One of the most common questions that programmers and gamers or those interested in the field of games have about how to start in the field of game development and how they can become game developers, and you often ask yourself these questions:
- What prior knowledge (base knowledge) should I have before starting the game development field?
- What are the types and parts of the game development?
- What is the roadmap to becoming a game developer?
- What are the best resources to learn from?
- What is the opportunity to get a job in game development and what is the salary?
Don’t worry in this article I will answer all the questions that come to your mind one by one!
Firstly let’s talk about what knowledge or experiences you should have to start with game development notice here I’m talking about the game development, not the game design so the main thing you should know before starting on the game development is that the programming and the code write is the base for the start:
1- So you should have enough skills and knowledge of programming before starting (I will talk about the specific programming languages you should learn in the later steps)
2- You should know the basics of designing and animation or at least you know what they are
Now to start with your way to becoming a game developer you should know what the game development parts and types to choose from them while you are learning, and what type of games you will do (Desktop, Mobile, VR, 2D, 3D, Xbox, …).
So lets with the Game developer’s positions:
1- Designer: A game designer is a person who designs gameplay, conceiving and designing the rules and structure of a game
2- Artist: A game artist is a visual artist who creates video game art. The art production is usually overseen by an art director or art lead, making sure their vision is followed. The art director manages the art team, scheduling and coordinating within the development team. The artist’s job may be 2D oriented or 3D oriented. 2D artists may produce concept art, sprites textures, environmental backdrops or terrain images, and user interfaces.
3- Programmer: A game programmer is a software engineer who primarily develops video games or related software (such as game development tools). The game’s codebase development is handled by programmers
4- Sound engineers: Sound engineers are technical professionals responsible for sound effects and sound positioning. They are sometimes involved in creating haptic feedback, as was the case with the Returnal game sound team at PlayStation Studios Creative Arts’ in London
5- Tester: Quality assurance is carried out by game testers. A game tester analyzes video games to document software defects as part of quality control. Testing is a highly technical field requiring computing expertise and analytic competence
Now after understanding the game developers’ positions and what can they do let’s focus know on the most important part which is the Road Map to being a Game Developer
First of all, you have to choose the game engine where you will develop your games, by the way, a game engine is a software that is required for a game’s operation, let’s take the top four game engines in 2022:
1- Unreal Engine
2- Unity
3- Open3D Amazon game engine
4- Cry Engine
Then you have to choose the programming language that you will use during your game development journey and that depends on the Game Engine you use, for example: if you will use Unity then you have to learn C# or if you will use Unreal Engine then you have to learn about C++
And of course, you should have the ability to design characters shapes using whatever software you prefer, and here are some of them:
Construct 3–2D: game design software for beginners
GameMaker Studio 2: no-code 2D & 3D game design tool
RPG Maker: JRPG-style 2D game design software
Godot: free and open-source game engine
Unity: most popular game engine among smaller studios
Unreal Engine: A game engine with superior visuals
ZBrush: the all-in-one-digital sculpting solution
Nuclino: documentation, worldbuilding, and planning tool
And that was everything for this article thanks for your attention and I hope you enjoyed it, I hope you have an interesting game development journey.
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