Plan for Grant McNeil

Alot to learn, the hard way.

It's interesting.

I decided at a young age that I wanted to make computer games. I decided, I think, before I even ever played computer games.

I, unlike the industry professionals, was brought up in an atmosphere where 3D games like Quake II and Doom were all over the place. I can't laugh and reminisce when someone mentions the Atari 2600; I just wasn't old enough, or even born yet.

I'm 18 now; turning 19 next year. I'm in university, switching from the faculty of social sciences to the faculty of engineering, in order to take software engineering.

Through my early teens, I was hit the same way every teenager who wants to make games is hit. Actually, that's not true; if you're a modeler, artist, or designer; you can be good at what you do at any age. I was hit the same way every teenage programmer was hit. You don't learn what a cross product is until Geometry and Discreet Mathematics in grade 12. You don't learn what the parametric equations of a line are in 3-space are until grade 12. You don't really learn what you need to know to be programming in a 3D environment until your at least done high school. This meant that once I started playing with OpenGL and 3D Graphics theory, and all of a sudden I had to test the intersection of a line and a plane, I was in a hole.

I'm now out of that hole. I have the math, I'm taking the university courses, and I have what I need to actually be of some use. I can now skip the part of the 3D programming book that goes over matrices, rather than be confused by it entirely.

I've registered http://www.grantmcneil.com. I'm hoping I'll get a chance to flex my new found usefulness.

--Grant