Post Menu and Details.
- Find a Starting Point
- It Is Not Expensive
- Game Development is Labor Intensive
- Can You Get a Job?
- Do Coding Jobs Pay Well?
- Skills Needed to be a Game Developer
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Reading time: ~4 minutes
Developing games requires whole teams, massive server farms, and high-end computing equipment. Or, you can make a game on your Playstation with Dreams, or on your Nintendo with Mario Maker. Or, you can use a modern gaming engine like Unity or Unreal Engine and make your own game. In fact, you can learn coding from the start, and build your own game, as they did with Undertale, Thomas Was Alone, original Stardew Valley, and original Minecraft. You can go it alone and learn what you need from YouTube and the Internet, or you can take a few programming games online courses and start your journey towards making your own games.
Find a Starting Point
You need to find courses that teach you the very basics. There are websites and courses out there that are built for absolute newbies. They can teach you how to set yourself up, how to download and install the tools you need, and how to start your first game. You need to start as simply as possible. That is why programmers are always taught the “Hello World” program first. It is your first step toward becoming a coder.
It Is Not Expensive
If you have tried something like animating or video creating, then you know it is expensive. Companies out there (like Adobe) want you to pay monthly subscriptions that cost hundreds per year. The truth is that there are tools that may cost you hundreds per month to maintain a subscription, but you are not forced to use the paid stuff. Taking a course may be free or paid, it really depends on your goals and how you wish to learn. Needless to say, learning how to make your own games shouldn’t be expensive.
Game Development is Labor Intensive
Just like the animation process, developing a game starts out very fast, and then gets slower, and then around the last 10%, it gets so slow that you feel like giving up. The reasons for this are the same as with animation. Getting things started and working is pretty easy (the starting period). Honing, testing, fixing up, and expanding is more difficult (the middle bit). Fine-tuning and perfecting are diabolically time-consuming (the last 10%). When you see speed runners clipping through walls and finding exploits, they are there because the developer missed something during the last 10% of the development process. What’s more, you do not have a massive team of Q/A testers and bug fixers, so creating a good-quality game is going to take a lot of work.
Can You Get a Job?
You can go to college and university and get a slew of coding qualifications that will help you get any job with any game developer. Or, you can learn it all yourself at home, you can get good, and then still get a job with any developer. The game development world is like mainstream football. If you have the talent, then they all want you. It may be a little trickier to get the interview if you don’t have the higher education qualifications, but if you can prove your skills, they will hire you in a second. Plus, the more experience you get, especially experience with working with other people in teams, then the quicker the development companies will hire you.
Do Coding Jobs Pay Well?
This is a tricky subject because some do and some don’t. On a payment-per-hour basis, then the wages are pretty low. But, in terms of always being able to find work, and always being in demand, it is pretty easy to make a good living as a coder and game developer. The game industry is three times larger than the movie industry, and there are developers all over the globe, so you are not restricted to just a few places and/or countries.
Skills Needed to be a Game Developer
Programming
To create games, you’ll need to learn how to code. Many game developers use programming languages such as C# and C++. If you want to build games, you should figure out which programming language to learn first.
Having knowledge of Java would be beneficial if you want to develop mobile games, whereas you should learn C++ if you plan on developing desktop computer games. Many game industry roles require programming skills, not just engineers. Understanding coding and computer science can benefit game designers, technical artists, and event producers.
Design
Designing fun and aesthetically pleasing game is also important when developing games. Often, whether a game is successful is determined by the experience it provides.
Immersive experiences are as important to users as playable games. You can launch a new career as a game developer by becoming proficient in the user interface (UX) and user experience (UX) design.
Every day, the game industry faces new UX and UI challenges. The design of virtual reality and augmented reality presents a number of new challenges. Virtual reality has provided companies with the ability to create new experiences for customers.
There is a huge amount of money being invested in new technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality (VR). Sony’s innovation in the market has enabled it to overcome many competitors.
Companies can make a difference through well-designed products. You’ll stand out if you learn designing skills, so you’ll get the job you’ve been hoping for.
Problem-Solving
It is part of the daily routine of game developers to identify and fix bugs. In order to start a career, it is essential to be able to overcome challenges and solve problems.
During the design and development process, it will be helpful to be able to approach a problem or situation from multiple perspectives. When not approached with the right mindset, identifying and repairing bugs can be time-consuming. All problems have solutions, and it will only take a short period of time to find them.
Time Management
Game development is not an easy task. To develop a well-designed product, time and teamwork are required. Several deadlines must be met throughout the process. In a deadline-driven environment, time management skills are vital to ensuring the project is completed on time.
Thank you for reading!