Game development sounds like a great career to many people. Some game enthusiasts may envision getting paid to play games all day. But as with any career path, there are pros and cons. We interviewed independent game developer AdiMese Rose to find out what it’s really like to be a game developer.
How did you get started with game development?
I practically grew up playing video games so that’s kind of how everything got set in motion. I didn’t actually start developing until 2006-07 after I found a program called Game Maker and I started developing various of fan made projects until I got comfortable enough with the program to develop my own material.
What kind of games do you design?
Early in my career I mainly focused on developing 2D platformers but as time progressed, I have worked on Arcade Games, Fighting Games, Survival Games, Board Games & Casual Games. I’m currently working on a story based management simulator which I hope to officially announce sometime this year.
A lot of people think game design involves playing all day, but what is it really like to be a game designer?
Well that’s kind of true in a way, since I’m a self taught developer I have to write the code then I test it and that cycle repeats over & over. So I’m basically playing what I wrote for a couple of minutes making sure everything works then I move on to the next task, repeat & eventually it turn into hours. It definitely gets frustrating when something isn’t working like it’s suppose to because that can set you back a bit.
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being a game designer?
I would say my favorite thing about game development is probably watching my creation come to life, seeing this visual I have on paper actually become a reality. I also enjoy seeing people play these games and their reaction when they complete something or just seeing the determination on their faces when they get to an advanced obstacle that I know is gonna be a pain to complete. My least favorite part is probably designing, whether it be level design or designing the HUD, Designing is definitely one of the things I rather work with someone else to do because it slows down progress tremendously for me.
Any tips for those wishing to enter the game design industry?
You need to have a lot of motivation & determination to make this career work. Do NOT quit your job if you’re just starting out, this business is not a get rich scheme. Your main priority when first starting out is to FINISH your game, no matter how simple it is or how basic, you need to successfully finish a product before you start attaching “Game Developer” to your name. Read some tutorials and get familiar with the programming language you will be using, make duplicates of already popular games but add your own twist to it so it’s not an exact clone, once you feel comfortable enough then start creating a small/medium sized file of your idea project and share your progress along the way to build an early fan base because social media/marketing is everything. Not everyone is going to like your project, not everyone is going to care about your project, your project might only get 10 plays but if you managed to successfully complete that game, that game is in no way a failure. You learn from it & you build upon it. This isn’t an easy career, sometimes all you can do is create the best product you can, market the best you can, and hope that all the pieces fall into place.
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