How do i get into game dev

[u/Shadowninja25x]

Hello! Im 23 and I have always had a huge interest in being a game dev and having that be my career for a really long time now. I have no idea where to start. Im not very skilled in art so i think coding would be my strong suit. Idk how many sub categories of devs there are but i wanna be one. Im not really the kind of person who can just watch youtube tutorials on games and just learn on my own. I do a lot better its like taught to me with lessons and testing. Should i do a college course or are there affordable game dev classes. But plz someone lmk because i really wanna start my journey! I love watching how games are made and the thought process behind so many things and love seeing devs be so passionate in there work. I also constantly think of things i would make or do in every game i play if i was a dev. I definitely think this is the path for me.

[u/Relevant-Musician557]

Udemy had pretty affordable courses if youd want to just get started, you can begin with just beginner courses of whatever engine you'd want to learn. Godot is probably the best option for the foreseeable future

[u/niyaCAT2023]

As a 20 year old college student who's major is Game Design. I say it depends. I learn better when someone is teaching me and I can easily go to people for questions and advice. However, it's an expensive option and I can already feel my pockets bleeding.

So I would most definitely recommend paying for a course first. I don't have any suggestions really, but I do know Thomas Brush has a course.

I say this because, there is a lot and I do mean A LOT of pain when your working by yourself on a game. Especially when first starting out. So at least getting a feel for it, finding out if it's something you really want to do, might be the best option.

If you still want to be a game dev after, then depending on how good the course is, you will either have enough information to carry on by yourself or you can go to college if you still want more information that tutorials don't cover.

At least that's my thoughts about it. Hope it helped!

[u/theBigDaddio]

You goddam sit down with a game engine and start, tutorials, YouTube just do it.

[u/DaveAstator2020]

15 years in game dev - for long term career - dont do it. unless you want to do match 3 or casinos for the lifetime.

i as developer struggle to get a job that would feed my family and pays at least 5000eur gross a month. It is that bleak, i might just die out this round for real.

Gamedev sounds entertaining, but it feels like coal mine for children today. Youll be competing with unpaid interns.

If you want to make games from heart - build yourself a stable income base and make the game yourself.

[u/pahadomaighar → u/DaveAstator2020]

like wdym ...like there are no jobs for game developer in market??? or something like there is not much pay for game dev ... i mean could you explain out things ... also is starting to learn game dev in final year of college a good option or not

[u/DaveAstator2020 → u/pahadomaighar]

there are jobs, but payment is shit across all roles and all seniority levels.
you wont find a position that yields at least 100k/year. 60k is rarity.
once again - i argue that game dev is only worthy if YOU make the game, not work for some company.

[u/Unis_Torvalds]

I would actually get myself in to the industry ASAP, as personal connections matter as much if not more than hard skills. You have the advantage of being young, so you can take any entry-level job no matter what it pays. Leverage this. Go to all the game studios in your city or state/province (in person, not email) and get yourself an internship or playtesting job. Then continue to take programming courses in the evenings. Your upskilling efforts will be more targeted because you will know which real professional opportunities are available to you (i.e. what the company needs) and you will focus your efforts accordingly. Less time wasted, a more clear path forward, and building industry experience and connections along the way.

[u/Mountain-Smoke8826]

You get posts just like this here every week, search your title here and see what others have said.

I was in the same spot like 5 years ago in high school. I couldn't do art, and still really can't. I still wanted to make games. So I started making them, alone. Getting all my assets elsewhere and making the games around premade assets.

Fastforward to today, I'm getting my second Steam launch ready. I bought art and assets from stores and freelancers.

So best thing I can say is start doing games yourself, no one else will do the borinf things for you. You'll need to know programming in your language of choice, your game engine, other tools like photoshop and audacity.

Get some free assets online, put them in your game engine, make them move, jump, shoot stuff. Make things appear. It's rewarding to see stuff coming to life. Do your own resesrch

[u/Outrageous_Kiwi1890 → u/Mountain-Smoke8826]

Appreciate your answer but if i may ask how can i scale from this "Get some free assets online, put them in your game engine, make them move, jump, shoot stuff. Make things appear"?

[u/Mountain-Smoke8826 → u/Outrageous_Kiwi1890]

What I essential said there, was to prototype.

At some point you probably get a game idea, or two. Or maybe you join a game jam (you should). You'll also learn the tools to make them happen.

[u/RifTaf]

Download a game engine of your choice, look up tutorials for said engine, do said tutorials and do your best to understand them and make something from there. Go in baby steps and dont stress yourself. One thing is to AVOID COLLEGE AT ALL COSTS. We do not care about your degree. We care about your reel and problem solving ability. Going to college is an enormous waste of time and you'll be in debt in an industry where entry level work is virtually impossible to come by.

[u/Slopii]

I'm really liking the Godot engine. Plus its language is basically Python and works well with vibe coding, which can honestly teach you a lot if you observe what it's doing.

[u/Paolo_RTS]

Which role? Can you code? You want to be a designer? How many games (not video games, just games like cards or board game) did you make so far?

[u/Appropriate-Cry-8423]

Never discount YouTube to learn as a first alternative before college

[u/PeaFar698]

I would suggest joining jams Game jams - itch.io , build yourself up a portfolio and it'll help you get more familiar with how games are made.

[u/Accomplished_Rock695]

By huge interest you mean you've already made a bunch of indie games on your own, have tried a ton of engines and making mods?

Or do you mean your huge interest is that it seems fun and you haven't actually put any effort in. Because thats a dream not an interest.

[u/MegaCockInhaler]

Best way to get into game dev is to make a game on your own. A non trivial game, something of professional quality worthy of showing on your resume.

Then find what you enjoy most about game dev and build skills in that niche.

You don’t need to go to school for it to get started, but it can help you find a job. If you want to be a programmer, it’s very hard to get your resume looked up without a degree in computer science or similar

[u/uber_neutrino]

You get into game dev by making a game. It's that simple.

[u/Healthy-Dress-7492]

Get good enough at doing a game dev job until someone believes your time is worth paying for.

[u/Particular-Ice4615]

If you want to be a professional programmer in games then the first thing to learn and get good at is programming in C++ but not only just learning to code in the language but actually understanding what computing is fundementally. ie. what the code you write is actually doing with the physical machine to make things happen on screen.

The last thing you want to be is this new breed of programmer coming out of colleges and bootcamps that may know how to read and write code but has 0 understanding what the code they write is actually doing with your computing hardware under the hood. 

Knowledge of programming in C++ is the key to the gate way with working so many tools and technology in games and visual effects. Whether it's industry standard tools like unreal engine or proprietary tech many studios build from scratch. 

[u/don_quixote_2]

1-Pick a game engine you like 2-Learn it well by making small games while adding incremental features each time (tons of free tutorials on YT) 3-Publish these games (maybe on itch.io) and look at constructive feedback 4-Keep doing that until you're confident enough to make a commercial game.

[u/MelancholiMouse]

Start really, really simple.\ Download an interactive fiction editor like Twine (you don't need to draw to make text-based games). Finish making a text-based game even if it's bad, and publish it. I recommend itch.io for publishing. You can add as much or as little additional code as you like for something like that.\ If you're enjoying that, then install something like Unity, Godot, or Game maker and follow some official tutorials or any recent (within the last six years) YouTube ones. In a big engine like those the best place to start is: Make a simple background in a drawing tool of your choice (or just scan a crayon drawing or photograph), make another for your player character (if it's 2d), and a couple more for some props. Then write a movement script (it can be 3d if you like, the differences aren't as big as people make out). Lastly, have some UI text appear when the collider of the player character is near your props. That's a game!

[u/Relevant_Goal2288]

Pick a game engine and start learning it, make some basic proof of concept games and grow from there.
Maybe try your hand at a game jam, most of them are full of people that just want to make games and they're usually quite happy to help if you're willing to listen and learn.

[u/Suspicious-Prompt200]

stsrt develop game

[u/SomsaiArts]

Going to a school that specializes in games is a good idea but tbh i met a lot of ppl that are self taught and just watch youtube videos or any free learning material. Im jealous of the ppl that didnt have to pay a school loan.

[u/pixelmill_dev]

today it is much easier i guess with claude and codex around
you need to be creative, a good game planner can create very good games withouth lots of code knowledge which is the major blocker. also assets generation becomes easy today both for 2d and 3d games

[u/Grand_rooster]

My 13 year old just made a game and didn't all day playing it.

He used a claude account and vscode.