programming to make some more personal art stuff ?

If programming is not your primary goal you should keep it as a hobby and work you art instead. That's what I would do if I was you.

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel · May 2013

there's a huge, huge sweet spot between extreme specialization and being spread too thin. nobody's doing art 24/7, regardless of the persona they project. if you want to allocate some of that free time to programming then why not? it can only enrich you, and there are loads of intersections between programming and game art. just remember to keep your portfolio as your primary focus.

Add3r · May 2013

If you want to get into programming, or are just even thinking about it, then why not find something that can benefit you art as well? Why make the two seperate (though they would probably stay within games if you are focused on the industry), and instead use it as a supportive skill. There are tons of different ways you can apply programming to your art, such as custom shaders, plug-ins, UI work, custom events within engine. There are even more advanced topics like being able to write code for custom importation of complex assets, etc, within in-house engines and a ton of mobile stuff you can program for. It would be more of scripting and such, but it is still programming.

I personally am very intrigued by programming, but LOVE game art and asset creation. Its much more than a career choice, its an addiction, but I like to experience all aspects of game development, and knowing C# and C++ has helped me in the past to lead a mobile development team on the art side. It allowed me to be able to do any scripting and art-wise programming that was needed myself, without bogging down the rest of the team.

Make sure you have your priorities straight though. That is key.

mister_s · May 2013

Thanks for the feedback. When I re-read my post I can see I made things really vague. I totally agree with you Froyok in making my primary focus the field I'm trying to break into. I guess what I was thinking is that in my current position I know finding work is going to be difficult, and it made me consider fall backs in relation to what I would like to do.

Thanks for all the input to everyone else as well. I didn't even think about UI work and Scaleform (if its still the big thing).

Muzzoid · May 2013

Imo the best reason to learn programming is so that you can make things that you think and dream would be cool to make. If you have tools or game ideas that you want to make a reality and dont want to rely on others that is a great reason.

Just learning programming for the sake of it is silly imo. It would be like learning guitar just to pickup chicks.

Should I learn to program (well)?

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