| Anyone looking at a career in this field must have | | | | peers. |
| strong investigative and analytical talent. They must | | | | The military uses video flight simulators for training |
| also be able to work well as a team member, with | | | | and they have greatly improved real flight |
| other staff, and relate to clientele. They often deal | | | | performance from a tactical perspective. The military |
| with several tasks at the same time (multi-tasking), | | | | does this for a very good reason, because it is |
| they must also be able to focus on detail. A video | | | | extremely cost affective. The military use of video |
| game programmer is a computer programmer who | | | | games is also being used to teach situational tactics |
| primarily builds video games or associated software | | | | of combat. Video games like the Nintendo Wii give |
| (such as flight simulators for the government). Video | | | | realism to the game that has to be experienced to |
| programming has a lot of the same functions that a | | | | be appreciated. The graphics associated with one of |
| regular computer programmer uses but the graphic | | | | the standards Wii games although not |
| interface is the biggest difference. The design of the | | | | photographically perfect is extremely well done and |
| programs that create these video games can be a | | | | actually replicates the background terrain of real |
| rewarding and money-making endeavor. Why is that? | | | | places. |
| Well, the video game market has been a real growth | | | | Most professional video game programmers started |
| industry for most of the last decade. If you know | | | | programming when they were very young. Many of |
| nothing to very little about programming or game | | | | them had computers at home and they spent a lot |
| programming, just go to this web site: GameDev dot | | | | of time behind a monitor "hacking" programs. You will |
| net. You will find a great beginning reference for | | | | also find most potential programmers more |
| anyone that wants to get into the business of | | | | interested in reading a research paper than a comic |
| programming games. It answers many fundamental | | | | book. Some of them take computer-related courses |
| questions about how to start and where to get | | | | in High School but end up with a post graduate |
| more information about game programming. | | | | degree in a Computer Software Engineer related field. |
| The question of whether video games improve brain | | | | The middle fifty percent of computer software |
| function has never been clinically tested with any | | | | engineers earned between $67,000 and $105,000 in |
| degree of scientific certainty. However the empirical | | | | 2006. Those in the lowest ten percent of the group |
| evidence leads one to answer yes and from my | | | | earned less than $53,000 per year, whereas the |
| personal experience I agree that video games do | | | | highest paid ten percent made more than $126,000 |
| improve brain function. My children grew up playing | | | | per year. The number of computer software |
| video games from the time they were three years | | | | engineer jobs is anticipated to increase much faster |
| old. When the first video games started production | | | | than the average, as companies look for additional |
| around 1978 I introduced them to my three kids and | | | | ways to get in front of the competition and make |
| we played games and learned to write programs. | | | | operations the most proficient. Another factor driving |
| When the observation that children are better at | | | | the interest in this group is the problems with cyber |
| technological things than adults is made I related this | | | | security. However, job growth in this field may not |
| to the familiarity with using a computer for gaming. I | | | | be as rapid as it has been the last two decades as |
| also observed that use made the hand to eye | | | | some of work is outsourced to foreign countries. |
| coordination of my children superior to that of their | | | | |