To study or not & make games instead

Hi Anjali, I've been wondering about something - [[Should I go to University? You know, do a Masters?]] [[Can I just make games and will things work out?]]

Well, I won't advocate for it either way, but I'll try to give you the information you need to make that choice yourself! My first questions to you would be whether you've done games development as part of your education before? [[Yes, I have!]] [[No, I haven't]]

There's no reason why it shouldn't! I know several Game Devs who weren't from a typical Dev background - there's people who've written cookbooks and done food photography, rock climbers, archers, writers, authors, I know someone who used to teach ballroom dance too. [[That's all cool and everything, but how'd they get in the industry?]] [[Oh okay, didn't realise people did more than play and make games!]]

Amazing! That's great to hear. I hope that whatever course you took taught you the principles of design, gave you a chance to make some games and work in groups. All these are just as important as iterating on a design for any designer. [[Yeah, I've been there, done that-]] [[Mmm, no can't say we learned much theory]]

That's absolutely fine - so I guess the question would be what informal education you have about the games industry. Do you go to YouTube to learn level design principles of fundamental game design principles? Have you tried making your own games? Have you played games you don't like to understand what you didn't like and what kind of mechanic would hook you? [[I've not really done that...]] [[Yeah, I've done some research ->I've not really done that...]]

Considering that you're pursuing games development, what are you hoping to learn from your formal studies on the subject? The reason I pursued a Masters was because my undergraduate education was for 2D and 3D animation. This was for animation - learning to animate for games, is surprisingly different (although the basic animation principles still apply)! Also, after I graduated, I worked as a Social Media Manager / Digital Marketer for a couple years... while I enjoyed Game Dev, I didn't know if I could cut it in the real world. [[But you got a job after your Masters right?]] [[Okay, but like surely you benefitted from going to University!]]

Not everyone on the course made it to the industry. The industry is a highly competitive space that demands top-tier talent. To quote a colleague of mine 'someone's working when you aren't'. Which is obvious and kinda ominous to think about, and no, please don't take that as a 'you should be working 24x7' - but it is important to remember, not to rest on your laurels. I personally landed my job after going through several iterations of my portfolio and resume. After a few interviews where I proved my ability to break-down, scope and re-do designs on the spot, was I given offers. But this wouldn't have happened if I didn't continually strive to improve myself! [[So education isn't everything...]]

Well, typically the devs that come from different backgrounds you'd expect usually honed their craft in their free time - people messed around on Unreal, others in Blender, some in text based adventures, who then showed the world what they were capable of. [[Fair enough, but lots of studios ask for experience!]] [[Any advice on where I can find people to make games with me?]]

Well, game dev is kind of like writing - you can only build and make from experience. When devs have a varied background or set of hobbies, it helps them view things differently, which means devs are making all sorts or kinds of games! Just like everyone you know has varied interests, game devs too enjoy various activities. While everyone loves to talk about what games they played over the weekend, they also like to talk about cool things they've done - like going for a vintage car sale or a rally, maybe a skiing holiday, and so on. [[That's all cool and everything, but how'd they get in the industry?]] [[Fair enough, but lots of studios ask for experience!]] [[Any advice on where I can find people to make games with me?]]

This is true. But I will say that a good hiring manager will be able to look past it. At the end of the day, people hire those they want to work with and a lack of experience isn't necessarily a deterrent (situation dependant!). Secondly, regardless of whether you do or don't meet all the requirements, you'll have to prove your capability to the hiring managers and recruiters alike. Confidence backed with evidence will help you on this path. So, uh, be fearless! Go forth and apply! Or... don't... you do you! [[Chaotic advice, but thanks ->Thanks, this was super helpful!]] [[Can education cover the gaps? ->Should I go to University? You know, do a Masters?]]

This is a fun topic! I'd highly recommend finding and joing dev groups that regularly host game jams / itch.io where some game jams have a discord channel to allow jammers to find people to work with. Remember that you could also rope in some friends of yours (who are interested!!) in making this little project with you. Everyone benefits. [[Oh, nevermind then, done that ->Well I've kind of done all that]] [[Sorry, but what's a game jam?]]

Well, then, have you had people play your games? What did they think? Did they enjoy it? What did they ask you to improve? Did they want another game? [[Yeah, did this too!]] [[Whoa, that's a lot! Do I need to do this? ->Whoa, that's a lot there... but do I need to do this?]]

Alright, I guess the last step is asking devs in the industry what they think about your project and it's documentation if you have that together on a portfolio . Also, congratulations! You can consider yourself a full fledged game dev now! So what are you doing here? Go make more cool stuff! [[Thanks, this was super helpful!]]

This one's up to you to answer and decide. I have early projects I made on Twine where reviewers mentioned typos / lack of graphics etc. Admittedly I've not revisited them because they were simply fun projects to do and put out there in the world with crazy whacky writing, or experiments with shaders and objects and animation. I've had more polished projects that too I haven't really iterated on. But any comments while I was still iterating on the project were certainly taken into account! Game jams, projects with other team members where I've had requests to shorten lines, iterate on the mechanic, make things feel better, have all been inputs I've onboarded and excecuted. [[This feels like a lot]] [[That's pretty cool, thanks for the info ->Thanks, this was super helpful!]]

No it isn't, but if you truly believe that going for formal or higher education would help you, then please find a course that's suitable for you! To anyone that's spoken to me about my Masters, I've spoken very highly (and still do) of Abertay University's M.Prof Games Development course as it acts like a studio simulated course with some direction. It was a much needed practical view for me to figure out whether I liked working with people (which I do!), and whether game dev could be seen as something I'd love so much it wouldn't be JUST a job (which it isn't!). [[So like, if I were to make games it would be fine?->Can I just make games and will things work out?]] [[Thanks, this was super helpful!]]

Glad to hear that, or at least I hope this was useful! Now go forth and make games or... don't, whatever makes you happy! [[Feel free to go to the top if there's anything else you wanted to know ->Start]]

It IS true that having graduated from Abertay University stood me in good light especially when I was looking for work in the UK. However, it is just as important to see the amount of work that went into my portfolio (and still goes in there), which is what helped me hone and sharpen my skills. [[So education isn't everything...]] [[You're telling me I should be making games, right?]]

Yes, absolutely! Its one of the best ways for you to know even before going for a course whether you enjoy Game Dev, the challenges that come with it and overcoming it. A lot of Game Dev is realising you have no idea how to do something, but figuring it out anyway! I'm a big fan of puzzles and figuring things out, which is why I enjoy Game Dev so much, despite it being kind of gruelling sometimes... [[Any advice on where I can find people to make games with me?]] [[Fair enough, but lots of studios ask for experience!]]

Oh I love a good game jam! A game jam is usually an event (or competition if your prefer) where within an allotted amount of time you make a game - from scratch usually! [[Allotted time??]] [[What kind of game engines would one use?]]

Yeah, you have all kinds of jams - my personal favourites have been 48 hour game jams where you can work solo or with a group. Since I treat these as the kind of jam where I'd like to improve upon one of my own skills, I usually work solo. You've also got game jams that go on for weeks or months, allowing you to make a game after work or just chip away slowly instead of at a break neck pace that might feel unsustainable for a beginner / a polished game you want to make by the end of it. I would like to remind you however that game jams are where you'd usually make very VERY rough game drafts - as it puts forward a concept. Did you know Braid started as part of a jam (specifically Global Game Jam)?? [[What kind of game engines would one use?]] [[This feels like a lot]]

This is a difficult one to answer. The industry standards are Unity and Unreal Engine - however with the hot water Unity's been in, we may no longer see Unity as industry standard for small studios anymore. While those two are the epitome of what one can do and make, you've also got easier game engines for beginners to use like RPG / Visual Novel Maker... I've made a few games during 48 hour jams and they're easy and quick. I'd advice Ren'py if you want a bit more leeway in what you can achieve with a visual novel, Long Live the Queen being an outstanding example of how far you can go with this tool. You also have bigger more robust engines like Core, Godot Engine, Game Maker and so many more, that you just need to look to find what you're looking for! [[Wow. What about proprietary game engines?]] [[This feels like a lot]]

Remember that you could work on your own project at your own time if you'd much prefer. This would be like an indie dev who works solo (or brings in people to help every so often), chips away at things and then voila - you have a game! [[This sounds scary too]] [[]]

Well, I hope I've not put you off Game Dev entirely... I know I've done that to a few of my friends who expressed interest, saw the reality and went 'Immediately no. Nope. Nevermind.' Sooo uh, either way, I hope I've at least informed you on what you might be expecting... [[Yeah, this has been useful actually ->Thanks, this was super helpful!]]

Well, there's some amazing resources out in the world thanks to the internet, like GDC, Extra Credits, Game Maker's Toolkit, IGDA GASIG, and so on, on YouTube. You could also follow some of your favourite studios that make content / stream - Creative Assembly does a fantastic job of covering what different roles do, how they do it, and most importantly, the breaking down how they arrived at a conclusion! [[What about some written sources maybe?]] [[Oh that's cool, so education isn't everything? ->So education isn't everything...]]

Word of caution - something I heard off-hand from a Dev in the industry was that anything that's written and published, will be out of date by the time its out. Why mention this? Take anything you've read about certain practices with a grain of salt till you have a chance to see it yourself. For example, we no longer write giant wieldy game design documents, but instead one pagers, feature pitches, design documents, etc, that are short, easy to maintain living documents till the time it is officially in the wild! The games industry itself is evolving so fast that most advice ends up being out of date within months if not a year. Disclaimer out, here's the books I've got in my Game Dev library - Level Up! The Great Guide to Video Games, The Game Narrative Toolbox, Writing for Emotional Impact, The Art of Game Design: A book of Lenses, The Game Writing Guide: Get your Dream Job and keep it! [[Thanks for this, but, what game engines can I start with? ->What kind of game engines would one use?]] [[Any advice on where I can find people to make games with me?]] [[Would you advice going for formal education? ->Yeah, I've been there, done that-]]

We've not even scartched the surface of what game engines are capable of, but proprietary engines are big baddies of engines that were made for specific purposes - think of them like super powered engines for things like speed or memory or sheer volume. Access to these can be difficult, especially if the studio doesn't want to share (with good reason). You also have the other extreme, like The Divinity Engine, Skyrim's Creation Kit and so much more, which can give you a taste of what Devs might be working with! [[What if I've never touched a proprietary engine before?]]

I've been in that place and my main advice to you would be to work in as many game engines as you possibly can! A lot of what you see between engines is often transferable and you'll usually be able to do simpler things without too much direction. Needless to say however that when it comes to specifics you'll still need guidance from your colleagues - so trust them, rely on them and ask them lots of questions (sorry not sorry). [[Fair enough, but lots of studios ask for experience!]] [[This feels like a lot]]

Okay, well then, have you attempted to make any games yourself? It could be board games or digital games, it could be text based adventures or TTRPG-esque games. Anything at all! [[Yes I have!]] [[No, not just yet]]

Great! Have other people played your games? What did they think about it? Did you improve and polish what you made? Have you made more games since then? What did you enjoy about the process? Have you considered putting your work together as part of a digital portfolio?? [[Do I need to do this? ->Whoa, that's a lot there... but do I need to do this?]] [[Kind of, but is that enough? ->Can I just make games and will things work out?]]

My advice would be to try making a game. Pick a topic or have a brainstorm with some of your friends to come up with a topic and mechanics. Ask them things like what their favourite game is and why and work from there! Remember that you could try something first to figure out whether you enjoy it before you decide whether to pursue it formally. I also know people who have made their own games in their own time and joined studios without having been through formal education on the subject. [[And it'll work out? ->Can I just make games and will things work out?]] [[That's fine and everything, but what about formal education? ->Yeah, I've been there, done that-]]