More thoughts on the 3d game development class I'm teaching.I'm about halfway through the semester and I just stopped giving 'busy work' assignments. Everyone is working on their own projects. The last busy work assignment I gave I introduced them to the installer. My choice of installer is NSIS, since it's free and something I have used on other commercial projects.
What does this have to do with a Game Development class? A ton. From the very first busy work assignment I forced my students to think in terms of a full cycle game. Everything they turned in had to have a splash page, a main menu and a way to cycle back to the main menu. The installer extends this concept of a full cycle game. Isn't this what they are going to deal with in the real world?
Most gaming books seem to only focus on the mechanics of the actual games, but to me that is only about 30% of the overall work that needs to get done. The real work is in the details and those details really matter. As an added bonus, once this class is over each of my students will have an full game with an installer they can give to a potential employer or put on a portfolio website. These students will have a distinct advantage over someone that just says they took a game development class.
To me this has a lot to do with getting a job, but it also has to do with the reality we all face. It is okay to specialize in one area of a project, but you still need to understand a little about the entire process. If everyone has broader knowledge the team will function more efficiently and increase the value of the products you create. Thus increasing the value of the individual to the team. I'm trying to train students I would want to have on my own team.
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