From a career point of view, the games industry is very promising. But programmers are attracted to a game mode not only by money but also by the desire to take part in interesting game projects and The Game Industry, such as creating top medieval PS4 games.
In addition, the game mode is very specific in terms of people’s mentality – here, they are less structured and more creative. It is a kind of a closed community where you need a certain mindset and approach to life.
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Why Is There Such a Need for People, The Game Industry?
Let’s say there’s a studio that owns a famous IP and wants to do a second or third series or some DLC, but they don’t have enough resources. And then they turn to an outside production team.
Another factor is the trend for remastering old games. Companies are starting to remaster the games that were popular in 2005, 2006, 2010. There are new developments, more powerful computers, more modern engines that can make more interesting visual products to revive the game that was played 20 years ago.
For example, there’s Assassin’s Creed, and if Assassin’s Creed 8 is released, it will be popular because everyone who plays that series of games will keep playing it. It is known that the new IP doesn’t come out that often. It’s usually released by relatively new companies that understand the trend in some way.
What Does a Programmer Need to Know and Do to Get Into Gamedev?
Game development almost always involves some kind of framework, like Unreal Engine, Unity, or another engine. Each engine has its own specifics.
- Unreal Engine came out of the Unreal Tournament.
Originally, it was mainly used for shooters, and now it is the most suitable engine for shooter development. To a certain point, Unreal Engine was a somewhat closed, so-called elite engine; and therefore, its support was not at a fantastic level. But after the success of Fortnight, this engine began to evolve on PC and mobile, its performance and functionality have grown.
- Unity appeared as a mobile engine and it got its popularity in mobile games.
Up to a certain point, Unity was the most supported engine due to the fact that many people and companies used it for mobile games. In general, for smaller projects, Unity is more suitable, while for larger projects, it is Unreal Engine that fits more in terms of technology, approach, and functionality of the engine.
- CryEngine is the engine that grew out of gaming, and it’s best suited for games like PUBG.
CryEngine hasn’t been actively developed lately. It lacks investment in it, so it lags behind Unity and Unreal in terms of versatility and functionality.
The Entry Requirements for the Future Unreal Engine Game Developer- The Game Industry
- Knowledge of C++, understanding of data structures and algorithms. Since Unreal Engine uses C++, a basic understanding of how that language is structured and an understanding of algorithms in general are prerequisites to teach a person the details of Unreal Engine specifically.
- Experience in commercial programming. Generally speaking, what makes commercial programming different is that the developer’s employee always understands deadlines and objectives. This is especially important when several people are working on the same project, and there are clear rules according to which the joint development is carried out.
This applies to the ability to work with version control systems (GitHub, Perforce), task control and accounting systems (such as Confluence), as well as task trackers (Jira, Redmine).
- An understanding of game mechanics and a passion for games of different genres. If a person does not play games and does not understand how certain mechanics work, it will be very difficult for him/her to implement them. Game development is not about programming in a vacuum; it’s about understanding the end result. Yes, there is always documentation that game designers prepare, but this is not enough.