Hey guys! I am currently in school for my Associate’s degree in Computer Science and I want to be a video game developer. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the best ways to become one and/or any schools that would be good for a bachelor’s in software development. Thank you all!
My road to “success” was to get a job working on Enterprise Systems and only doing game dev in my spare time. I may never have enough free time to actually finish my masterpiece, but at least I can work on what I want to work on.
If I worked for a game development company I might have my sights set on developing the next Epic ARPG but then get relegated to working on “The Kardashians’ Shopping Adventure straight-to-mobile” or whatever.
Of course the other option is to go in business for yourself and work on your dream game full time, but you’re taking a huge risk when you do that.
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Just make games. If you’ve spent most of your time looking into other fields outside of the games industry it might seem crazy but developers looking to hire people are mostly interested in your portfolio. Some companies will ask for degrees but even then it’s not that important.
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Make lots of small games, and share them. Build a portfolio of small games. Share pictures, videos, and downloads. If you are interested in mobile games, post your small games on Android and Apple stores. If you are interested in making PC games, post your games on Steam and itch.io.
If you also want to get a bachelor’s in software development, then do that as well. But actually making lots of small games is vastly more important than a degree.
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For me, I had a degree in biology but decided I wanted to be a game dev. I started by getting a job as a minimum wage manual QA tester. Then, I taught myself to program and eased into a Software Development Engineer in Test role that was 25% manual testing, and 75% test scripting - and initially this type of coding used very simple logic and apis that made it easy to grasp and build off of. I started outside the game industry doing this at an online education company.
My next company was a game developer that wanted a Unity QA framework built from scratch. So I moved across the US and developed Trilleon (which was the first open source, openly available, full automation framework for any game engine).
After doing that, I fully intended to move into general game development. But I was having so much fun and found what I was doing so fulfilling that I’ve stuck with the SDET role since. I’ve switched between game companies and non game companies, and I even worked here at Unity for a few years.
But I am developing my own indie game as a hobby as well, and I could probably get a slightly-above junior role as a general game dev. I’m naive about so much though since my work has always been devops-y rather than interacting with the normal visual stuff of game dev.
TL;DR: Start off where you need to start off, even if its at the bottom. Work hard and acquire skills outside of work time, like hobby development to keep learning. Especially if your current job doesn’t have you doing the things you ultimately want to be paid to do. Getting a programming job with minimal credentials is a lot easier than it is to get jobs in a lot of other industries.
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I would make the shit out of that video game.
Also OP, my route was working as a web generalist and building out a small portfolio of games, and I got active in the gamejam scene. Ended up meeting folks who knew people, got code tests and was eventually hired on. It’s achievable, you just may end up working on stuff you don’t find totally interesting. My first gig was early XR/AR stuff, and now I work on games I think are neat.
Doesn’t matter the school in my opinion, but take math seriously and read up on code/practice when its enjoyable. These two things will help you intuit things and make problems far less frustrating.
Don’t be afraid to apply, don’t be afraid to fail, and primarily don’t be afraid to say no if a job presents itself and the folks you’re talking to kinda suck. Interviews run two ways, and you being a “junior” doesn’t mean you don’t deserve respect or a fulfilling career.
Do what you want, but I wouldn’t aspire to become a game dev, there’s way better positions, that pay better, work less, and give you less stress.
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