Is video game development a viable career for you?

Video games are now part of everyone’s day-to-day life; from parents who keep on telling their kids to stop gaming and go touch grass outside to CEOs who play video games in their spare time, video games are related to everybody in the modern world in some manner. 

So that begs the question: can anyone be a game developer?

The short answer is yes, anyone can TRY to be a game developer. But the long answer is a lot more complicated. This career isn’t for everybody, but it is open to everyone, and if you’re interested in knowing the general scope of what it takes to be a game dev, here’s an article you might be interested in.

Five game insights we think will pique your interest!

If the article above wasn’t enough to discourage or spur you into trying game development, then why not give a simple 15-minute game creation process a try? Remember the game Asteroids? You’ll basically be creating that in GameMaker. Give it a go and see whether game development is truly for you!

Still unsure but want to give a few more tries into making a game? Then why not try making a visual novel this time? These are narrative-driven games with a heavier emphasis on the art, sounds, character-building and events than the actual gameplay mechanics like most games do—which are the more technically challenging parts of creating a video game.

Ren’Py is one of the most widely used visual novel engines in the world and is frequented by both beginners and veterans alike.

Let’s say you’re not interested in video game development at all, but your child is. What is the best way to support them in trying out game creation? You’d be surprised with the answer: Minecraft EDU. Minecraft has long been adapted into many modern ‘gamified’ education curricula, but Minecraft EDU in particular is specially designed for learning coding and game design for young audiences.

Game development isn’t all just about sitting in front of a computer all day typing strings of code—there are a lot of times that the creation process involves brainstorming with something else than digital sources are needed.

Take this clip of Hideo Kojima, a world-renowned game developer and creative mind behind the Metal Gear series, using Lego blocks to conceptualize maps and camera angles as an inspiration for future plans!

Regardless if you’re going to make game development your new career or hobby, one thing’s for sure: it takes real skill and talent to make a name for yourself in an industry like this. There are so many game developers out there, but only a handful make a mark in the industry like Josh Wardle, Hidetaka Miyazaki, ConcernedApe and more.

So if you’re aspiring to be a successful game developer like our most recent podcast guest, don’t forget to go at it passionately and in a sustainable way!

And to your journey in making a good game, we share a quote made by Cole Medeiros, creator of GUBS: A Game of Wit and Luck and Stardew Valley: The Board Game:

“The best games and art projects come from when you can't stop thinking about it and your heart keeps coming back to it.”

We hope you had a productive and meaningful week! Finish it off strong by clearing all of our daily games and subscribing to our YouTube channel!

And if you want to learn more about what we’re up to at Hey, Good Game, you can find out more right here.

See you next Friday!

-The Hey, Good Game Team