Allright.... I know I said I'd update more once winter rolled around, but I got really sick and that kinda pushed everything off. I haven't even done any of the programming I've wanted to do all break yet, but that's more because I have planning to do before I even touch the code. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm planning on making a video game for Senior Project, though it's still in the early planning stages. We'll see what develops.
     Reading about video games and how they get made has been very encouraging. Basically, the consensious is that to get a high-level job, you have to have some video games to show the interviewers... even if they're not professional. Basically, you make a few on your own that are really finished and polished and the games would prove your ability to program games and commit to a large project. And the games they tell you to make for your resume are along the lines of Space Invaders, Pac Man, Frogger, etc... Basically they don't have to be especially high-calibur. So I figure I'll make a shooter, a puzzle game, and maybe a rhythm game by next winter so that I have something to show with resumés.
     Also... the consensious is that doing this can help you to get other programming jobs because of the "commitment to long projects" part of it. Employers feel more comforting hiring someone with limited experience if they can show that they can see a project through from conceptualization to completion.
     I find it funny, though, that one of the things game makers always chase down is innovation. Game designers wanna find that new and inventive element that gives a game its flair. The tutorials I found online specifically tell you not to do that. They tell you that, as you'll be a programmer and not a designer, you should just copy something else. Take an existing design and figure out the programming. That's what you'd be doing on the job. Let the designer worry about the design,... you take care of the program itself.
     So, I'm not so worried about the job market anymore. I'm confident that the games I make for examples will be good enough to get me a job. Or at least hopeful. But hey... I've worked food-service before, so I'm not scared of having to take a shit job if I can't program right out of school.