“I want to become a computer game developer, but I’m failing. I just don’t have the talent; it’s just not in my nature. And I don’t have much money, which means I can’t hire specialists. And if I were to hire amateurs like me, what’s the point? It’s just not going to work out. Getting a job at an established development company is even harder. It’s just the end of it—no options.”
These are the excuses players come up with when they dream of becoming computer game developers. Is it really that difficult in practice? First, let’s look at the personal qualities needed to become a good game creator.
Personal qualities of a game developer
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First, universal human qualities (start counting on your fingers if you possess any of the following): persistence, diligence, openness to new knowledge, a good sense of taste, and a rich imagination. That’s probably enough for a start.
All this is so… the general background of a developer’s personality. The most important thing: if you want to create games, then you must have the corresponding TALENT… Now, the question probably arises: “What? Talent? Is there no way to get by without it?”
Keep calm, keep calm. Everything is not as hopeless as it seems.
What is talent? It’s not some gift from above, bestowed upon you at birth. Not at all. Don’t be misled by this common but false definition.
Talent is a strong and irresistible desire to do a certain thing.
Without this desire, any activity becomes either a chore or an interesting pastime. And the things created in such a work ethic, without desire, are of poor quality. In creative professions, the lack of talent is immediately apparent.
A computer game created under duress from a powerful publisher, or even worse—cobbled together by inexperienced modders—can begin to look pale in comparison to the brilliant work of a team of talented developers who enjoy their work.
It’s important to learn to distinguish between the concepts of “dream,” “passion,” and “desire.” When you’re just planning to become a developer, without actually doing anything, you’re dreaming. When you’re starting something, learning to create, exploring game editors, tripping over everything possible, you’re passionate about it. When you’ve firmly decided to see it through, when all bridges have been burned and there’s no way to give up, when you’ve decided it yourself and not been forced, when no obstacles stand in your way, when they’re all eventually overcome through persistence—that’s when you truly “desire.” Anyone who’s ever been in love knows what it’s like to truly desire.
The problem of lack of experience
A huge number of players, after a few attempts at creating their own games, abandon this crazy idea. After all, nothing works right away, and the lack of necessary experience is the cause. This is the wrong approach.
Lack of proper skills and knowledge is not a reason to give up on your dream.
The main thing is to feel talent within yourself – an unquenchable and burning desire to create something of your own, to set your own rules of the game, to dedicate your whole life to this activity.
Talent will eventually improve the necessary skills, accumulate the required level of experience, develop artistic taste, and an intuitive sense of what and how to do things. All it takes is time and persistence. Only through extensive practical experience will it be possible to create a true masterpiece. It truly is possible.
In summary, to become a game developer, you need to:
at the beginning – a talent that you can ignite within yourself;
in the process – patience, perseverance and openness to new knowledge.
Developer Categories
Even if you fail to develop your talent, you can still pursue game development. Experience isn’t a requirement, either, as there are plenty of amateur developers, alongside professional ones.
In general, developers of all levels can be divided into five types:
| Types of developers | Qualities | ||
| Masters | experience | passion | desire (talent) |
| Craftsmen | experience | passion | – |
| Stampers | experience | – | – |
| Fans | – | passion | desire (talent) |
| Amateurs | – | passion | – |
Masters are professional, experienced, and passionate developers who have a strong desire to create games and dedicate their entire lives to this pursuit. These are the ideal game creators; they create masterpieces worthy of the title of works of art. They exist in Russia, but they are very few in number. They don’t train young people, don’t recruit new specialists, and don’t rush their releases. They are too passionate about their core business to develop the entire industry as a whole. Only true fans of computer games can become such masters.
Craftsmen are experienced developers who create games with the same passion, but only during work hours, without excessive enthusiasm. They represent the so-called “middle class” of game creators. They release interesting, high-quality games that fall just short of masterpieces. They incorporate other people’s work into their games, skillfully transforming and disguising it as their own. But sometimes, their experience allows them to polish old ideas to a level of brilliance that ultimately eclipses the original.
In Russia, there are slightly more such developers than masterpiece creators. But in reality, their number should be dozens of times greater. Compared to other countries, we have a catastrophic shortage of mediocre developers.
Stampers are experienced developers who create games for a living. They make up the majority of the gaming industry. They create niche projects, aimed at a specific audience from the outset. Their primary focus is on game elements that appeal to players and have proven their relevance time and again. Creative work is kept to a minimum, relying on good advertising, beautiful graphics, and standard gameplay. They mostly release simplified clones of popular games. In a nutshell, their work can be described as “empty games.”
Nowadays, the “stampers” are actively creating online, browser-based games, and applications for social networks, gradually leaving single-player games alone.
Fans are non-professional creators who lack the necessary experience but compensate for this lack with a strong desire to create computer games. They lack the funds to develop full-fledged games, and most often they release only fan-made add-ons, sometimes of very high quality (this is how Counter-Strike, DotA, and Portal were created).
While expansions aren’t the only thing, a new format has recently gained popularity: indie games , which are small, unusual, and innovative games that don’t require large development costs. The emergence of the indie movement has given fans another significant opportunity to realize their bold projects.
Hobbyists are ordinary players who decided to try their hand at game development. Their lack of experience is not compensated for, and the results of their work leave much to be desired. Don’t confuse fan-made and amateur add-ons. Fan-made content is much higher quality, but also less common. Amateur creations, on the other hand, are littered across the internet.
Author of the article: D_ED_2
Date of creation: 04/12/2011
Practical advice for beginning developers
Enough theory, now some practical advice. This is the information most often needed by aspiring game developers. There are several main paths leading into the gaming industry.
Solo game development (indie games)
First, you can develop games solo. This will require a general understanding of all stages of the game creation process: programming, graphics, design, level design, voice acting, music, writing, bug fixing, and release. If you decide to shoulder this entire burden alone, the development of an average-sized game could drag on for several years at best, and a lifetime at worst.
A ready-made game engine can significantly ease the burden on a game developer. A game engine is a program that contains general game-building algorithms. Most often, a game engine already includes a level system, character models, physics governing the behavior of game objects, and modules for connecting various media files (images, sounds, and music) to the game. The developer simply needs to insert their characters into the ready-made engine, create their own levels, events, text, and media files. Programming is minimized, and the game’s design and content take center stage.
Some game engines are distributed free of charge, but higher quality, more sophisticated, and more modern ones are naturally sold for money.
Free game engines (game creation programs):
2D: GameMaker 8, RPG Maker, Construct.
3D: GameMaker 3D, 3D Rad, Unity 3D, UDK, CryENGINE.
Flash: Adobe Gaming SDK, Stencyl, Citrus.
Mobile: Adobe AIR, Cocos2d, jMonkey engine.
More details about this can be found on the page ” Game Creation Programs “.
Creating your own gaming studio
Secondly, you can assemble your own group of developers. People interested in game development aren’t as numerous as you might think. You can’t simply walk through your apartment building and recruit all your gaming friends. While many of them might be inspired by the idea of becoming world-famous developers, it’s unlikely that any of them will be willing to sacrifice their work or even personal time for it. It’s best to look for like-minded individuals on websites specializing in game development. You’ll find people there who already have at least some skill. Moreover, by hanging out with other hobby developers, you’ll inevitably gain experience and new knowledge.
Hobbyist developer communities:
GcUp.ru , GameDev.ru , game-maker.ru .
More details about this can be found on the page ” Websites about creating computer games “.
Employment in a professional company
Third, if you possess some highly specialized skills and talents, you can try to join an existing professional gaming company. There are many diverse creative professions whose specialists are needed in computer game development.
Game developer professions:
programmer, artist, game designer, map designer, tester.
But if you join a large company, you won’t be designing and creating games; you’ll only be participating in their development and helping bring other people’s game ideas to life. Nevertheless, interacting with professional developers can provide you with unique, invaluable experience that you can later apply to your own projects.
Have you decided to join a gaming company, but aren’t sure which one, how to introduce yourself, or how to contact potential employers? The best way to find a job in this case might be to visit dtf.ru. Here, you can easily find out which gaming companies are located in your city, their office locations, and their current openings.
