What I need to learn if I want to become a game developer?

tramtram

Hello guys, I am still a student, but I get a strong ambition toward game developer. However, things still new to me, and I am pretty struggling to find a direct to pursue this career. So based on your experience, what do I need to learn or pay attention to? Thank in advance

fire7side

A professional game developer that isn't an indy would be pretty specialized in either modeling, 2d art, programming or writing. An indy, you have to do it all, except maybe modeling or 2d art, you would only need one of those, possibly. If you want to get hired by a game company, though, you probably need to specialize and get really good at one of those. You will probably need to relocate also, but most jobs, you have to do that now days. It's kind of a narrow field, so you should make sure you can get hired in other areas, also. Like graphic artist if you are on the art end, or general programming if you are on the other end. Don't cut yourself too short.

TwistedTwigleg

Welcome to the forums @tramtram!

Game development is a pretty big field with many different aspects to it, so it's hard to recommend something for just general game development on a whole. I would say having some basic programming skills is probably a must, as even art leaning game development roles can benefit from some experience. Likewise, knowing some of the basic game development terminology (assets, scenes, nodes, resources, etc) can be helpful.

From a game engine perspective I would highly recommend looking at learning Unity or Unreal engine, as that is where most of the jobs are currently. Not to say learning or using Godot is bad, but if you are looking to make a career out of it, having at least basic experience in one or both of those game engines would be a huge plus. Some indie studios use other tools and engines, but the majority of game jobs I've seen recently have been very Unity and Unreal engine leaning.

Another thing I would recommend, regardless of game engine, is making and releasing some small projects, as it shows you have experience to recruiters. That can be a major help with getting your foot in the door with getting interviews, as it shows experience that the company/recruiter/etc can go and look at. The games don't need to be super long or anything, just a nice experience. However, I would put some emphasis on making the game project you release look visually appealing if possible. Sometimes the people looking at your work may not be game developers themselves and so they are seeing it more from a visual perspective than a technical one. That said, it really varies based on how the recruitment process works.

I'm probably missing some things, but those are the general tips I would recommend for anyone looking to get into game development based on my current experience. I should note that, while I've worked in game development myself, my experience is somewhat limited and should be taken with a grain of salt :smile:

cybereality

It depends what you want to do. Game development has positions for all roles, including the obvious like programmers, artists, designers, writers, music producers, etc. but also just about everything else from community managers, lawyers, accountants, marketing, PR, HR, QA, customer support, etc. So you could gain expertise in just about any discipline and still work in games.

Starting out, you might not land a job at a big company, so you'll probably need to start with making indie games to at least gain some experience. This will mean learning many disciplines yourself, but hopefully finding which one you like the most and want to focus on. It will also build your portfolio so you can land your first job (or maybe make a hit indie game and not need a traditional job).

In terms of education, there are many colleges that have game development degrees these days, but I would recommend going for a more general degree so you leave your options open. So if you want to be a programmer, go for Computer Science. This holds a lot more weight than a game dev degree, also if you want to transition to a normal job later (like working for a tech company, in finance, etc.) then the Computer Science degree will be better. If you want to do art, just go to an art school (though I did go to art school years ago, and the degree is not worth much. Artists are judged on their portfolio almost exclusively).

But before you consider an expensive college degree (which is less relevant these days) maybe read some books to see if it is even something you want to do. There is a big difference between playing games and making games. I would recommend books specifically because they seem to be more educational than YouTube tutorials, for example. Then build some simple games (like Pong, Tetris, Breakout, Asteroids, etc.) and see if it's something you enjoy. Also, Godot is the best engine for learning how to make games, so you made a good choice coming here. Cheers, and good luck!