Skills Required to be a Game Developer

By NIIT Editorial

Published on 04/01/2021

5 minutes

2020 was a monumental year for the video game industry. The marketplace touched a valuation of approximately $159.3 billion. The three segments dominating the revenue stream were mobile (77.2%), console (45.2%), and desktop (36.9%). Mobile is poised to influence game development more than its console and PC counterparts thanks to the increasing reach of the internet, and mass production of affordable, high-spec smartphones.

With that in mind, engineers are giving game development a serious thought for a modifiable career. If you are part of the clan, then scroll over to see the fundamental skill sets expected of developers in game development.

Skills Required for Game Development

We’ve clubbed the skills under 6 sub-heads. Let us quickly glance over each:

Software Programming

Animation and graphics occupy a central position in game development after all these aspects accentuate the aesthetics and lure gamers towards a purchase decision. In addition to having the core know-how of software development, you must possess a creative bend towards graphics. Developers must be familiar with motion graphics, 3D, vector, and stop motion techniques.

Storylining

Possessing the technical know-how may not suffice in the long run if you someday aspire to be in a leadership role in the game development industry. You should be able to get the third-person perspective right. It is important to put yourself in the shoes of the gamer and perceive the bigger picture. Would your audience find the interplay of characters interesting enough? What incentivizing elements could you add to the game, without hampering the storyline to pick up in-app sales? Having this gamer-mindset could be more significant than people initially assume.

Time Management

Video game development has a lot in common with software development differing in the nature of teams that have to link with one another. Chasing heavyweight deadlines to get the product ready for market launch is always challenging. Working under pressure is an asset. So too is going back to the drawing board and implementing code iterations on short notices. Professionals with time management tend to do better than others.

Communication Skills

This is often ignored by run of the mill developers. But the corporate hierarchy requires people who can express their concerns to the floor managers and relay back organizational developments effectively. It has been observed that people with an impeccable standing in technology turn out to be not-so-good at communication. Don’t fall in the majority. Hone your soft skills beforehand, over time, so when the time comes you can keep your case to the management for a promotion in the game development industry.

Creativity

Game developers have the multi-pronged challenge and responsibility of distinguishing their game from competitors’ at the same time making the experience worth paying for. It requires long-duration brainstorming on subject matters not necessarily pertaining to the code but the creative aspect of it. To have the spark to keep edging for that extra special element(s) in the game is what will eventually get you on top.