Career as Game Developer
A Game Developer is mostly seen working in teams to help make an idea for a game to come to life. The work prior to setting up a game includes creating a story, outlining the designs and creating a prototype giving sound effects, assuring the quality. The gaming industry is notoriously a very volatile industry with abundant layoffs; it requires strict hard work and long working hours. It is a unique industry to be a part of it. In this industry, you basically create a world for others to play in so that they can escape into a world of your creativity in every sense. Indeed a professional or a hobbyist anyone with a drive can become a Game Developer.
- About Game Developer :
- Job Profile |
- How do I get there?
Job Profile
1) Game Programmer - You have to earn a computer science degree and download the Unity or Unreal and try to follow some online tutorials. You can also read books on how to program games on the engines.
2) Game Artist - You have to earn an art degree in a degree the program that can specialize in computer animation and start creating a portfolio of models. You can use the animation and environments in your video games. Photoshop and illustrator skills can also help you.
3) Game Designer - You have a choice for this category. You can earn a degree in computer science or a degree in Art, which is totally up to you. You should design some board games and some video games. Read books on the games for it’s designing. Download Unity or Unreal, and you can create your own gaming level.
4) Audio Engineer - You can earn an audio engineering degree for the category. It is a very pleasant degree to be achieved as you can come across some tempting music out there. Build your own portfolio for sound effect and some best music themes, work on it. It should be appropriate for a video game.
5) Voice over - You should have knowledge about the tone and intonation of voice. How and when to change according to the game situation. Make a Portfolio of your best voice over. It should be appropriate for a video game.
6) Project Manager - You have to learn to be a game programmer, artist, designer or audio engineer, and you have to learn about Scrum and project management connoisseur.
7) Game Publisher - If you are interested in the business of the gaming industry and you want to produce a game a large publisher then you have to earn an MBA degree and have to follow developments of the gaming industry. It will be fruitful for the business side and the development side.
8) Quality Assurance Tester - You can earn a high school diploma and develop good skills at written and verbal communication, follow the instructions, and you have to think outside the box. Having talent in the written and the verbal categories will do just this to this job. Rest, you have to be observant, knowledgeable about games and game hardware.
Pros and Cons of the game developer job
Pros
1) Competitive- Day by day competition is increasing in this industry. The percentage of people who want to enter this industry is more than the jobs available in this industry. So, you have to be really attractive to become a game developer.
2) Highly Paid- According to glassdoor.com, the average salary for a game developer is about $68,000 in the USA. You can have a vision and make it in reality, a rewarding career.
3) Fulfilling- If you truly Hanger for this job then don't expect to have control over the project you are working on 1st of enjoying your work on your own and feel as if you are part of the team.
Cons
1) Unstable- Mostly, an average takes a lot of job at a particular time as to frequently, companies go out of the business or teams are shuffled as soon as their project is completed.
2) Stressful- People in this industry have to be particular with the deadline, and sometimes there may be some critical problems that prevent you from meeting the deadline.
3) Exhausting- You have to be particular with your working hours and deadlines. The hours can even be longer and can be exhausting sometimes.
4) Unbalanced- This job is not for the people who want to work in 9to5 enterprises. It has some unpredictable working hours. It is getting better day by day, but still, it is hard to maintain family life.
5) Fulfilling- If you truly hanker for this job then don't expect to have control over the project you are working on 1st of enjoying your work on your own and feel as if you are part of the team.
Salaries
Future Growth and How to get their faster
It will just grow and grow in the coming years, and it has the potential to engage people in it. If you know about the gaming sensation PUBG, it is becoming a craze among youngsters. So competition in this profession is growing higher and higher.
Every game developer will tell you that you need to be more hard-working to get into this industry. If your friends are working at a 9 to 5 office job, then you have to be prepared for some challenges in the working hours. A successful game developer always develops their game quality. There are more aspirants than the jobs so you will have to be beyond better. It is not a fun job but a tedious one. It is challenging, frustrating, and you need maximum effort if you want to make it through. Make sure that the game developer job is your passion. If you don't have this drive, then you won't be able to compete in this industry.
How do I get there?
However, you start now or later, you have to start small. It’s easy to get caught in the game goals. You can’t start big. Start with a small project. In the beginning, start a very basic concept and set a very short timeline that would be less than a month and then will the game.
You should develop your skills and stay motivated, and you can see some small ones. The small ones will keep you happy and make you excited to strive more. Lastly, your portfolio is your pal. It is bigger than your degree in this industry to stop portfolio shows your potential and help you stand out more than a degree.How much does it cost?
There are two ways that will tear your mind apart, until you see how mechanics make everything you experience happen. You will already have plenty of people paying thousands of dollars to attend a class.
On the other hand, you pick up Unity or Unreal or YouTube. Experiment on your own. There are many free resources to teach you how to build levels, and if you develop it and showcase it in your portfolio, then there will be little things that will hold you back from getting a job.
The initial step to perform the above things is to get a Computer Science degree, which will cost you a minimum of Rs 4 Lakh.
What can we see in the coming years?
It will just grow and grow in the coming years, and it has the potential to engage more people in it. If you know about the gaming sensation PUBG, it is becoming a craze among youngsters. So competition in this profession is growing higher and higher.
What are the Top Colleges where one should be studying to become the following?
|
Degree |
College |
Fees |
|
Computer Science |
IIT Delhi-Indian Institute of Technology ( IITD) |
Rs 4.47 Lakh |
|
Computer Science |
IIT Bombay-Indian Institute of Technology( IITB) |
Rs 8.85 Lakh |
|
Art College |
National Institute of Design ( NID) |
- |
|
Art College |
Symbiosis Institute of Design |
- |
|
Audio Engineering |
Government Polytechnic, Mumbai |
Rs 30,000 |
|
Audio Engineering |
Crypto Cipher Academy |
Rs 1.80 Lakh |
Books and Study Materials
- Game Engine Architecture, second edition by Jason Gregory
- Game Coding Complete- 4th edition by Mike McShaffry and David Graham
- Android NDK Game Development CookBook by Sergey Kosarevsky and Viktor Latypov
- GPU Pro 6: Advanced Rendering Techniques
What if this career does not work out for me? What are the other options for a person with these credentials?
Having studied and trained for game developing and initially in computer science, there are lots of other options in teaching, IT and online freelancing fields in this aspect to explore and also succeed in.
Other careers of your interests
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Content on this page is by Career Expert Mrs. Kum Kum Tandon MA (Psychology), M.Ed, Diploma in Educational Psychology, Vocational Guidance & Counseling (NCERT, Delhi) | View Complete Profile |