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Have you ever tried to prove your parents wrong? It’s not so easy, right? They seem to know everything regardless of the situation or context!
However, there is one way to show them you were right and they were wrong: become a game developer! Most parents tell their children that playing video games won’t make them any money in the future. They should focus on school and keep their nose in the books, not computers and video games!
Well, as a successful game developer you get to prove them wrong! Sure, you have to study how games work and learn how to use the platforms behind all that magic, but you’re still making a living out of games.
But is this really a dream job? I know I used to dream about it as a kid, but now, as a developer, things look a bit different. Let me tell you why.
It’s Not Just About the Game
When you build a game, you look at the entire project from a completely different perspective than you do as a player. Let’s take Snake as an example. It’s a simple game that has a digital snake looking for pixels to eat and trying to avoid obstacles.
Now, as a player, your main concern is to grow and avoid hitting anything on your journey. As a developer, you need to understand how to delimitate the space in which the snake is allowed to move and how to make the game recognize when the snake eats something and hits something. Of course, there are more complicated elements involved, but you get the idea.
The game is no longer something purely entertaining to you because your mind automatically goes beyond the scene and looks for mechanics, processes, and content development.
It’s Still Incredibly Fun
When you work on a game, the brain goes places you never thought it could. You consider user experience, gameplay, scenarios, level difficulty, and so on. Also, you get to work on timeless classics such as the Minecraft browser version.
How fun would it be to get to understand the logic behind this impressive virtual empire? So, if you’re wondering if the magic disappears once you peek behind the curtain, I am here to put your mind at ease. If you love what you do, the magic is only starting!
It Takes Guts
Just like most things in life, success doesn’t come overnight and it doesn’t stay long. Game developers who became rich by selling games they created had to go through failure after failure to get better at their craft.
Sure, there are a few titles that explode out of nowhere, but the success never lasts. You need to have the guts to fail and get back on the horse each time.
Wrap Up
At the end of the day, your parents may have been right. You may never get to make money from your own games. Still, if you have the right skills, you can work with companies or you can collaborate as a freelancer. The idea is to never give and always keep learning and practicing.