- Introduction
- Who is a Game Developer
- Game Developer Jobs Description with the Skills
- How to start learning Game Development
- A day in the life of a Game Developer
- What are the advantages of a Game Development Course
Introduction
Game developers can be programmers, artists, sound designers or in roles demanded by the industry. Game development can either be implemented by big development studios or by individuals. If you wish to become a game developer, it’s not important that you know to code, if you are interested you can join as a sound designer, graphic designer etc.
The major role of the Game developer is to pour that artistic vision into reality via codes, a testing engineer tests the game and presents the final report about the working of the game.
Who is a Game Developer ?
A person who develops the game is known as a game developer. They are the ones who portray the idea of a video game and turn them into reality with code and graphics. There are various domains under game development, it’s you who has to choose one and excel in that. Game developers need to be flexible so that they can adapt to the market and audience to add value in their projects. Currently, most of the game development studios and organizations hire people for specific roles as that makes work easier and faster. If you are planning to launch your own project then make sure you are ready to fit into different shoes.
There are 4 major components in game development:
1. Planning/designing
2. Execution
3. Testing and debugging
4. Maintenance
Now let’s discuss all these parts in detail to get an in-depth knowledge of them.
1. Planning/designing : You can’t start without having an idea about the final product. Planning/designing is the must step of game development. There are different kinds of games and you need to make sure which one will be your final product; real time strategy games are different from a turn based RPG, RPG is totally different from FPS games. So a game developer and the developing organization will have to spend time in deciding what type of game they are looking forward to developing. The game developer will have to define the mechanics of the game, whether it will have crafting, swimming, battleground and how it will look from user end; UI. There are tons of questions that need solutions on paper before the idea gets implemented in the form of code. Design is the pillar of game development.
2. Execution : Once the design is ready then it’s time for the execution. Execution is about creating the game with multimedia and programming. There is a team who is responsible for the execution of the idea into reality.
3. Testing & debugging : The third major step is the testing of the game. The game developed will go through different sorts of tests that will involve organization, the developer and the playtesters. Various tools will be used to monitor the game performance and after the test the whole team will
generate feedback. If the feedback is satisfactory then the game will go on to the next step and if not then the developer will make the described changes and the game will be tested again.
4. Manintainance : Maintenance can be considered as the last most important step in the game development process. Maintenance can be of two types : In some cases ‘maintaining the game’ can be considered as making more content for the game and in the other case this can usually mean documenting the details of game construction. It is important to document the details of game construction as it is possible that the particular developer or the team may not be incharge of the game for lifetime.
Game Developer Jobs Description with the Skills
There are different job profiles on which you can work in the game development industry.
● UI/UX Developer : UI/UX developers is one of the most in demand job profiles currently in the industry. UI stands for User Interface, button, on-screen overlay, health, anime, colors, etc fall in the domain of user interface. The UI developer makes sure that the interface is pleasing and intuitive to hold the audience’s attention for a longer duration.He also makes sure that the UI is capable of coalescing with the overall mechanics of the game.They make sure that bad UI doesn’t ruin the game.
● Game Programmer : Ideas can’t be turned into reality without codes. Developers are often the programmers who play a major role in the game development.They take the responsibility of
execution and make sure using the most efficient coding techniques they turn the gaming idea into reality. As a beginner programming might look like a difficult task but once you start practising the concept, it becomes easy. If you are an individual trying to explore game development then Unity, Unreal, Gamemaker can be a good choice for you to start your development. JavaScript, HTML,C++ ,Python etc are few programming languages on which you should have command.
● Game Designer : A game designer is a person who is specialized in planning the aspects of the game. They figure out the mechanics which are going to be an integral part of the game as well as make sure that the game is interesting and has fun for the users. They can also be the one narrating and crafting the story of the game, they often work with writers and make sure the story behind the game is interesting and entangling.
● Sound Designer : A person who specializes in sound design is named as a Sound Designer. He is the one adding sound to the game, one responsible to manage every aspect of sound involved within the game. The sound includes both the background music and the sound effects that will be used throughout the game. Sound Designers have a wide skill set, creative mind and a vision. They collect and edit the audio as per the demand. The difficulty faced by sound designers is that they have to make sure that the sound is timed correctly in the game.
● Game Artist : The job profile of a game artist is for the one who is specialized in creating assets specifically for the game, it can either be a 2D pixel art or 3D models. This job profile can suit the people who are least interested in programming.
The main task of the asset is to be of different size , fulfil different criteria of performance for different platforms.
● Game Animator : A person who specializes in game animation is called a Game Animator. They focus on collecting the game assets and animate the various actions that need to be in the game. They make sure that animation is timed correctly with
the collisions, it works smoothly and transition between the animation works smoothly. This job profile can be for a person who has a creative aspect and is also aware of technical and programming knowledge for games.
Game Developer’s Salary Trend in India and the US
● The salary of the Junior Game Designer is $61,292 per annum. ● The salary of the Senior Game Designer is $70,750 per annum. ● The salary of the Junior Game Developer is $ 71,724 per annum.
● The salary of the Senior Game Developer is $83,739 per annum.
If we talk about the average salary trend of a Game Developer in India, the average base salary of a Game Developer in the beginning years is Rs 5 lakh per annum.
Game Developer’s Salary based on company.
1. Ingenuity Gaming – Rs 4,94,103 per annum.
2. Nukebox Studios – Rs 5,06,989 per annum.
3. June Gaming – Rs 19,43,693 per annum ( senior game developers)
4. 99 Games – Rs 4,35,387 per annum.
5. BYJU’S – Rs 9,74,195 per annum.
This clears the picture that you can earn a decent sum of money in the gaming development industry if you have an adequate skill set.
How to start learning Game Development ?
There are few myths that need to be bursted before sharing some points on how to start game development.
1. Game development is quite easy ; this is an absolute myth. Game development is similar to the other jobs, you will have to work hard and smart to get the desired result. You will have to give proper input to make it easy for you.
2. Math and physics are not essential for game development; this statement is also an absolute myth. You need to have a fundamental knowledge of maths and physics if you are looking forward to becoming a game developer. You need to know the basics of Vector Algebra, Differential Calculus, Newtonian mechanics etc.
3. Visuals are the most important part of game development; this statement is partly true, visuals play an important role in the game development but sounds, background music, controls, etc are equally important.
Now let’s understand how to start learning game development.
● Learn computer programming – Development is not possible without programming knowledge so you will have to master one of the programming languages be it Java, JavaScript, Python ,C++ etc.
● Choose a known Gaming Engine – As gaming engines provide various functionalities, it becomes easy to start with a named gaming engine at the beginners level. The most popular gaming engine is Unity and Unreal as both are easy to learn and use.
● Create a basic game.
● Learn 3D graphics and Associated maths.
Full Stack Developer Salary- A Complete Guide
A day in the life of a Game Developer
The game studios generally start the day later than most of the offices.
So the day starts with breakfast and a mailbox. Once everyone is at the office , it’s time for the team meeting to list the task they are going to carry out today. If anyone is facing any issue then he/she shares the issue and team members try to solve the issue. Most of the time the team members remain busy in doing the core jobs , Artist will be spending time to create and plan the game art, programmer will be busy in writing and debugging the codes, designer will be busy in documenting the task and sound designer will be busy with the sound work.
Office day will end with a team meeting discussing what they accomplished today and what remained left.
The developer gets back home and enjoys the rest of his time if he doesn’t receive any further mail!
What are the advantages of a Game Development Course ?
You must be clear as of now that the Gaming industry is a huge industry and you will have numerous opportunities to grow and earn a decent amount here.
The game development course will make your journey more smooth, you will learn the game development from scratch and will get to create your own games.
The knowledge of this gaming course will be beneficial to stand out from the crowd and work more confidently in the industry. The gaming course provided by GREAT LEARNING is a beginner to the advanced level course which after completion can give you exponential career growth.
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