Quote:
Originally Posted by Voidbarker
(Post 1927777)
i don't think it's gonna be possible for me to become a decent gamedev. people want qualifications and such.
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Not gonna lie, it's irritatingly hard to get into the industry. The studios big enough to hire are also big enough to be choosy. Back when I was actually thinking I wanted to be a professional game dev I was never able to get very far at all.
But that's not meant to be doom-and-gloom and saying it's impossible. It's hard, but it's actually easier now than it was when I was trying. The reason I didn't get very far despite my professional software engineering experience is because my knowledge was pretty unrelated to video game software.
It's a WHOLE lot easier to get a meaningful indie project under your belt without needing a significant budget to get started. With good, solid, professional-grade engines now available for free such as Unity and Unreal, and with a big enough indie game development community out there to be able to actually find resources and tutorials and help, the industry is more approachable than it has been in over a decade.
The days when you had to be the next John Carmack to make something good are gone. Arcane knowledge of how to make a game engine scream isn't necessary to get your foot in the door; you can get the qualifications necessary for a junior game developer while still being a mere mortal. Sure, knowing how to make a game engine scream is definitely a skill worth possessing, but there are enough roles outside of engine development that need filled that it's enough to demonstrate that you know how to use the tools that exist.
That said, you'll want to make sure your life circumstances are stable before you start down that path. Living with your parents because you're still in school (whether high school or college) is ideal, but studying game development while you're working a less exciting job to pay the bills is still entirely reasonable. (The game devs that can quit their day job to try to break into the industry are a lot less common than you might imagine, and they have to have already built up enough savings to get by until they start making revenue.)
I've said this before, but I'll say it again -- I am
happy to teach. The main reason I'm not a full-time teacher is because I enjoy building solutions to interesting problems too much. (I, um... also probably couldn't get by on a teacher's salary.) If you have questions, I'm happy to answer. If you want some lessons, I can provide. One-on-one tutoring is totally a thing I'm open to doing. I won't even charge for it.
