A question for computer science people.

I'm just wondering. How often will I have to use high level math? Because I'm a freshman computer science major hoping to become a video game designer. And I have to take calculus and other high level math classes. But are they really necessary? I know math is important for engineers and other things like that. I already have used very basic math equations to declare some variables. But I'm not sure how much I'll really be using calculus. Because I honestly hate math.

not that much. heck, i haven't even used my college maths for a long time

Doesn't video game design take a lot of geometry/space and change/motion into account? If so, I suspect a solid background in math would be helpful, seeing as it's the study of geometry and change. I don't know what aspect of design you want to be involved in, though. It could be that all you care about is the very broadest conceptual strokes, leaving others to worry about the details, but I doubt that, seeing as you are pursuing a CS major. Still, maybe this is just a launch pad for something more direction-oriented. There's little use in my guessing though haha

EDIT: I just realized, I'm not a computer science person :/

there are already programs made for that though.

For what?

motion capture. game physics

Wouldn't using these programs also involve math?

no because the programs do those stuff most of the time.

@hylian: If you don't find your answer I'd say you're better off asking a question on any of the multitudes of programming/computer science and/or college forums/discussions across the web as opposed to Comic Vine.

Not someone who works in computer science.

From my Limited Knowledge you Likely won't need much math for programming. but I only have poked my noise in a Bit of C++ and java.

Though Take your damned math classes is my advice.

Edit.

I'm skeptical. How does this work in practice? How is the vision of the designer made a virtual reality?

On another note, in general, math is pure logic expressed in symbols, abstract logic distilled from any and all physical situations where it is applicable. It is a paradigm for all thought and problem-solving (it is thought, though perhaps unconfirmed, that Plato refused to train in philosophy those who were not trained in mathematics, and logic is the both the means and end of all inquiry that seeks new knowledge of situations, of science), and I think anyone who is curious will benefit from training in it.

@hylian: I failed high school maths (presently resitting) and i know 3 computer programming languages and use them solely for game design in Unity3d i never use anything past basic maths.

A solid background of geographical math will certainly help. There are already multitudes of programs that makes certain aspects easier, however.

I think computer science involves logic type questions: if than, for example; if a>b<c than a<c type logic; also, you have to set up basic algebraic equations, even for a calculus program; the extent I got into computer science was Turbo Pascal and C++, with an option for Visual Basic; I'm wondering if C++ or Pascal are still even vital to computer science anymore; I got into a numerical methods course that goes into C++; but, actually, if you study Microsoft Excel to become an expert with it, you should gain at least a rudimentary knowledge of what computer science is probably like; Excel is vital in the chemistry lab, I'm pretty certain of. So, as far as I know, you won't actually be doing calculus, just programming the computer to do calculus; but, calculus broken down is advanced algebra; all upper level math, broken down to its roots, will be advanced algebra; in computer science, you'll just program advanced algebraic equations in the if than logic format. After that, I think computer science is actually mostly something a little unrelated to math, but, that's the part of computer science I never explored but where I'm considering getting into.

Well I guess of people are making programs for engineering things then I guess math is usefull. We're learning c++. I'm not sure if we'll go into any other programming languages.

@hylian: When you say you want to be a game designer... do you mean doing the programming or just the design?

I can tell you that designers dont really need any high level math. But, if you're doing design and programming, as in if you're doing your own independent game and doing all of it yourself... you will definitely need a lot of 3D math. As far as calculus and stuff like that, you dont need as much but it does help to know it. If you get into doing some physics programming or advanced graphics then you'll be reading papers that deal with calculus and more advanced topics.

C++ is the standard in the games industry, so you're on a good path. I'd recommend to learn your 3D math backwards and forwards, as well as any other math that you can take courses on. Engineers with solid math backgrounds definitely have an advantage in the games industry. In fact, I just interviewed a candidate for a senior software engineer position where I work and we're turning him down mainly because he's weak in math.

@willpayton: I hope to be more in the programming side of game design. I also hope to not develop things alone. Right now I have a very small knowledge of programming. we are now dealing with if else statments and switch statements. I want to download a basic game making program on my laptop so I can get a feel of making games.

That sounds great. I know you said that you hate math, but it is an important part of game development. A lot of math is used in graphics, AI, physics, UI, audio, gameplay programming and scripting, engine architecture, and many other areas of development for games. The better you are with it the better programmer and developer you will be, and of course the more in demand you'll be when trying to get a job.

@willpayton: there are a few game design classes that I can take at some point

i can only tell you on my end that there are pre-existing programs to help in game design and all you need is to input the data needed for it however there are higher ups in game design which design those whole programs. they are the ones that need a lot of high level math to recreate real life physic or wonky physics. odd thing with that though is that those kind of people are quite small in relation to the company's size.

What sort of data? Relative locations of objects in space and stuff like that?

sorta like that.

@hylian said:

For video game design?

Ehhh...not that much. Most developers, even AAA ones, just use already pre-existing engines like Unity to do much of the groundwork when developing games, such as physics, particle effects, etc, and as long as you have solid understanding of programming aspects, you should do just fine. It helps if you can think outside the box, though.

That being said, if you want to be elite-level, do maths. The entirety of the field of computer science is based on logic, mainly boolean logic, which becomes readily apparent if you do some high-level abstract programming like Prolog, and if you really, really want to understand the whole thing 100%, and write efficient code, you would do well to get a solid grounding in maths.

Also, having a solid grounding in mathematics usually helps make many of the more high-level programming concepts much easier to understand, than if you were just going at them blind. And despite looking somewhat daunting, most of the maths that surrounds computer science is not actually that hard to understand. It's less frustrating number-crunching and more abstract logic.

Either way, just my two cents. Good luck.

@orangebat: thanks.