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Hi,
I'm asking this question on the Kode Academy site itself, so I hope they don't edit it or whatever, I just wanted to ask the current students of the Game Programming Advanced Diploma what they learnt and whether they're satisfied with the quality of education that they received. Are you happy? Are you now fully qualified to write a full commercial quality game on your own?
What are your plans for the future?
I'm prospective student who would like a little input from existing students so I *know* that I'm making the right decision in selecting Kode Academy. The most important question of all is: did you have FUN?, learning how to make games?

Thanks, and I'll wait eagerly for your answers,

Rohit.

Hi

Disclaimer : I am only a student of Kode Academy and I'm not paid by Kode Academy to write this So this is a neutral reply.


Well I am halfway through the course and I'll only say that this is a world class
course with affordable fees. Compared to courses outside India, I believe you are learning more here...yes I repeat..learning more here..yet at far far less fees.
Regarding future plans , most of us plan to finish some game prototypes(or maybe full fledged mini-games if time permits) and then apply to prospective studios. The teaching methodology, course and assignments are all structured very well and yes it is all fun !...but like Carmack said, game programming is 10% creativity and 90% hard work

In all ,I would highly recommend this course to anyone wanting to become a AAA engine/gameplay programmer.

regards
Shashank

Hi,

As far as game programming courses are concerned, Kode is the best. You just have to go through the course details to find out the quality and intensity of the course. And about fun, nothing can replace the satisfaction you get when you see the output of your program on the screen.

Thanks for your replies. One thing I forgot - what are the facilities like? Are there enough computers for all the students? I ask because I'm from Kolkata, and if I go to Bangalore to do this course, I can't bring my computer, so I'll be stuck to using their machines all the time. Are you allowed to use them for private email and surfing?
Also, is there a good, well-stocked library to borrow books from?

One thing you didn't mention up there - are you guys ready to write a full game by yourselves?



Rohit.

Yes , there is one computer per student.

For private email , surfing you need to do on your own. I think thats fair and good enough. The students in the current batch are from all over India, so we all have carried our machines from back home(including me..I carried it all te way from Mumbai)..one student even got his crt monitor. All of us
have a pc in our rooms too and that makes working convenient , but you can as well come to the institute in the day and practice any time you want to.
If getting a crt monitor is an issue , you can as well buy one once you reach here. The course is worth the effort !

There arent many good actual libraries around, but I wonder if you will really need that because the course is intense. Besides, you will get tonnes of e-material to read through your entire life

With every passing day, we are feeling confident of making the next killer AAA game out there and this too just after 6 months of the course. Once we are done with the remaining 6 months of the course , I guess we can challenge id software

regards
Shashank

Can you tell me how many intakes there are per year? I may not be able to make the September one due to personal family reasons, when is the one after that?

Also, what did all of you guys do to find accomodation? Did you look in the papers or contact real estate agents after landing there, or do they actually make arrangements of some kind of housing from the institute itself?
What's life in Bangalore like? Do you have to deal with hellacious landlords who want to cut short your nightlife (not that I guess you'd *have* much, with the intensity of the course being what it is, from your words)?



That's a BIG statement, that you're going to challenge Carmack and the boys! This ties into a question I was about to ask you guys - what is the motivation like of the students on the course? Are they born talent, just waiting for the knowledge before they take down Id, wall to wall, or are they just like on my previous animation course, there because they just want a job, and didn't get one in any other field (and didn't get any in that field either, as it turned out)? Does the Academy screen for such things when they take students onto the course? (Btw, are you guys the first intake? If not, do you have any word on what the previous guys are doing currently? (What I'm trying to find out is - are there enough game studios to get jobs *at*?)


Rohit.

P.S. I saw a post on Linux elsewhere in the forums - do they teach you how to program in Linux on the course? (My joy would know no bounds, if this isn't a strictly Windoze/DirectX course - I hate Microsoft!)