Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
GitHub, an online code repository collection where developers share and collaborate, is another
great archive of open source code. The various developer forums are also a resource of focused
code solutions to specific problems and a platform for lively debate about alternative approaches to
problem solving.
More Than a Hobby
If your goal is to find employment as a game developer, it's never too soon to think about portfolio
and résumé building. Whether you have a formal education or not, potential employers will want to
see what kind of skills you have. Even if you aren't aware of employer expectations, learning them
will give you a guide for refining your developing skills to meet industry standards.
Portfolio
The difference between a résumé and a portfolio is that a résumé is a written summary of your
professional skills and educational background, and a
portfolio
is a collection of examples of your
work such as code, demos, and even completed games.
A portfolio is a necessity for getting into the game industry, whether you are a self-taught programmer
or have a degree. In fact, one of the most common requirements you will see for an entry-level
position is “Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent work experience.” A formal
education isn't required if you can demonstrate through your portfolio that you have what they are
looking for. In either case, the contents of the portfolio are the same, the only difference being that for
students, projects from coursework should be identified separately from independent projects.
The portfolio is a collection of the best samples of your game development work. Let's face it, your
first couple of games probably won't be award winners, but they are significant for other reasons.
They show your skills, and they show your ability to learn and to stick with a project to the end.
I landed my first paying game developer gig through an individual I met at a Meetup event for
developers. I didn't have much of a portfolio at the time, but I had developed a few small productivity
mobile apps for a local startup company. His comment, “This tells me you can finish and publish a
project,” surprised me because I just hadn't thought of it that way.
In fact, at the time we were chatting and I showed him the apps on my phone, I had no idea he had
come to that meeting looking for someone to hire. I didn't think I had enough skills or knowledge yet
because I was painfully aware of how much I had yet to learn. That project turned into a second one,
both of which I successfully completed, and I learned a great deal in the process. As I mentioned, given
how rapidly the field of video game development is advancing, there will always be much to learn.
You should have a few
complete games
in your portfolio. Complete means splash screens; menus
that include the basics of starting, pausing, and exiting the game; player options; essentially all of
the ancillary interaction of the game with the player, in addition to the gameplay itself. Games in
more than one genre, 2D and 3D, show depth and versatility.
You can also have
feature demos
: fragments of games that focus on specific features in which
you are demonstrating a skill, such as AI or special effects. Programmers aren't expected to have
professional-grade art skills; hence the term
programmer art
for placeholder, often lesser-quality art
