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Everything you need to know about game development

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Video games have been considered as a mere pass time but not anymore! Who could have thought that one can make a successful career as a game developer? That’s the reason why most avid gamers have started looking around to make their respective careers in the gaming industry.

Well, if you are one of those seeking around for the best career opportunities in the game development industry then the following post is worth reading. Here you will know everything about game development.

Not to mention that over the past decade, the video gaming industry seems to have evolved or should I say transformed to a great extent. To grab the attention of the current players, a game developer is supposed to add realistic graphics,  3D graphics, 4K video resolutions and motion sensors, attention-grabbing storylines, and a plethora of in-game features.

In fact, gone are the days when Gen X used to fear about making use of technology in their day-to-day lives. And look at the times now, today the first thing to calm a crying baby is by distracting them via a tablet or a smartphone.

Game Development – One of the Most Exciting Career Path

Did you know that the average game developer’s salary can rise to $100,000. Also, it has been stated that in the year 2020, the gaming industry generated $155 billion in terms of revenue. No wonder tech giants such as Google, Meta (META), formerly Facebook, and Apple (AAPL) have already started delving into the multi-billion dollar gaming industry.

On that note, Microsoft has already entered the realm, do you remember the Xbox console? After a while, Project xCloud was released which was a video game streaming service, allowing users to stream Microsoft’s Xbox games to PCs or other devices. Even the COVID-19 massive hit turned out to be beneficial, offering unusual silver linings & perks for the industry.

In today’s times, living without your technical devices for a day or two has become next to impossible. Something is always there, a laptop, a tablet or of course your smartphone. Not to mention these devices seem to have brought so much fun and evolvement, basically, we are blessed with these full-time mini power-packed entertainment centers.

Some of the popular game categories worth considering include:

  • Combat
  • Room escape
  • Murder Mystery
  • Strategy Making
  • Simulation
  • Educational
  • Competitive
  • Puzzle-solving
  • Social games
  • Location-based games

What exactly is Game Development?

Well as the name implies, it is a process of developing and designing a game right from scratch to the time when it’s deployed or should I say launched. The process involves different steps and stages, each phase requires unique skills and well-experienced game development firms. So what are the different tasks in a game developer’s life?

  • Developing new ideas, preparing or conceptualization
  • Transforming visual ideas into codes
  • Prototype, iterate, and polish gameplay
  • Collaborate well with different designers, producers, artists, quality analysts
  • Monitor game stability
  • Review existing code and recommend enhancements
  • Porting games from one system to another

Skills to become successful as a Game Developer

  • Intense know-how of the Object-Oriented Programming Language
  • Absolute knowledge of Game level design
  • Transforming everything into functional code
  • Understanding what exactly it takes to be a game developer
  • Integrating design ideas seamlessly
  • Spotting bugs and issues in-game code and maintaining or modifying different versions of the game code
  • Having an absolute knowledge of different game software and tools

Panda3D, PlayCanvas, GameSalad, Unreal Engine, Unity, GameMaker: Studio

Godot Engine and Marmalade are some of the most popular tools used by game developers in today’s times.

How to Become a Game Developer?

1 Go through different Video Games inside out

Developing video games is not easy but somehow it still turns out to be a doable job. However, when you have to ace something you need to study it thoroughly inside-out and the gaming industry is no different here. You can begin by having a better understanding of what different types of video games are available and how they are different.

When you put your time and effort into studying these games, you will be able to figure out what may have led the developer to include some aspects in the following game. Try paying attention to the game’s narrative structure and how it advances throughout the game. When you start playing games mindfully, it’s then you start having a comprehensive understanding of different games, their features, how they work, why and when they are needed, etc. This eventually makes you an asset to the game development industry.

2 Educational Requirements

Of course, there are educational requirements associated with the game development industry. In fact, there are a plethora of game development companies that tend to look out for candidates, especially those who have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field. On that note, it may quite interest you to know that you will come across several reputable and renowned universities that intend to offer degrees or minors or specialization courses in game designing and interactive entertainment. Also, if a game developer turns out to be well-versed with some more interesting topics like virtual reality, game development, or 3D graphics and animation, then it will be a cherry on the cake.

  • Game artists, these professionals are known for creating 2D and 3D images to render graphics
  • Animators tend to develop characters, settings, props, and other objects that come to life.
  • Writers assist well in creating in-game scripts, dialogues
  • Audio engineers mix different soundtracks for background music, voice-over recordings, and sound effects.
  • Producers are more like project managers, they make sure that everything is done from conception to completion.
  • Video game descriptions tend to create game characters, settings, storylines, and gameplay.
  • Game testers identify bugs and report the same for necessary changes.

3 Gain Relevant Work Experience

Apart from having profound knowledge, having professional work experience is equally important. This definitely gives a solid push to your career as a game developer. Try finding some kind of entry-level work as a designer or developer or tester. Sometimes what you learn by experience is way more than any bookish knowledge.

Apart from this, one needs to have solid coding skills and for that having a basic knowledge of mathematics and physics is extremely important. Here you are required to create equations which can direct computing systems to perform especially in certain ways. Also, physics can assist in understanding different concepts such as mass, inertia, and thermodynamics.

Final Words

The gaming industry is developing every now and then and making a career out of what you love is the best decision to make. I mean very few of us get this opportunity to say I am going to work at what I love, so why not grab it with both hands and make a successful professional career as a game developer?

I hope the blog turns out to be quite insightful, in case if you have any doubts or queries regarding the same, feel free to mention them in the comment section below. So what are you waiting for? Time to get your foot in the door and get started with your career as a game developer.