Getting into Games Development from Another IT Profession

kaleidoscope on 23/02/2022 - 10:35

G'day,
I'm Interested in getting into Games Development and Programming. I would like to know what are some of the good resources/ short courses/ diplomas, etc to sort of learn and explore about all the elements that goes into developing a game (programming, scripting, arts, audio, graphical elements, etc).
I'm a software engineer in app development (e-commerce, productivity apps) that's been in the industry about 13 years now so would like to pretty much stick with games programming/ scripting/ level design side of things.
But before I jump into job hunting I thought would be better to skill up on the overall aspect of games development so I can target for an area that I'd like to explore further in my career.

There are online courses on Udemy / Coursera and some local institutes like AIE offer courses as well. Would be pretty awesome to follow a part time or online course so I can keep doing what I do while I skill up on this front. But I'm not sure what sort of courses would be a good fit for my needs.

Why this post?
There is a myriad of courses and resources available on web, I just don't want to spend 3-6 months on something and realise oh it's not what I'm looking for or it's not relevant anymore and start all over again. So I believe asking the community about their experience would be really good start and might even help someone else who is looking for this sort of information in future :)

Thanks in advance

Education & Work

Comments

  • Hybroid on 23/02/2022 - 10:50
    +5

    This is a highly competitive field with majority of people graduating not getting jobs with large game dev companies but spending years making their own hobby portfolio or pet projects.

    A 3-6 month course or some crappy Udemy rehashed one isn't going to cut it. There are entire Bachelor degrees targeting game development and you need to pick a specific niche to focus on and hone.

    The rest is based on your proficiency and luck getting a role among thousands of graduates annually. It'll be a very basic junior one to start which might not suit you after 13 years experience.

    https://www.uts.edu.au/study/find-a-course/bachelor-science-…

    https://sae.edu.au/courses/games/

    https://aie.edu.au/course/game-programming/

    https://www.open.edu.au/study-online/information-technology/…

    • kaleidoscope on 23/02/2022 - 11:04
      +1

      Thanks alot of this.

      A 3-6 month course or some crappy Udemy rehashed one isn't going to cut it.

      You're spot on. I didn't want to follow a 6 hour online course somewhere and slap a "game developer" on my resume because I believe in strong educational foundations are important and it's fair to everyone that's already in the industry that has spent years into their studies.

      I'm not in a big rush to get into this area, but rather skill up first and then explore it to suit my career

      Cheers!

  • rektrading on 23/02/2022 - 11:19

    👀 up Play to Earn.

    People who have experience should use it as an advantage to get in front 🚪 before the rest comes wanting a piece.

    • Crow K on 23/02/2022 - 11:23
      +1

      Those Ponzi schemes aren't going to promote themselves!

      • kaleidoscope on 23/02/2022 - 11:29

        😅 haha, care to elaborate?

        • rektrading on 23/02/2022 - 11:41
          -4

          Pay no heed to the 🧂 👨‍🦰.

          Axie Infinity helps Philippines' poor earn
          Content image - Phnom Penh Post
          Siblings Eugene (left) and Ginger Arboleda give a demonstration on how to play Axie Infinity, an NFT game where players earn tokens that can be exchanged for cryptocurrency or cash in Taguig, suburban Manila, on December 10. AFP

          AFP
          Phnom Penh
          Publication date 20 February 2022 | 21:05 ICT
          https://www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/axie-infinity-helps-…

          • Crow K on 23/02/2022 - 11:44
            +1

            @rektrading: "Pay no heed to the 🧂 👨‍🦰."

            One day they're going to take your little symbols and flashcards off you and you'll be forced to use your big boy words, ya know.

            • rektrading on 23/02/2022 - 11:49
              -2

              @Crow K: I ❤️ memes. It's one of the perks of WFH. I can 🐦 whatever I want whenever I want.

        • Crow K on 23/02/2022 - 11:43
          +1

          https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/02/18/are-play-to-earn-cr…

          You can earn money by playing the game, but the big money is in recruiting some people to work under you in a team (of which you'll get a cut)! Now where have I heard that before..

          I would have called it a multi-level marketing scam, but in those you're trading in actual goods worth things, here it's "in-game tokens and potions the game itself generates and releases". Just convert your real money into some crypto money to participate in the eco-system! This absolutely isn't a house of cards!

          • rektrading on 23/02/2022 - 11:47
            -2

            @Crow K: Yes. I've heard that before too. It's called working for someone to earn a wage.

            The inflow of fiat 💵 into NFTs and METAverses are not in millions but in billions of dollars. This industry will change traditional gaming to GameFi.

            Gamers will be able to sell their skins on secondary markets when they want to upgrade or stop playing.

            • Crow K on 23/02/2022 - 11:59

              @rektrading: (picture of Cole from LA Noire with the Doubt icon meme.jpeg)

              • rektrading on 23/02/2022 - 12:00

                @Crow K: Your meme doesn't work. You need practice.

                • Crow K on 23/02/2022 - 12:02

                  @rektrading: Oh, it works. You just need to swap some of that filthy fiat trash cash to see the true digital form, which will be a very worthwhile investment. I'll even let you sell it off to someone else.

                  Transfer me some cash and I'll send you the picture.

    • popsiee on 23/02/2022 - 11:27

      Your right the small team that made Farmers World have cleaned up .I love the way gold peaked at around $18 and is now 22c .
      It won't be long before the big boys come along and wipe the poor buggers out .

  • 7ekn00 on 23/02/2022 - 11:29
    +4

    As a dev, you are much better off getting into Unity/UE5/C+ and learning it inside out by developing your own side project to "showcase" your skills ;)
    Learn these engines yourself (many youtube videos, etc showing the basics)
    Companies are far more likely to hire somebody familiar with the tools they use than somebody with 27 degrees and no demonstration of practical application …

  • AndyC1 on 23/02/2022 - 11:35
    +2

    Play with Unity and see how you go as it's free to start with.

  • trustnoone on 23/02/2022 - 12:27
    +2

    Its hard to say to be honest. I do a bit as a hobby and super enjoy it, but there's many people out there whose started very early on and are really into it and don't really get far in their career. An important aspect to keep in mind as well is its not just the coding, a game is really made up of everything from art, design, effects etc. Its really interesting building your own game and even with simple mechanics it feels so much better because you used some assets online but what I mean is if you're interested in the coding, you may need to find an artist to make your sprites, or learn game design to make it flow and all that as well (something you'd probably see in a full degree?).

    I only know about Unity but how I would go about it though:
    * Start with Unity using gamedev.tv (same course on udemy) for their 2d course then 3d course, learn.unity also has a begineer course thats free but the gamedev.tv one is best. You can probably run through it quickly because you'll find the coding part simple (at least I did) but the game development specific aspects a bit more complicated.
    * Start creating prototypes and my own version of games to learn more
    * Then go onto more specific/advanced like mobile development course (gamedev.tv as well) youtube videos (brackeys, blackthornprod, codemonkey) as well as learning shaders etc

    From here you'll know most of the basics which is good and can definitely be making your own hobbyist games and even build a portfolio.

    I do wonder whether it would be easier to then move onto Unreal Engine after that? Gamedev.tv has a course for unreal as well, I hear its great for 3D in particular FPS.

    But I'd definitely fire up seek and just look around the job adds to see what they're looking for.

  • dogboy on 23/02/2022 - 12:32
    +2

    I have lost count of the number of candidates I have interviewed for IT roles that did a Bachelor of Games Design or Animation or somethinbg very similar. Everyone wants to work in this field and the opportunities to do so are very limited.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/02/2022 - 12:39
      +2

      I'm one of those. I have a dip in games development, went into generalised programming years ago.

      It's not just the number of opportunities, it's the stress of the work.

      Games programming is a highly specialised and demanding industry. It's not fun and games like people think it is. Combine that with finding out that your mates making websites are earning more than you for working half as much, and yeah, you won't wanna work in games either.

      THe people that make careers out of games development tend to be the ones that are beyond passionate about it, because you have to be.

  • TheBird on 23/02/2022 - 14:25
    +1

    I'm in a similar position to Trustnoone.

    It really depends on what your goals are and what specifically what you want to do.

    As trustnoone mentioned, look at a few of gamedev.tv.com courses. The Unity 2d, 3d and RPG courses should give you a solid base to see if it's really something that's for you. If at the end of those, you're keen to continue, it's time to start getting serious.

    • kaleidoscope on 23/02/2022 - 14:48

      Thanks! When you say,

      If at the end of those, you're keen to continue, it's time to start getting serious.

      Do you mean further into studies or gigs 🤔

      • TheBird on 24/02/2022 - 08:50

        A bit of both, depending on what opportunities presents and what your mid to long terms goals are.

        I don't know if you've done any games programming, or any programming for that matter. I'd say the first priority would be to open your eyes to what games development is really like and whether that's the life for you. If you get to the end of those courses and you're scratching your head, it might not be the right choice for you. If you take to it like a fish takes to water, you may be ready to get yourself a entry level job. Most will fall somewhere inbetween, so you may be better off finding some higher end training before you're ready.

        Do the courses, make a few small scope games, step back for a moment to get a wider view of where you are and make your decision then.

  • Quantumcat on 24/02/2022 - 09:30
    +1

    I did a bachelor of computer science (games programming) and have never had a games job.

    You are going to have to be super passionate, learn c++ and unity, learn linear algebra and calculus, and spend hundreds of hours making projects that you can later put in a portfolio. It is very competitive and you have to be better than the average person who is passionate about creating games.

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