I think that's a great idea. I too am a gamer and dream of doing both. How hard is it to get into either industry in Singapore?

www.creativesaloon.com - a gathering place for creative people.

You may go into games full time, but, since you're probably in school full time, you should not plan too far ahead, because most people's career paths turn out to be very different from what they had thought when they were in school. So graduate first, and then see where the job opportunities are. In the meantime, take a wide range of courses in film and game development, so you can be marketable.

You need to know how to program. Have you ever worked with code? Believe me, your entire perspective on software and games is completely reshaped once you start to understand how they actually work: playing a game is completely different from programming one, like the difference between a moviegoer and a filmmaker.

It would be honestly impossible to "break into" game making without any knowledge of code. It's just not how it works. What do you mean by "break into" the industry as well? Game developers aren't like film productions. It's pretty much the same thing as a day job, unlike the constant contract work of film production. Unless you're talking about being a lead designer. But in that case, you still need to know code. You can't make a movie without appreciating the camera apparatus; you can't make a game without knowing any programming. Heck, looking at all the success stories within the indie game world right now (where the games are often developed completely by one individual), that would be one of the best routes if you wanted to do actual creative work with your games. But, again, you need to know some sort of code.

It wouldn't be impossible by any means to learn though. The internet is literally the most natural resource for people who want to learn to program, but intensives through university or college could be even more effective if you have the opportunity.

Basically, my point is this:

You don't need to go to school to be a filmmaker.

You do need to go to school to be a game designer.

Like I said, you could teach yourself programming in your spare time, but it's a long road. I'd definitely recommend post-secondary school for that.

And yeah... producer-writer for games? What kind of games are you thinking of? Writing for a game is completely different than making a game. In fact, 90% of the time the scriptwriter (for the rare games that have one outsourced) simply writes the story in accordance to what the designers are looking for, and then that script is re-adapted onto the game itself. And if you're going to "produce" games (I assume you mean work as a publisher?), then all that really means is you have money to invest in them. Again, a completely different scenario from designing/making the games themselves.

Those are my thoughts, anyway. And welcome to the forum. 🙂

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?PieMonster
Applying into the film industry in Singapore is fairly hard because Singapore is the sort of hub where corporate videos and commercials shine, rather than features. The games section might be easier if one had a degree in programming or arts as their main forte. It's industry is still very young, unlike America or Europe where crossovers happens.

?Aspiring Mogul
I think you're right regarding careers, the reason I ask is because it is a part of my module in school to position myself in any relevant industry, I thought about the games and film industry because they're a giant crossroad for me at the moment.

?Corax
I did some coding and programming a long while back and kinda loathing it, while I know what you mean about perspective on games development, that is why I was hesitant on applying for games a few years back when film can be much more sustainable in Singapore.

This is why I'm actually asking in this forum, I like to know if the idea is feasible or any success stories. Because frankly speaking, many of the games lecturer in my school thought it was only feasible if going into the games route as a filmmaker consist me of knowing some programming, alot of arts and games design theory and good concepts.

They outsource writers or even done their writings in their HQ somewhere in US, that part I know. Hence the difficulty here at this stage if I position myself in the games section is I will or must take on a few roles.

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Thanks for your input guys, I like to hear more if there are others who agrees or disagrees with this idea. Maybe it'll discourage me from engaging in silly ideas again.

There are substantial crossovers between games and film, but, if you don't like software engineering, you may be at a disadvantage, so play to your strengths.

Okay, well, if you don't like programming, then developing games will be probably be much more painful than it should. If you don't like working with a camera, then how could you make movies.

Maybe you just had a bad experience with the class or that particular language. But when you say you "loathed" it, well, that's a pretty powerful statement. Was it just code writing itself that you didn't like? You'd much rather design the interface then the underlying structure, kind of thing? If it's that sort of situation, then maybe you could still be a good game maker. But if you don't like the programming process at all, well, that's what making a game is man.

How about I ask another question. You keep mentioning "breaking into the game industry."

What does that mean to you? As in, what, to your knowledge, would "breaking into" the industry entail?

Actually, the better question here would be "what is it you want to do in games?" Because I'm really not sure at all what it is you want to do. Being lead designer is entirely different from being lead programmer, just as being the director is completely different from being the producer. The two roles can overlap, but they are very distinct sets of skills.
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