Game development is a rewarding career path for anyone passionate about gaming. A day in the life of a game dev involves numerous tasks. It includes conceptualizing game ideas, programming, and developing the game.
I will provide an overview of a typical day for this profession. I also recommend the skills needed for success in this sector. Let’s scroll down to explore!
An Overview Of Game Development
Game development involves creating games, describing the design, and releasing a new game. It also relates to generating, designing, building, testing, and releasing concepts. In general, game development includes seven key stages:
- Generate initial concept
- Design scope
- Pre produce
- Produce
- Test
- Release
- Post-Produce
A game developer must consider its mechanics, level design, player engagement, and rewards when creating a game. They must think of other elements, such as:
- Visuals
- User interface
- Artificial intelligence
- Game logic
A Day In The Life Of A Game Developer
Game developers specialize in creating games on multiple computer or smartphone platforms. They play the role of converting game designers‘ ideas into actual games by coding.
In addition, they also do things like programming, sound effects, engineering, and testing to keep the game running. They might focus on a specific aspect. It can be artificial intelligence programming or the virtual landscape of a game.
The roles of game developers are not the same. Yet, below are the things in their daily life!
At Work
The daily tasks of game developers may vary. Yet, these experts must involve the following responsibilities!
Prepare For Work
Game developers can work in studios or offices. The actual working hours typically start at around 9 am. These specialists are salaried employees. They have a flexible schedule to start and end their working day.
Join A Team Meeting
When everyone arrives at the office, they have a Scrum meeting. Game developer teams typically have a stand-up meeting. They discuss the things they have achieved the previous day.
Moreover, they also talk about the tasks they must accomplish today and potential problems blocking their work. After that, they return to their duties. For instance, they must reply to emails, schedule their day, and start working.
Focus On Work
Game developers spend most of their day doing the main part of their job.
1. Ideation & Conceptualization
These professionals develop the initial concept for their new game. Once they have creative ideas, they begin fleshing them out. They should ask themselves about gameplay experience type, story category, and target audience.
2. Game Design
After these specialists create a Strong concept, they design a new game. It involves finding out the gameplay mechanics’ details to create designs.
3. Art & Asset Creation
These experts must create outstanding art assets to make their games high-quality and impressive. It includes designing 2D sprites or 3D models. Game developers must also consider background scenery and user interface.
4. Programming
These developers must deeply understand programming to make their game function properly. Programming is among the essential skills for these specialists. So they must master complex knowledge of programming languages.
5. Testing
After these developers build a playable game, it’s time for testing. This step involves playtesting internally to fix bugs and conducting tests with several player groups.
6. Marketing
Game developers must have solid marketing strategies to attract more users to play their games. These specialists need to publicize their products on social networking sites, so they can reach the influencers in this industry.
7. Release
After performing the above tasks, it’s time for these developers to release their games. But their work is not over!
These experts must be well-prepared to support their game with regular updates. Their tasks can be fixing bugs or adjusting new content.
Furthermore, they should stay updated with the latest updates on different platforms. They should listen to feedback and review from players. So they can improve and modify their game.
After Work
At the end of the day, game developers wrap up what they have worked on. Also, they take notes on what they are doing to continue the next morning.
They also check with their team to ensure things work well before turning off their computer or laptop. After work, these developers may do their favorite hobbies. Meanwhile, some may want to spend time with their family after working hard.
Additional Tasks And Schedules
During the day, game developers may join additional meetings among a team’s subgroups. It is an excellent opportunity to prepare and decide on the game area. It could be the character’s appearance or how to code a game system.
They may also attend play-through meetings. They play game areas that they completed recently.
Game Developer Stereotypes
In general, game developers have two common stereotypes. The first type refers to specialists who come to the office late. They play games all day and rarely sit at their desk to work.
The second stereotype is opposite to the first one. It describes the office as a sweatshop where these specialists get exhausted after non-stop working hours.
Is Game Development The Right Profession For You?
The answer is yes! This job has many advantages.
Self-Employment Potential
Several experienced experts operate independently. You may work with others or build your games. It means you can better arrange your plan, which helps you earn a lot of money.
Many Specialization Opportunities
Game developers specialize in level designing or programming. Or you can dig deeper into the artistic element of game development.
So you can aid programmers in creating aesthetic game settings. When advancing your career, you can produce your games.
Working Remotely
Many game development duties can work from home. So you can decide to work remotely fully or part-time. This flexibility helps you balance work and life.
Final Thoughts
The daily working routine of a game developer is complex. These specialists must perform numerous tasks in a day. If you are passionate about this career, carefully research the roles and responsibilities before investing time and effort.
Thank you for reading!