Is it possible for a Computer Science graduate to make a move from developing dry financial software to something a bit upbeat in the gaming industry?
My only problem is that a lot of my development experience is using Java, C# and Python. The only time I ever used C/C++ was in college and It's as good as no experience.
Would employers take me on if I showed some initiative and did some game related projects outside of work hours? Is that going to be enough? I'd like to hear your thoughts
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A portfolio would be a good idea in general. Gaming attracts tons of applicants, so you need something to stand out.
The short answer is yes. But you need to develop some games first, learn one or two half-decent game frameworks/engines (good choices are LibGDX, Unity, LÖVE, UE4) and self-publish at least one game first.
Would you like to learn more? >
SATAN QUINTS
Ah shit what's the syntax for cross-board linking again is it
FUCKEN RUINED REEEEEEEEE
Random nobody here. Make android app game. Nothin fancy but sell it. Bam! Good feels & wet feets
VIniVItiVIchi
>the only quad you'll ever get and you managed to fuck it up
>Would employers take me on if I showed some initiative and did some game related projects outside of work hours? Is that going to be enough?
Probably not for a major company, but if you have a degree, general programming experience, and demonstrate at least an intermediate understanding of how to make games, a lot of the smaller ones would hire you.
you have 2 options:
if you're trying to get employed by a well established game studio (it sounds like you are), it's not gonna be that straightforward. you need to be a master in whatever language their engine of choice uses, C++ for UE or C# for Unity. the competition is deadly, but once you're in, the pay is solid.
if, however, you actually want to make games, you should start making shit in Unity, find other people who want to make shit you like and collaborate. expect a fulfilling experience of working in a team motivated purely by achieving their own set goals, but don't expect to get paid for it.
Quints, user.
See The answer is no, it will take years to build a portfolio that will make you a hirable gamedev
>it will take years to build a portfolio that will make you a hirable gamedev
No, it won't. Not if you're a generally competent programmer who understands at least high-school physics and linear algebra.
Can you program?
If yes, there are a hundred thousand small companies that make mini games (think free mobile stuff) that will hire you. I worked for one of them for about 4 years.
It is fun when everything smooth, but it is soul-crushing during crunch time. I do not recommend.
i learned love2d, wasn't able to translate the skills to other things. Didn't know where to go, but now I'll try LibGDX. Bad idea?
Thanks for reading my blog.
>It is fun when everything smooth, but it is soul-crushing during crunch time. I do not recommend.
This applies to any programming job. You do not want to be on any dev team when crunch time comes around.
Note that I'm not defending mobile "game" companies pumping out advertisement-laden Skinner boxes. Work in the companies you describe is soul-crushing in principle because every game you release is going to be a clone of something else, and most of the work is going to be GUI and monetization-related garbage.
Game devs have more crunch time. At least, it seemed so to me.
LibGDX is fairly straight forward. It also makes it really easy to go low level and into shader programming, if that is something you want to consider.
It deploys to everything, and support basically any JVM language (yes, even clojure)
how tough is it to be independent and get supported via shit like kickstarter and patreon? i'd like to work on a game but i'm always worried that i can't make anything back from it. i'm not STRIVING to make cash, but i'd like the time to be compensated in some way, either by making it amazing or by being supported along the way.
>My only problem is that a lot of my development experience is using Java, C# and Python.
there are game engines using all of those languages
as long as you don't want to be cutting edge these will fine
not to mention all the tools game development needs
language is not an excuse
depends.
Are you willing to do porn games?
not really a slope i wanna slip on
Prince of Persia (the first one in 1989) and Tetris are games that are made by one person. For more modern examples, look at VVVVVV and maybe Papers, Please.
You can make games alone, but if you are here asking us for advice, you probably cannot make games of high enough quality to get funding. You would be better off joining a team.
Of course, you could always make a huge game just to spite me. Be another Notch. What are the chances of that?
i don't know, i'm not powered by resentment. i just like the idea of making art and music, and so on, all under one project. it's like a multihobby justification.
Just start your own indie studio
store.steampowered.com
was made by one guy.
2GD is making publishing game diabotical and he said currently there's only one guy developing the engine, he does have team doing art though.
You can make game alone and and use only placeholder models and textures. Then release it on early access if people are interested actually hire artists.
Even bad and ugly games can have big playerbase.
But I don't think you can go with mindset that "I'm making game alone and I'm going to make lot of money with it" unless you have really hooking idea and you know how to market it to people.
LibGDX is much more OO-oriented and nicer to use than Love, definitely. I've used it quite a bit and really liked it. It has tons of stuff that make life easier- Box2D implementation, a UI/menu system, graphics layers, scenes, the whole kit is really good.
I'd also seriously recommend Unity though, because most likely the companies you end up working for will be using it.
Professional gamedev is not fun.
Let me repeat: professional gamedev is not fun. It is soul-crushing, brutal work, whether one is an indie developer or a cog in the corporate machine. Do gamedev as a hobby and don't quit your day job.
Why would you want to churn out Call of Dooty: Rechurned Shitsnax 9?
If you want to make a game, make a game.
Minecraft was written in Java.
>soul-crushing, brutal work, whether one is an indie developer
Why?
>Is it possible for a Computer Science graduate to make a move from developing dry financial software to something a bit upbeat in the gaming industry?
Sure, but pay and conditions are way worse in the gaming industry.
I'd say suck up the dry nature of your job and enjoy all the extra money, free time and job security.
It's a very competetive industry. Lots of developers want to code games and not many game companies survive. As such, the power in the relationship is slanted heavily toward the employer. You're expected to do long hours under tremendous pressure and if you don't, they can find someone else.
But for indie devs?
That is inherent to the nature of Capitalism. Work is hard because the fatcats are afraid of the workers who can actually get this shit done and need to stomp you until you can't get shit done anymore.
to be successful at indie gamedev you need more social skills than artistic/programming skill. most gamedevs are bitter NEETs with zero people-skills. they refuse to shill their game or send it to publications, just out of spite or fear. the worst is the "engine dev" who is an excellent programmer that spends months or years developing a super fast cache-friendly engine from scratch in C or Rust, only to waste all of the effort making a bland, un-inspired platformer or lame SHMUP.
yes i'm talking about /agdg/
what if you use an already existing engine but it's not really fleshed out like Intrinsic?
also what publications would even bring up your game?
Trips chek'd too!
>good looking
>looks bad
Who's he fooling
just use whatever tool is best for the job. there is no reason to make a 3D game from scratch or a framework engine if Unreal 4 can accomplish what you need. nobody is going to care how good your engine runs, money is worth more than internet points
>also what publications would even bring up your game?
a lot of game sites do features on "indie game of the week", also streamers and youtubers, etc.
but doesn't unreal 4 require a massive licensing fee?
Being indie is worse. Lower pay, higher pressure, company is *always* on the brink of annhialation. Your revenue is basically this: You start with N monies. You spend N to develop game A. Your profit is N monies. You spend N monies to develop game B. Your profit is N monies. Rinse and repeat. Every time you work on a game you're investing everything you have and if a single game is a flop then the entire company is sunk.
Their github is completely dead. No progress in 9 months lmao
I'm coming up on 10 years of professional experience. I've been surprised by how similar all industries are. It doesn't really feel different day-to-day whether I'm doing NLP, banking or compilers.
Maybe games are completely different, but I would be careful about using industry type as the primary criterion in job search.
>games made by one person
Good luck learning how to draw well and how to make compelling audio effects on your own, in addition to learning how to make games.
>I'm coming up on 10 years of professional experience
>It doesn't really feel different day-to-day whether I'm doing NLP, banking or compilers.
10 years professional experience in LARPing by any chance? NLP and compilers require specialized knowledge that you're definitely not going to pick up on the fly.
Most of the engine and physics jobs that pique my interest require C/C++, just to clarify why I said that