Creating Video Games by J. Blue Spicer

The video game industry has rapidly grown in the last 30 years. What people come to expect from video games has changed. The 8-bit graphics and consoles that your parents grew up with have been surpassed by highly-rendered graphics and machines as small as cell phones. These improvements have increased the demand for software programmers who can take full advantage of the ever-changing video gaming world.

Many gamers have no idea where to begin when they want to grow from merely players to designers. The truth is, many of the best designers learned how to program as early as middle school. Many middle and high schools offer computer courses that gradually walk students though the basics of programming. Soon, you'll learn how to create graphics that imitate real life.

Once you've mastered the basics, it's time to choose a discipline. Video games are more than just experiences in front of a screen. They require working on servers for host players, using game physics so that characters move realistically, and programming with artificial intelligence so that characters act and react naturally. Now that people play video games on tablets, smartphones, and virtual reality headsets, it's critical to make sure games perform perfectly. Becoming the next great video game designer begins by learning how to program, and by picking the right discipline for what interests you most.

1

Select ALL the correct answers.

1.Which two details should be included in a summary of the passage?

2 Your interest in video games will take you a long way in the rapidly growing industry.

3 Choosing an area of expertise in the video game field that matches your interests is important.

4 Because of advances in technology, you can play a video game on devices as small as cell phones.

5 To make video game characters more realistic, you will need to work with artificial intelligence.

6 You can start learning how to become a video game developer by taking a programming course in school.