A Dream Job in Game Development. Try Your Hand at Gamedev
Work in the gaming industry is often seen as a gamer's dream and more of a hobby than a serious business. Still, many people want to get into game development: experienced artists, inexperienced developers, animators, and testers. Today we'll talk about the pros and cons of working in game development, what the jobs in the gaming industry are, and how to start in game development.
Want to get into game development: where to start and how to understand if it's worth trying?
In gamedev there are a lot of directions to develop in. We will talk about certain professions later, but now let's focus on how you can understand if there is a place for you in the gaming industry. It's logical to analyze your skills and talents to figure out what knowledge prevails. Whether you are a journalist with scriptwriting experience, a programmer with a background in application development, or an experienced digital artist, everything is simple and clear. But if none of your professions have anything to do with game development, then you should think about it.
To make a plan for conquering the realm of dreams, you need to honestly answer the following questions:
● Do I have the necessary education?
● Which professions in gamedev are the most interesting to me?
● What qualities, skills and knowledge can be useful in this area?
● Do I know programming languages, can I draw, animate, write scripts or maybe perfectly master the English language?
● Do I have experience in game development or IT?
● Am I ready to radically change my work profile in view of my current employment, salary level, family status (the list can go on and on) and dive into the learning process?
● Do I really want to develop games or do I just like playing them?
Based on the answers received, you can analyze the realism of the idea and plan further actions:
● Find courses in programming, animation, game design or start self-study if you have no basic knowledge. If you already have some knowledge, it is advisable to check its relevance.
● Look at open positions, subscribe to interesting companies on social networks and job boards, assemble a pool of frequent requirements for the desired position and start filling in knowledge gaps.
● Collect a portfolio of projects worked on, if
Which specialists work on game development?
First of all, you should understand the existing game development professions. Depending on the scope of the project, genre and platforms for which the product is created, the list of required specialists can vary greatly. But the basic positions remain roughly the same.
● The producer controls the quality of the product and is responsible for making the game interesting. The producer is a game designer with long-term experience.
● A project manager is a master of planning and task setting. He monitors the execution of tasks, deadlines, the pace of work and the quality of its execution.
● A game designer is responsible for a positive gaming experience for gamers. Game designers perform various tasks: from developing the main mechanics of the game to designing individual levels. On large projects, more than 50 game designers can handle different areas.
● The scriptwriter creates a description of the worlds, thinks about the plot and characters, writes dialogues. The finished texts are usually proofread by the editor and the translators adapt the content to different languages.
● A programmer can have different areas of responsibility (animation, graphics and sounds, microservices, UI, game driver development, backend and client part).
● The artist creates characters, draws places, a world map. On medium and large projects, there are departments of concept artists, 3D artists and modelers, texture artists, 2D artists.
● The animator brings the drawn art to life using animations using the appropriate software.
● The sound engineer fills the game with music, creates and processes the necessary sounds and voices.
● The tester runs the game on different devices, tests all possible options for completing the levels, fills out reports on the errors found. If you are looking for a job in this profession, Jooble will help you find your dream job.
Pros and Cons of Working in Gamedev
As in all other fields, working in Gamedev also has its pros and cons.
Pros of Working in Game Development:
● Opportunity for remote work;
● Interesting projects;
● Creative team;
● High salary level.
Cons of Working in Game Development:
● Tight deadlines;
● High level of competition.
