3D Gameplay Programming

[royibernthal]

I'm continuing a topic which originally started mainly as an Ogre question but later developed into a bigger discussion about the bigger picture.
Old discussion: http://www.ogre3d.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76556


I want to become a 3D gameplay programmer and I'm trying to get on the right path. I have an extensive experience in Adobe Flash ActionScript 3.0 (OOP).

I'm attracted to developing specific game-related features rather than 3D rendering capabilities. Examples:
Quests, Inventory, Skills, Customizable Characters, Monsters, Breakable Objects, Chests, Factions, Parties...

Do those features belong to gameplay programming? If not what are? (examples would be great)

In the old discussion we got to the conclusion that Ogre is not for me because I'm not looking to build an engine from scratch.
I was hoping to open doors with C++, and would like to hear opinions of how I should proceed and what path I should choose.

Is there a future in dedicating my next few years to developing in UDK?

I aim to one day become a lead gameplay programmer in a big games company such as CDProjektRed, Blizzard, UbiSoft...
Or alternatively expand myself at some point once I'm on a clear path.

[bstone]

That's a very vast field and every company will most likely have its own approach to gameplay design/coding: from C++ code to scripts, to data driven components, and so on. C++ is not a bad choice because if you can prove that you are outstanding with coding gameplay features/elements with C++ - that means you will be equally effective with scripts and data sheets, the opposite wouldn't hold though.

And you don't really need any 3D if you are talking gameplay here. Consider Dwarf Fortress as one example.

[royibernthal]

Yes obviously. Can the kind of features I mentioned above really be created using scripts and data sheets? Even if so, would it be wise?

I'm not very familiar with the job descriptions and I might be getting it all wrong. Do you think you can write a few examples of Engine Programmer vs Gameplay Programmer tasks?

What I want to do is work on 3D games. In 2D games I can take charge of all programming aspects, and that's what I do. On the other hand it seems like in 3D I'm going to have to specialize.

I'm looking for coding not scripting. So again I might got the wrong impression about gameplay programming.