Learn how to become a video game designer and developer.
Gaming is one industry that has been witnessing an upward growth curve in the last decade or so. Be it recession, slow economic demand, or a pandemic the growth of the gaming industry has not been affected. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced people to get locked inside their homes has only given the push to the gaming industry with more people spending above-average time on gaming apps.
Well, it’s said in the present-day context that if you want to be a developer then trying your hand at game development is what you should consider. The reason is simple you would never run out of work and learning opportunities courtesy the huge user base. In the gaming industry, as a developer, you have internal choices like you can become a best card game maker, action game maker, sports game maker, high-end game maker, etc. Whichever way you choose in the game development world the basics are the same. And taking that thing into consideration here we have come up with the quick 7 steps that can help you to become a good game developer. So, keep scrolling and reading.
1. Soul of the Gamer:
Technical knowledge is a part of the game development but it’s of no use if you didn’t have the soul of a gamer.
What we want to say is that you should awake the gamer in you before you take on the development. Once you start thinking like a gamer you get to know what user would love to have and what kind of a game is engaging and attracting. Now, when you put this thing in practice what you bring out is a piece of software that is more than just codes and is a treat for gamers.
2. Not a kid’s domain:
The data of active gamers from the United States shows that 53% of gamers are in the age group of 18 years to 59 years. As per the global Video Gaming survey, India is already amongst the top five countries in the world in the arena of Mobile Gaming industry.
Thus, if you are coming in with old school thought and feel the target audience is kids than hold on before adding those flashy and sassy elements to the interface (though modern-day kids even don’t like those things). So, focus more on content and engagement then going for this cheap thrills.
3. Get into the Gaming Community / Online Groups of Social media channels:
To become a lion you have to be a part of the pride. Similarly to be a good game developer you have to be a good gamer and moreover a good learner of gamers need.
Join the online gaming communities and play with active gamers. There are so many social media platforms – YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and many other. More classified and specific are Reddit, Twitch, Steam and Discord. Talk to them and understand their mindset. What inputs you would get from would be worth its weight in gold. You would get the core of the users to demand and when you but that in practice in game development then you can get to a flying start with the very first game you develop.
4. Pick up a Gaming programming / coding language:
It is one of the most crucial steps in Gaming pipeline.
After developing the mindset of a gamer with the above 3 steps you need to get into the working mode. For that, you must to pick up a coding language that you would use for scripting the game. Here you would also have to make choice for the gaming engine as well. Say if you go for Unreal Engine and CryEngine, the language you should go for shall be C++ and C#.
5. Laying the Game:
Make it alive visually.
A good developer lays the game well. What we mean by laying the game is how the progress of the game would be. To engage the user you need to have that element in the game that calls for playing more. Say for example if you are developing a sports-based game then you can surely add a career mode. This would provide a more realistic connection that how a player grows form being a rookie to a pro to keep the user engaged.
6. Say no to copy:
If you are developing a game that already has a genre leader, copying is not an option.
You may take the inspiration from the interface and outlook but the idea should be to step up the level. Say a game of football is already there now when you are developing a similar game then you should look to add elements like real-time gaming or online rivalry that can bring the edge in favor of your game. Such planned thinking and approach is a wimp-win solution.
As per industry survey there are more than 300 million mobile gamers in India, in 2020. These are expected to grow to 530 million in the upcoming years, so it very much crucial that your game must have its own unique gameplay, environment, complexity levels and attractiveness. Otherwise, your game will get lost.
7. Test, test and debug:
It’s an endless process, even if the game is live and hit.
Nothing is perfect and surely not the developed games in their first go. If you are developing a game for the first time then let the beta version of it go live for gamers to play and give their input. The idea should be to test, test, and debug the lags and issues that are occurring. Keep that cycle going on for sometime while you can simultaneously keep on developing other features of the game.
About the author:
Hermit Chawla is a Marketing Manager at AIS Technolabs which is Web design and Development Company, helping global businesses to grow by best slot game development company. He love to share his thoughts on Social Media Marketing Services and Game Design Development etc.