Since starting my game development journey, it’s become kind of an obsession. I think about it constantly. Even when I read a book or watch TV, new ideas come to me. And with so many ideas, I tend to get pretty overwhelmed with the options. It’s to the point that I can’t decide what projects to work on. To help with this, I’ve decided to take a long, hard look at what I really want to do as a video game developer.
Disclaimer: this is strictly my personal feelings about own game development. It isn’t right or wrong. Your goals may be completely different. And that is perfectly ok. The important part is to understand what it is you want so you can work towards it.
Whether you are a new or experienced game developer, I recommend you ask yourself these same questions. It’ll help you focus your time and attention so you can make more progress towards your own game development goals.
Indie or AAA Game Development
For me personally, the creative aspect is important. I feel like I have a lot of ideas when working on projects. Those ideas making an impact on the final product is really appealing to me. And I feel like the best way for that to happen is by working for a smaller indie studio or just developing video games myself. Or even better, maybe I could start my own indie studio one day.
Personally, I feel like this is less likely to happen at a AAA game studio. There are way more people with their own ideas, too. And all of those ideas might have to compete with each other to make it in the final game. (Admittedly, I’ve never worked for a AAA game studio. I’m unsure if this is actually the case.)
There is an exception to this. If a AAA game developer focused on a genre I want to focus on (more on that in a moment) approached me, I would be more likely to consider it. I’m still learning game development. And there could be a lot I’m doing “wrong”. The chance to see how a professional studio works could be interesting. I’d focus on my normal job (likely programming) but use the opportunity to learn more about the other aspects of game development I’m less familiar with.
My Genres of as a Video Game Developer
I love playing all kinds of games. FPSs, racing, RPGs, puzzles, action/adventure, platformers. You name it, I probably enjoy it. But honestly, I don’t think I would enjoy developing some of them nearly as much.
When trying to figure out what my be the most appealing to me, I went back and looked at my favorite games growing up. Each platform had 10-15 games that I spent most of my time playing. And there were two definite trends: RPGs and platformers.
RPGs easily took up the most time. Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Super Mario RPG, World of Warcraft, Persona 5. I’ve spent a lot of hours in these types of games. Partly because of how long they are. But partly just because I love them so much I go back, optimize, and just explore every little thing I can.
Platformers didn’t take up nearly as much of my time, but they made a bigger impact on me. Super Mario, Mega Man, Metroid, Banjo-Kazooie, Hollow Knight. A lot of these have very simple core mechanics, but some of them allow you to modify them to your own play style. And I love that idea. Making something simple and presenting the player with choices. Because of this, I personally lean more towards the metroidvania or roguelite platformers than anything.
My Roles in Video Game Developer
If you ask me what I want to do in game development, the answer is quite simple. Eventually, I want to be able to do everything myself. Realistically, I’m not at that point.
My strengths definitely lie in programming. My formal education and current career are both in computer science, so it makes sense. That will likely remain my focus no matter what I do in game development.
Music composition is probably my second strongest skill. And if I had to pick one skill I’d like to focus on, this would be it. I absolutely love music. Especially video game soundtracks. (Fun fact, if I hadn’t majored in computer science I would have likely been a music major.)
Game design, 2D/3D art, animation, writing. These are all skills I know enough of to get the job done. But I also know that these are my weakest skills in game development. I will be focusing each of them individually at some point.
So for right now, my goal is to educate myself enough in each of the various roles to be able to either communicate what I need or be able to find the right assets myself.
My Reasons for Being a Video Game Developer
Why I actually want to make video games was the hardest part for me to answer. And there really isn’t a single reason. It’s a mix of several things.
The largest reason for me personally is as a form of creative expression. I feel like I am a fairly creative person. And game development utilizes many of the skills I have and enjoy. It’s almost a perfect creative outlet for me.
And while I have many of the skills, I certainly won’t claim to be an expert in them. Game development seems like a very fun way of learning and getting better at those skills. Growth and knowledge is very important to me (but in and out of game development).
Finally, I wouldn’t mind making a little extra money from it. I have a great career that I really enjoy. But given the chance to make games full time, I would easily take the opportunity. Ideally, I’d love to create my own indie studio and hire a team of creatives that I really click with and whose work I admire. We would create together and I could continue to learn from them.
Conclusion
After a lot of soul searching, I’ve figured out who I am as a video game developer and what I want to focus on. Personally, I want to focus on making platformers and/or RPGs. And I’d prefer to work on smaller teams where my ideas are more likely to make an impact on the game. Programming will likely be my focus, but I want the chance to explore the other creative roles when the chance comes up.
Ultimately, this is a creative outlet for me. I want to focus on growing and learning new skills while still creating something awesome. And if possible, I’d love to turn this into a career. Find some people I can work with and learn from while supporting my family.
We all have our own reasons for being game developers. If you haven’t really thought about it, be sure to ask yourself the same questions I asked myself. What are your reasons for being a game developer? Let us know in the comments below.
