   Is 35 too old to start into games programming?
  I now have time, and more importantly confidence, to try my all time fantasy of writing a 3d game.  Just wondering if its too late now, especially as I would write want to get into the game industry, QA or programming, etc.Just like to hear your thoughts.  Good, bad or ugly.   
  I'm 36 and started a little over a year ago.  I don't think you're too late; you'll probably add alot of experience the 'younger ones' still have to gain. [wink]hth,CipherCraft;  That's encouraging to hear, thank you.  I've been in programming embedded systems and various business solutions for around 15 years, it's only now I seem to have any time to try my hand at games.   ;  It's only too late once you're dead. It's possibly harder to start from scratch once you reach a certain age, but if you've been doing embedded systems and bizdev for 15 years then you should be right at home.   ;  why the heck being older would stop you getting in gamedev? :p   ;  Thanks for you reply.  I don't know about being right at home, I've only every used assembler or Visual Basic, so I'm going to have to learn C++, plus OpenGL and/or DirectX, on first glance, don't look the easiest of libs to learn.  But then I really haven't got into the ful swing yet.  I've only just joined this forum, and got myself a couple of books, 'Beginning' and 'More' opengl game programming.It's just that I would love to actually get into the industry, programming or testing, at junior level or programmer level, just to get a foothold, herein lies the concern of my age.Quick replies, I love it!   ;  If you want to do it on a professional basis, the only "problem" might be that games programmers aren't usually paid as much as programmers in other industries. Especially not as much as one with 15 years of experience might expect.   ;Quote:Original post by binaryguyThanks for you reply.  I don't know about being right at home, I've only every used assembler or Visual Basic, so I'm going to have to learn C++, plus OpenGL and/or DirectX, on first glance, don't look the easiest of libs to learn.Naaah. You don't have to learn C++ if you don't want to - plenty of people make games with Visual Basic (though I'd recommend Visual Basic.NET over VB6 any day of the week). You also don't have to learn OpenGL or DirectX - you could stick to a 2D library like SDL. The important thing is that you get something done and don't get bogged down reading too many books and trying to cover too many new things in one project. If you're aiming for the industry then you will probably want to learn C++ eventually - unless you go into flash gaming or mobiles or something - but there's a lot of stuff to learn. You can always learn C++ later.Also, when it comes to OpenGL and Direct3D, what really matters is your math. How's your linear algebra and geometry?Quote:It's just that I would love to actually get into the industry, programming or testing, at junior level or programmer level, just to get a foothold, herein lies the concern of my age.I wouldn't recommend testing unless you really like beating the crap out of software. It may sound like a laugh, but I can tell you from experience that it's really, really hard to keep slogging through the same level of the same (incredibly buggy) game, over and over.Don't do it unless you can draw sadistic pleasure from taking the beautiful and semi-formed flower that the dev team have sent your way, crushing it underfoot, ripping it into tiny shreds, setting the shreds on fire, pissing on the fire, gathering the soggy remains up into a little heap, and sending that heap back to the team with a note saying "Try harder next time." Anything less and it will destroy your passion for games.   ;  Again thank you for your reply.  I never gave VB a second thought when considering languages to be honest, thanks for that.  I have also looked at XNA from MS, but don't know enough about it to make an informed decision as to whether it would be my way forward or not.mmmmmm! you've given me plenty of food for thought, like it!  Yea, I understand the doing bit,  don't talk the walk, eh!I worked in sustaining engineering for 3DFX, before we were closed, and the testers there seemed to have a lot of fun, but then they where a pretty weird bunch :) Btw, money is not really an issue, as long as it's UK minimum wage and above I'd be happy.;  Damnit people, if you're still alive, and you have the desire, you're not too old to do anything! If you're motivated to do something why would you let something as insignificant as age be a barrier?   