Guaigean

Hmmm, it would seem to me that anyone looking for dev's to assist on a free project would be a little bit kinder to those that respond.

Not sure how a Troll became able to throw off a topic so far, but anyway... The article was a fairly decent read, and although not right on, had some useful info. Since I'm graduating in two weeks with my CS degree (FINALLY!) I am trying to soak in all the final tidbits of advice I can before having to mass mail my resume to places like Obsidian (hint, hint). Anyway, thanks for the post.

yodaman, I would recommend thinking about foreign exchange at any school you end up at. Most US schools offer international exchange, and it can be a fun way to get some world experience, learn about foreign culture, and get those pesky GER's out of the way. You'll have to take em anyway, might as well do total immersion at the same time. Then by the time you get to upper division courses you'll have had a lot of fun, and be fully able to focus on the CS courses. When you get into em, don't take em lightly. There is a LOT of cool stuff you can learn from them, especially if while you're taking them you always think "How can I make this part of a game?" It certainly helped me a lot, especially to find a reason to chug through some of those math courses, which teach you all about (In a weird theoretical kinda way) how to do advanced collision detection, intersections, and 3d transformations.

Don't forget to relax and enjoy life in the mean time. Part of working on a development team has to do with being able to work with people. Make sure to get a little bit social occasionally too and don't spend all of high school indoors at the computer. There's a lot to be missed if you do.

In some fields this does work, but as far as computer science, it can amke quite a difference. I've worked with people with and without degrees. Over time, those without may be able to hold their own to an extent, but most with have the concepts to be more flexible. Many without degrees focus more on specific languages, while those with CS can move from one to the next quickly and still apply the overall concepts. The best thing I think the formal education does for computers is teach you the shortcuts so they don't have to be reinvented. Can save a significant amount of time when money matters.

As far as the wacompad I'm not familiar. But I have several artist friends that completely adore tablet PC's, but they work in general art and graphics not just gaming. Maybe a higher end item, but you're "painting" right onto the screen that way. Plus you can get them with anti-glare type addons so you can use them outdoors in the bright sun. Anyway, just thought I'd offer another alternative that many seem to enjoy.

As for applications in gaming, Linear Algebra is really useful. It can be used for collision detection, view tranformation (like spinning you around at angles), and all sorts of other types of things required of moving you around in a 3D, or infinitely dimensional world. Luckily I had a Math professor who was interested in 3D computing, so every new topic ended in a discussion of the possibilities and uses for it.

As it should be Doing something similar myself. Amazing what you can apply from the math side with a little creativity.

Most of the companies also offer alternative experience requirements such as having worked on scientific projects, advanced skills in maths and physics, or other such software development experience.

Um, no options for "I get my degree in May" so I guess that leaves me out of the vote.

Thats not a bad thing. You can always size down, but sizing up can get ugly. As far as the art goes, it's good stuff. My only comment is that I'd like to see some finished products. Lots of potential in those sketches.

Simple solution... buy nVidia.

Fixed now, thanks :D

Unfortunately, Product of the Cosmos is a lost cause. The only thing this discussion has done is prove that to me. No matter how much scientific evidence is exposed they will not accept it. PotC is simply a Stone Deaf (see http://www.winternet.com/~mikelr/flame78.html). Good luck beating anything into that one.

Not really sure how much interpeting I did, other than saying the business model basically works for EA. As for "weeding out 75% slackers", I actually said "they weed out the lowest 75% of performers". That doesn't make them slackers by any means, just not as high performing as the top 25%. As I stated, I definitely think EA's human resources management is extremely lacking, but their profit margins work for them. Aside from having a large strike of workers and all production ceasing, EA has no motivation to change,