Should You Be a Game Developer?

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If you've ever wondered if you should be a game developer, this is the video for you. We'll talk about what it's like being a game developer, why you should (or shouldn't) be a gamedev. I'll talk a bit about Unity3D & Unreal, then lay on the benefits of being a game developer until you can't imagine doing anything else with your life :)
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[@vargonian]

"Give a man a game and he'll be happy for a day. Teach a man to develop games and he'll never be happy again."

[@fusion_guardian]

lol its true

[@ZoepX]

I came here to post this lmao

[@charlesreid9337]

i jumped hardcore into CGI because im burnt on programming. Loved it when i started. Still love doing it for fun. Recognise the sign of "i can make $$$ doing this.. and if i do ill start hating it"

[@indieprogress7170]

lolll

[@colgantm111]

Lmao

[@calemabbott3368]

"you just talk about video games all day and everyone is into it." - Actually described my version of heaven.

[@AlmorTech]

*crying like a baby in support*

[@Darth_Bateman]

Well yes, but actually no.

[@frankprogrammer]

I have worked professionally in game programming for 12 years and all your advice is spot on. My favorite part is that I am always learning something new for every game. The knowledge keeps building and you constantly find yourself doing things you never imagined you could. It keeps you hungry and excited for the next game.

[@joshdagla546]

How much do you make?

[@Nashnir]

The answer in my mind is always a yes. But the main point is do you have reasonable expectations rather than delusions of grandeur.

[@charlesreid9337]

you sound like youre after money. You shouldnt even be commenting on this. You'll be a midlevel hack. Nothing wrong with that. But youre not the person this targets

[@crazyfingers619]

​@@charlesreid9337 and who are you to gatekeep? It's a solid message. A great deal of people throw their lives away chasing a dream recklessly.

[@siddheshpillai3807]

@@crazyfingers619 a dream that is not worth chasing

[@IronDizaster]

@@siddheshpillai3807 what makes a dream worth chasing? Money? Does money (or rather lack there of) really make a dream not worth chasing?

[@ganzorig4143]

@@siddheshpillai3807 well all of us will die in the anyways so i will rather make my dreams come true

[@mikaxms]

Imagine learning how to be a doctor by trial and error...

[@Unity3dCollege]

It'd be crazy.. but it must have happened :)

[@tristunalekzander5608]

Pretty much sums up all of medical history.

[@457Deniz457]

@@tristunalekzander5608 True^^

[@Krummelz]

It is called a "practice" for a reason.

[@Ar3Ar3]

Funeral house : *STONKS*

[@MitchCannon25]

I've been in non-game development for nearly 2 decades, and I would agree that non-game development is generally easier. There are some exceptions around some very complex things, but generally I feel like that's true.

[@Unity3dCollege]

Yea there are definitely some things outside game dev that are way more complicated.... I've seen coworkers doing some crazy stuff before, especially when it comes to scale :)

[@MitchCannon25]

@@Unity3dCollege amen to that. The funny part of your video is I've spent so much of my time healthcare. You definitely hit the nail on the head with this video.

[@thehambone1454]

My day job is a SNOOZE compared to the code I’ve written so far for Gamedev. It’s literally almost just if statements and sql queries. I rarely even do a for loop.

[@indieprogress7170]

That's actually very interesting. Thanks!

[@danielwhyatt3278]

I feel like that is true. I might be going into the games industry after university but not in development but art. If not then animation or film/TV.

[@monstamash77]

Thanks for this. I am currently developing my first mobile game, and some of your tutorials have really helped. A change of career in on my mind, but a big step for a 43 year old. Very motivating talk :)

[@Unity3dCollege]

Great to hear! Of all the careers to change into, it's definitely one of the few that we're kinda pre-primed for (if you've been playing games all your life :)

[@MoonKast_TV]

I'm 43 myself in 2022. How are things going for u now?

[@simulation3120]

I expected this video to be explaining how difficult it is, but I really appreciated the encouragement.

[@crisorchi1399]

Wow. You actually answered so many of my questions. 1. Going to work excited for the first time doing game development. Nearly all of my jobs have been a drag to endure and I'd only stick it out for the money. 2. I was wondering about remote work as a game development, but you answered that just in time towards the end of the video. 3. Layoffs. I had no idea devs were geney the ones who did not get laid off as often as the other positions. Lots of good stuff here. I been learning some basic Data Analytics stuff lately but only for increase in pay. I could really care less. And before that, I tried regular development, but just felt something else was missing. And I avoided game dev because I've always heard about short term project-based work being the norm and I wanted something more stable. So here I am looking at game dev. I'm excited.

[@CombatFXZone]

I tried to get in the industry since I was 18 starting as a 3D designer. I got a bachelor in digital 3d design and continued with a masters degree in computer science to round off my profile and maximize my "employability" if you catch my drift. I tried to soak in as much knowledge and diverse skills as possible while simultaneously working on a portfolio. My personality kind of revolved around being a guy who wants to be a developer and part of the industry. I'm 28 now and worked for a "edutainment" VR Startup kind of doing what I wanted to do, but I never really felt good enough to actually work on titles I enjoyed playing. Looking back on all of this I don't think this career is worth the trouble anymore. If you have any doubts about this path, please don't waste your time in front of a computer for 12hours+ and don't let corporations control your self-esteem. Passion gets you a long way but it can be dangerous for you- companies know how to exploit very very well.

[@123Billygoatman123]

its a "weird F&*Ing ugly form, who cares?" lol this is totally what people think when I tell them about projects I'm working on for my day job.

[@aarondelgado3421]

Great video! I have been programming for a long time! People think of getting into programming, but there are two skills many people fail to realize they absolutely need to have - critical thinking and problem solving skills! People give up at programming because of the lack of those two skills.

[@charlesreid9337]

i spent way too much time trying to explain to some hack in r/programming that ALGORITHMS (ie problem solving) is what we do. He seemed to think following the coding dogma and importing libraries was what programmers are supposed to do. Solving problems is what programmers do. Programmers are engineers. Inventors. He'd have made an awesome cobol 'programmer'

[@TamashiiRyu]

Glad to hear remote work has been on the rise in game dev. That's been my biggest hurdle over the years. Even more so since I've been working remote for the past 3 years now and really enjoy it

[@Unity3dCollege]

It's been great to see the wider adoption of working remote for game devs. Being able to compile a game quickly at home has made a huge difference too though... I remember having 100 computers at the office just to get a build done in under an hour.. now my builds take seconds :)

[@hasnainfareed8555]

White hairs in your beard increase your respect in my heart & Thanks for your Videos

[@Unity3dCollege]

lol thx :)

[@LearnersNation]

i have been making games for last 14 years...you points are so true.

[@ds54ds5sd5sd5]

Few days ago I started Introduction to Computer Science CS50's, now I am solving tasks of Week 3. It is not easy, but I am doing it and moving to a dream of making games. Lets go everyone on similar path!

[@notnanomercy]

U talked about non gamer developer is a lot easy and I agree with u, i am Android Developer and agree 100% with that

[@457Deniz457]

U develop solo or with a team ? :)

[@notnanomercy]

@@457Deniz457 Team where i work and solo free lancer

[@457Deniz457]

@@notnanomercy Do ur team need someone else ? :D I think about to join someone and make myself useful 😆

[@notnanomercy]

@@457Deniz457 Always haha ​​but there is a problem, I live in Brazil

[@457Deniz457]

@@notnanomercy Remotly ! :D Thats normally standard in Unity.

[@deitz11]

Thanks Jason, such an inspiring to see you sharing and making the game. I'm a newbie in game developer picking up my forgotten dream back in College day, hopefully it will lead somewhere :-)

[@ex0stasis72]

Just found you from your video about why you switched to Unity, and now, I think I'm going to go binge watching your channel now. I had written off game development as an industry that's over competitive and filled with jobs that don't value maintainable or reusable code. But maybe I'm wrong.

[@Unity3dCollege]

It's a fun industry for sure, I can't think of anything I"d rather work in :)

[@BrandonLamb1]

Just wanted to drop a general comment that I really enjoy your channel and frequently check to see if you've made a new video every other night. For the past few weeks during WFH I've been watching KZbin in bed while doing some coding in Godot while listening to channels like yours. I've learned about ECS, Rust, watched lots of videos on/from indie game devs and just find the topic fascinating. Thanks for doing your channel and please keep it up. Love, random programmer guy on the internet (Seattle, WA). Oh yea, concur with your assessment on "enterprise development" which is my day job versus game development. This game dev crap is WAY harder. I spend my days fetching rows from a database and returning JSON lol. From that to vector math, radians, trig and geometry math, WHAAAT. In closing, really love hearing any "insider" details about working at game studios, I played Vanguard and actually wished it could have gotten the love it needed so it was cool hearing you worked on that.

[@SDekker]

Love your content! I've started my career in accounting (about 5 years) now and know that this isn't the profession for me. Someone tipped me about game designer or game programmer and looked a bit into it. The way you describe your job sounds almost like a dream to me! Still not sure about what path to chose, but will start with some programming first. Again, keep up the great content :D

[@Monkey33]

I must say sir. You give me the most hope in my learning. I'm going to school for game design now and am wanting to take those skills and transition them into game dev. I feel I will get a better understanding of how the game should be made or created and this will help me in my full creation of a game in it's entirety.

[@LowTierScoobyDoo]

you just helped me with a school project, your a legend

[@svenbtb]

3:48 especially when you're starting out, I think it's important to realize you probably aren't going to be working on your dream game or with your dream company. There's also a chance you'll never get there, but I feel like it's important to find the joy and find the fun in what you DO work in. Like if you play a lot of RPG's in your personal time but you only ever make racing games at your job, that doesn't mean you still can't enjoy it and enjoy figuring out what makes a racing game fun.

[@maythesciencebewithyou]

Don't be the guy digging for gold, be the guy selling shovels to those trying to dig for gold.

[@Itachi-ce3jx]

@Lexyycon I think hes saying dont be the one buying the games be the one selling the games to the people

[@prometheus625]

This is so awesome to hear. Lots of people are quite discouraging about trying to work in the industry but it's great to hear some optimism from someone with your kind of experience, I'm optimistic about employment too. Glad that gaming isn't a niche anymore :)

[@morphidevtalk]

1. Job Stability 2. Fun - you working on Games 3. Similar interest community 4. Share your games 5. Easy to learn 6. Work-Life Harmony 7. Work Remotely

[@noktua6272]

Interesting. I've heard somewhere that people who work in the field of their passion will stop do it as a hobby. I guess it is not true for everyone. Good to hear.

[@Unity3dCollege]

Yea many of us just get addicted to the building game part and cut back on the playing a bit... though game devs still tend to play a ton :)

[@baroquedub]

I ended up getting a job doing VR development after a few years of teaching myself in my evenings and spare time, and I still to this day work way too late into the night on personal projects. They're a way to try out new things and experiment and keep learning. I just love it

[@charlesreid9337]

Ive been programming since the early 80's. I still rarely do a tiny bit. I built a business on it in the 90's /00's. I HATE it now. I want to learn golang , do some stuff in UE4. I cant FORCE myself now. I took something i loved and cashed in on it for money. And now i revile it. If you get your dreamjob.. go for it. But .. it wont ever be the same. You'll code what you have to instead of what you want to. Im a trucker now. I love a lot about it. Hate some. Could probably spend 6 months getting up to date and go back. Doing so would be my worst nightmare. Not saying you shouldnt. Just a cautionary tale

[@baroquedub]

@@charlesreid9337 I do know where you're coming from. My first career was as a music producer. Coming out of college it was my dream job; to be in a band, to be releasing albums. We had our fifteen minutes of fame, had some fun, but then it became a job just like any other. With pressures, deadlines to meet and the chores of having to do press and stuff that didn't feel so much fun anymore. So yeah, careful what you wish for... and if it stops being fun just move on and find something else that stimulates and interests you. Life's too short. Who knows, maybe one day 'll become a trucker, although first I'll have to learn to drive! (just not one of those things I ever got around to doing) :)

[@indieprogress7170]

I personally don't have the risk tolerance to do it full-time so I do it as a hobby. Kudos to those who can go full time indie.

[@voidborn-one]

Once or twice I though about switching to game programing, but was highly discouraged by one thing: game development business leeches on the passion you mentioned. I've only seen considerably worse pay for frequent crunching that ended with burnouts. The other side of the coin was unclear future of own ventures. The dream of making a game makes so many people unhappy and the few and far successes only hype it. Kudos to you that you were able to make a stable career out of it - "beware of an old men in profession where people usually burnout fast" 😂

[@gudiii1]

Dude ty so much you are awesome i will follow your videos from now on

[@RiderForge]

I'm in healthcare IT and it's true. It's a completely random mishmash of people. And with regard to being easy I would agree. Anything highly technical is also done as a group on a whiteboard. It's hard to find things in common with people. Many employees are classified as "analysts" and have little to no personal interest in tech, programming, games, etc. It's just a job for them.

[@Unity3dCollege]

That's the case most places... coding is work and that's it... game devs tend to be a bit more obsessed though, just never know if it's gonna be with the games side or the coding side :)

[@mandisaw]

I can recommend Education as a field. You tend to get people who are in it for the "mission" as much as because it's a decent job. Having good work/life balance & workplace morale helps a lot too - tech-employed people are more likely to have shared interests (movies/TV, comics/anime, athletics, cooking, etc) but a lot of workplaces discourage "water cooler" socializing.

[@xoduk]

Right now all I really do programming wise is game development, I'm not even in high school yet though and am wondering if I should do something else in programming (my dad works in python for the government idrk, but it took a while to start making good money so maybe I want another job instead like engineering) or some kind of engineering. I want to stick with game development but my dad said anyone who can program is going to want to make games because that's the most fun job in programming. Because of this he said it could be hard to get into a company and there may be a lot of competition. I just wanted to know your thoughts, Thanks!

[@mykilpee]

Honestly, game development is great. I just wish I could get in there professionally... I've been making odd ball things because that's what I am. And if I can find someplace that likes that, it would be great! Till them I'm just going to do what I do, try to kick out a project that's killing me. And finally play with some new stuff.

[@buckupfam]

Currently in a school for full stack web dev but not really loving it lol I have always been more interested in the game side since I was a kid. I really want to pursue this dream and leave school honestly. I'm unsure on what path to take but am greatful for you giving us this insight thank you. Also subscribing :)

[@Unity3dCollege]

Try a bit of game dev on the side while you're in school. See which you prefer after doing a bit, but it'll prob be game dev :)

[@buckupfam]

@@Unity3dCollege For sure I'm going to do that. Question. I live in the LA area how difficult is it getting job? Any insight on that?

[@AlmorTech]

I've always loved games and CS in general, but as a hobby, and recently I decided to learn the iOS dev to switch my career (I’m a medical doctor). Now, after completing each project in my course, I create 1 game for rest and entertainment. After this video, I don't want to make those pauses between games. What have you done to me, Jason ?! 😭❤️

[@ArgoArgus]

Awesome video man. Just one thing game programming is a lot easier than most programming/engineering jobs out there unless you are a programmer on the core engine. But in general making games is easier than writing "enterprise" applications, especially in the case where there is already a mature game engine involved.

[@CarnivoreChris89]

Really good tips and food for thought. You're awesome!

[@samward4507]

Ok I’m buying the course I’m convinced

[@Dbl_Plus_Good]

Hey Jason. Insightful video as always. I gotta ask though... What's with the goofy images you put of yourself as the thumbnails for the video? You're always using an image when you're in the middle of blinking and also making a vowel sound. This has gotta be purposeful! I love it.

[@Unity3dCollege]

lol this one was actually automatic by youtube. i had some thumbs done up, but this defaultone made me laugh so i just left it :)

[@match35214]

Love the videos Jason. Keep up the good work! I myself am studying from home trying to get good enough to start applying for jobs in game development. :)

[@godsstepson1495]

I'm currently working in HVAC but I'm considering going back to college for game development. Im 32 and I don't know if this would be a good step for me but I also don't want to die working in the field...my only experience with this comes down to how I love games and during the early years of MapleStory I took some source files and started to mess around with some of the npc scripts and messing with some SQL files and port forwarding.. I'm not good at any of this I would solve simple things like a buggy npc or a map that would cause DC, I even started to fix maps that had portals that wouldn't work or you would fall straight through. The idea of fixing things in the game was more fun then actually playing the game. I took random codes I would find and combine them to make custom npc's and learned when debugging what I would do wrong and sometimes I would be able to fix it other times I would scratch my head and dump the files and go back to my copied files from when everything was working and try to head down a diff path to make it work .

[@pranavkushwaha6016]

You are my inspiration, I added your name in credit of game

[@maxismakingstuff]

Trying to move from pipeline in animation to game development this was nice to hear.

[@morrgash]

I had an education as a systemdeveloper in Sweden and i tried it through an intership, i didn't like it at all and felt my soul was being crushed everytime, could be because it was a small company but that is the reason that i am testing gaming development now, Thank you for the video much appretiated!

[@shohanur_rifat]

Great videos man. Plz do a video on how to detect collision when the scale of the gameObject constantly gets changed. Plz do it soon.

[@luizgustavodesouza9334]

Hey! Thanks for your videos, just found your channel and I've been having a lot of fun learning from you how the gaming industry works. I have a question for you, so I have a msc in computer science and I've been working for a few years on one of the big enterprise companies out there, and the idea of working as a game developer has been coming up in my head, bc, idk, it sounds like a much more fun job to do than the kind of programming I do in my current job. So how hard it is for me pick up a pace and get a position as a game developer (around Toronto area likely if you know about that area specifically)? I never created code for games in general, but I've been learning the basics on unity on my spare time recently. Of course I have that weird voice in my head saying chances are high that I'll get paid less compared to what I do now, so I was also wondering if you're still planning on making that video about salaries in the gaming industry. Thanks again for the videos, very informative!

[@branpod]

It's so hard to think about what type of development I want to get into. I'm in college for computer science, but niching down (not setting anything in stone, just on a personal interest level) is difficult. Pretty much just trying out every kind I can think of

[@machetebtv2041]

I’m leaning towards going to school for designing rather than programming because of my lifelong struggle with math. Is my gigantic lack of mathematical skills something that would stop me from being able to program/code?

[@studiosupremechannel3517]

I always like your video! I always learn from you. someday, I really want to be like you who are super professional and cool when you are taking and coding at the same time in these videos. thank you from Japan :)

[@MohammadFaizanKhanJ]

One of our company junior developers which I hired quit Unity3d (non game programming) and joinied web development . He asked my about the advice i said keep working on unity as side project.

[@mefgarba3407]

Thank you for this amazing video!

[@bloodonyx]

+ You are less likely to be laid off as a game dev + As a game dev it will be more fun developping video games than a normal software enigneer job working on data etc + You are going to be working with people that have similar interests (Gamers) + Easy to dive into ( A lot of resources available ) + You are going to love your job ( If its your passion that is ) + Working remote

[@ameerabdallah5429]

Really cool video but i was kind of hoping you would go over the competitiveness in the game development industry. I know for sure indie game development is insanely competitive but for someone who just wants to work for a game studio, how is the competition. I’ve heard of comp sci graduates who go to a game studio getting paid much much less than the average comp sci graduate simply because it’s a job a lot of people want. Although i am not looking to be a game dev for the money, I wanna do what I love and also be able to afford helping pull my family out of poverty. Thanks

[@Unity3dCollege]

That tends to be the case more at giant studios where 1000's of people apply for each position.. but those highly competitive positions and companies are rare... And even then, the 'bad' pay is still higher than most of the population. In general though game developers (on the code side) tend to get paid about the same as non-game devs. And in reality the game devs I've worked with were often paid more than the non-game programmers at other big companies I've worked in. It's important though to remember that there are 1000's of game companies out there and 1000's more non-game companies using game engines to build applications as well.. just gotta find one to get into :)

[@ameerabdallah5429]

Jason Weimann thank you for the insight. Much appreciated

[@mathblodist]

That's a pretty good insight on things.

[@Morraak]

Thanks for the uplifting video! I've often thought of doing game development but the couple of times I've tried has been pretty difficult for me. Time to try again I think! I do like using the unity engine though.

[@roybiggums4609]

Game development is hard but it's so rewarding and I have fun even when I fail terribly.

[@angelobracaglia7640]

Hello Mr. Jason, I am a mechanical engineer, but I've always been interest in programming. Recently I started learning Unity during my free time and I've just published my first mobile game on Google Play. I'd like to have some feedbacks, but as you know it's hard to get visibility. Would you mind if I post the youtube trailer in this comment section? Maybe somebody here will give it a try. Of course it's not a problem if you think it's not appropriate. Thank you anyway for your video content.

[@r1pfake521]

Can you make a tutorial for a "advanced" save/load system? I mean the actual file format itself doesn't really matter for the topic (it doesn't even matter if a file or database is used), but I mean to show how to integrate the system into a RPG game and keep the code clean. For example let's say you have a RPG the player has some variables, stat values, status effect information (like remaining duration), quest progress (let's keep it simple and say every quest is just an id with a int progress value) etc and all these things have to be saved/loaded, what's a good/clean way to integrate this? My current idea was to make additional "data" classes for all these things for example CharacterData and then the SaveSystem would get a reference of the actual character object, create a new CharacterData class fill the needed values of the data class from the actual character object and then serialize the data class to a file (json, xml, doesn't matter). But the main "problem" is how to reload the value, sure the LoadSystem would reload the file and get the CharacterData, but then you have to create the actual Character object and set all the values from the loaded CharacterData. I could just pass the whole CharacterData in the constructor of the Character object, but the CharacterData contains other "Data" classes for example "QuestData" but the Character needs actual Quest objects and not QuestData objects. So if I pass the CharacterData in the constructor of the Character then the Character itself would have to turn the QuestData into an actual Quest object, etc and that feels weird. It's kinda hard to explain but I hope you understand what I mean. So it would be awesome if you could make a video about this topic.

[@JacobKinsley]

Here's a handy dandy set of questions for anyone asking themselves this: Q: Do you want to make games for fun? A: Go for it. Q: Do you want to make money from making games? A: Study network security instead.

[@khronos142]

thanks man! great stuff

[@athier5898]

i want to change careers and ive been trying relaly hard to get a portfolio that im proud to show. this video makes me excited cuz i want a job i can be excited about

[@TheCivildecay]

The reason I love working outside the game industry is because I don't want games to be my whole life

[@HE360]

I probably could have gotten a game development job a long time ago. But. I have been dealing with something called "imposter's syndrome." That is, I never thought I was good enough; even though on my own KZbin channel I not only make my own games. But, I make tutorials that teach people how to make games.

[@unitywithzaher1374]

I always say the last phrase you've said "Can not imagine myself working on something else" but I think it's not about imagining I've made a couple of small games and I've been working on Unity for 4 years and still unable to find a job though 😪 and I think I'm gonna be forced to work on something else for mony

[@nikkowalski]

I've been using unity for almost 10 years. I don't need to work as I am a disabled veteran. I also carry a game dev degree. I have yet to find a job. I know there are unity jobs but at this point I'm considering moving to the Unreal engine after seeing the Unreal V demo. Unity was forced down my throat in college and I stuck with it. even though they barely taught us C# and our C++ was super extensive. Now I am finding I need to dust off my C++ skills and learn Unreal after not using it for over 8 years.

[@unitywithzaher1374]

@@nikkowalski it's always cool to try something new if you feel that you want to get into the Unreal engine then do it for me I still need to work more on Unity maybe after 5 years of working on it I will try something new but for now, I need fo focus on unity to get a job good luck

[@GurtGobain]

If I don't know any coding, should I spend a couple months to learn the general basics of C#, or jump straight into Unity tutorials? Edit after 2 weeks of experience: Watch the miniseries Brackeys has on C# basics like what a variable or method is. Then jump into beginner tutorials to make very basic stuff like flappy bird or Jason's angry birds tutorial or a basic 2d platformer.

[@priyanshunaik2377]

I also want ans of this question

[@nierautomata9654]

I work in healthcare as a lab scientist but i just started learning C++ coz im fun of playing games and im thinking of making games as my new hobby and i’ll start with that and see where it goes 😜

[@yeshwanthsai885]

Hi there, I'm very much interested in C++ & gaming industry. While I'm proficient in C++, I have no clue about gaming industry or the prerequisites to do a job as game developer. I'm looking to pursue masters in U.S coming year. If I hope to be a game developer after graduating with M.S degree, is it necessary to graduate in game development specialization or do you suggest something else? Your words of advice are highly valuable. Kindly suggest you to guide me on this, as you have already walked this path and became a game developer yourself. Thank you ☺️

[@vrastello]

I would want to see a video on what to expect on salaries in the industry based on location in your experience. Are they really that much lower than other software engineer salaries? I'm currently getting a CS degree and seriously considering game development but have heard horror stories about salary and bad job security.

[@erik9817]

I second this request.

[@rossthemusicandguitarteacher]

I learned enterprise dev, now doing this as a hobby

[@RPBCACUEAIIBH]

You can't really do serious game dev in 2-3 hours a day(sometimes fixing a bug takes far more time), but that's enough for people to realize just how hard it is to make good games... :) (Especially if you're doing it alone.) But it's productive fun, so I highly recommend it! :D

[@orcunnisli]

It is a very lovely video! As another game dev with 12+ years of industry experience and from BSc. Comp. Eng. background, I only object to the math part. Even it was only 10% of my game programming career, math was a very vital part that made the difference in my senior & lead positions. Without some passion for math, the ability to read academic researches, solving advanced physic issues, understanding CPU/GPU/Memory/Disk optimization in-depth, you would hit into an invisible wall in your game-programming career. Even without these abilities, you would be still much safer than many other jobs out there and could snap on a job position forever; at least if you have a passion to follow the modern trends which are going to change constantly through your career. Cheers and good luck to everyone on their journeys!

[@TochStyle]

pretty interesting advice

[@knightguy2699]

The first time I've heard and type in a script to in-game was /scriptrePopme() from that day I'm curious to know, how the game works from the inside, thanks for your great advice, I'm looking forward for the future contents, great video.

[@Yharielsama]

I'm currently 14, aiming to be someone involved in Biotechnology; but, for now, I'm more into game development as a hobby. So, it isn't a main job for me, but more of a side-job or just a hobby tbh.

[@goodtoseeya1543]

I think you should definitely focus on things that interest you. Everyone can get a boring job and feed himself. But not everyone do what they love for a living because it takes courage and early planning. Especially when you are so young, I would chase passions over "practical" career routes. At least for me, feeling connected to my job is very important.

[@purpledude4207]

I never thought the perfect job existed until I watched this video

[@sohailhalaseh138]

Thank you for the very useful video

[@elijahshimbo544]

Im currently at a stage where I have to decide on the course I want to take in a polytechnic(smth like a college). Stuck between Game design and programming. I have no experience in any of the two fields so I have no idea if I will like any of them. Definitely interested though

[@Derknomicon]

I'm currently going to college and working towards getting my Bachelors in Computer Science, and it's been a rough start mainly because one of my professors ended up getting ill. He missed basically a whole term of a fundamental course material, which is crucial for students to learn the trade. Since then I've felt extremely lost and frustrated with coding, to the point where I don't really have the drive I did in the beginning. Where I'm going with this comment is, was there ever a time during your learning years where you felt like it was hopeless and giving up felt like the only option? If so, how did you overcome and begin feeling more confident in understanding the material? Sorry for the long vent, I'm just trying to seek guidance or advice. Anyone else who reads this comment and has had a similar experience please feel free to give advice.

[@mandisaw]

Sure, frustration is totally natural, both at the beginning and at various milestones (new job, more advanced studies, or getting greater responsibility). The way to build confidence is to practice, maybe join a study group, and/or speak to your professor/department about getting a tutor. Above all, cut yourself some slack - no one is born knowing anything, we all have to stumble on our way from crawling to running marathons. You might be suffering from "impostor syndrome" as well, thoughts like "I'm not good enough" or "Everyone knows more than me" or "I don't belong here", etc. This too is very, very common, not only among students but experienced pros! Talk to a faculty advisor, or if you have peer counseling, that's good, too. Good luck!

[@mandisaw]

I am confused about one thing - if your prof fell ill, someone else surely should've been assigned the course?

[@Derknomicon]

@@mandisaw Thanks for the words of wisdom, and to answer your question: That's what I thought would of happened as well but it never did. He would email us that he would see us next class period for months, he never showed up for any of the classes. The whole class was still getting assigned work by him and when we turned our work in he never graded them. Most of us were getting ready to go to the dean to report him, but his illness was occurring at the very beginning of COVID-19 outbreak. So we felt like he needed some time to get better. Long story short, at the end of the term he basically gave Everyone in the class an A and apologized for how the term went. Since then my fundamentals were shot, I never really knew if I was retaining what I was being taught, and now I'm going through higher level CS courses always second guessing myself and feeling extremely stressed and anxious.

[@mandisaw]

@@Derknomicon Whoa, I don't know where you are, or what kind of school it is, but a faculty member (or adjunct/part-timer) not showing up for classes, not grading any assignments, *and* not reporting their inability to teach long-term (due to whatever reason) to their dept is grounds for everything from discipline to dismissal. Basically it's ditching your job and still collecting a paycheck, with even more ethical violations. If it was this term, everyone everywhere got pretty messed up, and I expect that next-term profs will kind of understand that. Reach out to those resources I mentioned, and hopefully you can get caught up and build your fundamentals to where you feel comfortable with the next levels.

[@Derknomicon]

@@mandisaw Yeah, it was pretty rough. I was even signed up for his next class, but then I received an email from a different CS professor stating that he had taken the teaching role for the class. So I'm thinking he either got fired or suspended for his actions or lack of for the previous term. I've been trying to self teach this term but with everything that has been going on and having to work from home has been hard. Thanks for hearing me out and for the words of wisdom though. I hope you and yours are safe and well.

[@excellNexcel]

Yes, you can teach yourself game development via the Internet - The Net has really changed the method of learning radically and democratized the delivery of knowledge to those who can't afford a college degree - level the playing field...all you need is interest and motivation and the Internet.

[@thehambone1454]

Great video! This seemed focused on doing game dev as a career, what are your thoughts about game dev as a hobby when you have a normal business SE job? Would love to see/hear your thoughts about this(video?).

[@Unity3dCollege]

I'll definitely do a video about it... It's a fun hobby, but very time consuming and it's easy to get tempted to make the full time switch :)

[@thehambone1454]

Jason Weimann I’ve been having fun with it so far as a hobby but yeah, you are right, very very time consuming (I also notice it occupies my mind a lot while I’m “working”). If I were married + kids I probably wouldn’t have the time for it.

[@mandisaw]

+1 for this. I produce games under my own company label - it's a lot of fun and I'm working on stepping up a notch. But I could never live off of just my game earnings. And those 6-18mo remote/contract jobs seem less appealing in your 40s/mid-career rather than 20s/fresh-graduate.

[@StygianStyle]

I don't know why I haven't been doing game dev for the last 10 years or so. I've had so much free time. I guess I felt like there was a very slim chance for an indie developer's game to be seen among all the big AAA titles out there.

[@vincentpresscod7531]

But what about negative aspects of game development? Specifically crunches.

[@badrbennani3801]

I am a first year computer science student in Morocco 🇲🇦 and I am planning to continue my studies in the UK 🇬🇧 and specialize in game development. Is it a good choice or should I just learn at home ?

[@ik2254]

Can you work from home from afar?? Like in some small studio? I live in a third world country and here, game industry is non-existent. Can i get a job in some small, indie EU or NA company without moving places? Because moving from county to country is difficult if you are not from EU or Australia/NA. They tend to regard you as a lesser being in the burocratic structures if you are not from those places and getting all the documents/working visa's, renting a place could be really difficult.

[@aseldama2614]

Hi Jason, or whoever is reading this. I have a question...when I was a child, around 10 and 11, I got into Scratch, which is essentially a website developed by MIT to get kids into making games. I was generally good at it, winning a local competition at a tech camp which focused a lot on Scratch. I recently got back into coding (I am now 16), and I was wondering if taking on some big projects would be ok for a "beginner" like me? I know C# is a hell of a lot different than Scratch, but Scratch has the same logic skills that normal coding has. For example, I made around 20 scratch games, and I was wondering if an acceptable beginner project could be a 3D roguelite shooter. Its a project I feel very motivated to do and I've gotten somewhat close to getting the movement down. Should I continue with it or start off with a simpler game? Thanks!

[@MrHarumakiSensei]

I haven't used Unity, but a short FPS is quite easy to do in Unreal Engine, so I guess Unity would be around the same. The main thing is to keep the enemies simple, both in terms of graphics and what they can do.

[@relivoaddad]

Hi Jason, I started 4 months ago because I wanted to develop a VR app for physiotherapy (that's my day job). With the lock down I've had a lot of time on my hands and am nearing the end of my first minigame and I have to say, I'm really loving it, first and foremost the programming side of things, for the art I just use assets. I'm not sure if this will ever become a job, at the age of forty I don't know how easy that would be, but I'm sure it's a great skill to have, and as I progress I have this awesome feeling that I'm starting to understand other people's code without having to go completely nuts. Thank you for your videos, some of them have been particularly useful, such as the ones regarding Singletons, Interfaces, and Abstract classes. Ciao from Italy!

[@astrodoge1220]

I’m 12 and I want to be a game developer but should I go to university ?

[@Nova04550]

Thank you! I was hoping to hear something positive after hearing all the negative talk about game dev. "Most people aren't cut out for it", ""Most people give up", "Most people won't sell their game", "They treat people bad in the industry". I do get that all can be true, but it's not very motivating!

[@soupnoodles]

I agree that it translates well, but when learning to make games so that you can actually get the job, its obvious that you would need to make some solo games, but i have no interest in pixel art of music production whatsoever its only the programming side, any advice?

[@LuffyBahadur]

Ur videos are really helpful Jason.my question - I'm turning 33 soon. Is it too late to change careers if u dont have experience and go into game development. I found ur angry bird game tutorial v helpful and easy to follow.

[@playbooz]

i am 34 years old in 2020 i decided that I will be game developer now my question is that right age for game development ?

[@lukastomasek8038]

I hope I can get job in game company this year that would be cool . 😃

[@eastkoastgames1553]

Thank you. This was inspiring

[@rickloyd8208]

With all respect you showed only positive side and completely ignore the difficulties in personal life and health because of your crazy job which requires staying at you workplace outside of working hours, weekends and etc. Once you start creating games you hate playing them... you see me mechanics but the most of all, you no longer have free time :)

[@BlakeKane]

01:36 you can`t just fire a man who build your safe box lock :D

[@titkosaaron4067]

Hey! I really like games, and I always wanted to become a GameDev. When I first started learning C++, I instantly got to love it. I really love coding, programming, and making games. But I feel like I am too slow at learning :( Like I really have the attidute and I really am trying to get to it, but I think I am learning too slow :( This gives me a really bad feeling about myself, what should I do?

[@felipereyes975]

I have a quick question and anyone can answer. If a person only knows how to program with blueprints in UE4 do you still consider them game developers ?

[@tuckerwolfe]

Yes, 100%. It doesn't matter HOW you make them, or even what part of the process you're involved with. Blueprints are a sophisticated logic system. Unrelated, if you are interested in coding, you already understand the majority of it.

[@AnarchoFuturist]

I currently work as .net/C# developer and have over a decade of experience. What stops me from going after the job listings I see is that they always required game industry experience and shipped titles. How would you suggest I pivot to game development? I've also worked with Unity for a few years as a Hobby. Btw I love your channel and I cant wait to play Pantheon!

[@Rookx51]

Put together a collection of *playable* demos showing off something a bit unusual or complex to showcase your programming heavy background. Then just apply!

[@TheCivildecay]

This guys says the exact opposite of what all other media outlets are saying about gamedev:) Unpaid overtime 50+ hours workweek Mass layoffs Etc

[@kaedeharakazuha2003]

I love making games, I can code, draw, but my game design skills is so bad, I'm really struggling with game design I dunno how to fix this