Original Post
Games are fun. Making them - not that much. Young people who spent their adolescence going through all kinds of quests and shooters always tend to romanticize the career in game development. While the truth is that all the work leaves you with almost no time to fully enjoy the projects of others.
The industry is meant for focused, creative people who would go to any lengths to make something great and innovative. No doubt you have to be passionate about games and gaming stuff to get in this field but the real dedication is expected when it comes to your own project. If you possess those qualities together with a vivid imagination it’s definitely enough to try and create your first game.
Foremost, you decide why you want to make games. Is it just a hobby or are you here for the money? The approach differs depending on your motivation. If the whole idea is to do it for fun then find online courses or tutorials, go to GameSalad and create a simple game that you’d like. The career path in game development requires a completely different attitude and skills. Basic knowledge of math, physics and code is a must. Everything else could be learned through books, courses and hard work.
Let’s say you have what it takes to become a professional game developer, where do you start?
Your goal is to create something very quickly to test yourself. Game Jams are the best way to do it. You could learn on the spot with the help of others and you don’t need to spend too much time deciding on the genre or looking for inspiration. Game Jam also allows you to get to the best part of game development - having people play what you’ve created. And a little competition can push you to improve and get results quicker.
Another way to start is to copy a game you enjoyed. It has to be something simple, so there will be no space for failure. Why do you need to do this? Trying to create an original game is not that easy, while implementing a game design is even harder, but attempting to do both at the same time is nearly impossible for the first-timer.
The next step is to choose a platform. PC or mobile? Android or iOS? Depends on your programming skill set. Remember that iOS will be a good choice for C coders, and Android is a nice option for those with Java knowledge. Browser games require Flash or HTML5.The particular engine doesn't really matter at this point, but if you decide to do something on different platforms you are welcome to check out our engine comparison guide.
After you trained on Jams and clones, map out your own game. Move to learning graphics libraries like OpenGL or DirectX. The art part is pretty important, combined with animation it could take you to a whole new level. The hardest part will be to teach oneself to be a storyteller. Reading and writing a lot could help you with that. You are going to make mistakes, you are going to learn, being a game developer is kind of a rollercoaster. But it is worth it.
