Digital Dave

So, I whipped together a project for my networking class today.  All we were required to do was to create a SMTP client that interacts with the mail server on the campus.  I tossed this together in about 30 minutes after I figured out that I couldn’t access the mail server on campus, while I’m NOT on campus.  Boo!

So I am starting to think heavily about the Game Industry lately. Mainly because the year 2008 is a critical year of my growth as a developer. I’ll graduate college in December (2008), and I’ll start my career in January (2009). But, which direction do I REALLY want to go? Do I want to go straight into Game Development? Do I want to start in the Software Sector?

I spent 4 years in the Marine Corps, and now 4 years at College. I’ll graduate at the age of 26. I, personally, do not want to “waste” time in the software side of the house, when all I really think about is the game industry. Hell, I spent a critical amount of time in college following the game industry. Do I have a LOT to show for it? I have a lot of persistence and dedication to show for it. Beta testing software and games, designing and developing very small games, to even bringing out some creativity to write short stories.  Do I necessarily have the programming capabilities to be in the league of AAA development? That’s where I fall in my own trap. Do I know enough to start in the Game Industry?

I’ll be looking for an internship for next summer. I can’t help but think that I want to concentrate on the game development sector before I turn to the software development sector. With any luck, I’ll have an internship that can tell me if I belong in the game industry as a programmer. I’ll get to be around the atmosphere first hand, and I’ll be around AAA programmers (hopefully).

Only time will tell with this journey, but it sure does creep up on the mind pretty often!

That all leads me to think about the Game Development Conference that is coming up in February. Should I go? I’m not concerned with being able to finance a trip, due to getting a scholarship this year. I can’t help but think how well it would benefit me on the networking side of things. Not only that, but being able to talk to programmers will allow me to get some feedback from somebody who is enduring the trip as a game developer.

Crunch time is coming up. I have just less than two months before I actively pursue an internship with somebody… *bites nails rapidly*