What all is involved in game development?

Question

what i mean is what does it contain like from day to day how much money do you get are you always guaranteed a job if you have the qualifications do you get many days off from what time do you start in the day and what time does it end at? see i live in ireland and i am in my last year of school and might go on to study games development any help would be appreciated

Answer 1

There are many different task in game development, programmers (renderer, tools, AI, physics, effects, front end, etc) artists (textures, models, level editors, animators, concept) and designers and producers.

You're not guaranteed a job, though if you're any good you will have no problem finding a steady supply of work, if you are willing change locations. The industry moves fast and you need to keep your skills current to stay in work.  You can work in many countries all over the world.

You're far more likely to get into a studio with a good demo, over qualifications.  Many get in with a demo and no qualifications at all (I did).  The academic world often dosen't match with industry (any industry, not just games).

The core working hours are the same as any job.  However games are pressurised projects and you are always asked to work extra hours at some time. Especially near the end of a project where it goes into 'crunch time'.

You don't get paid more for the extra hours.  Pay is generally quite good though.  You might also get bonuses, for completion or good sales.  There is no guarantee of those.

Answer 2

Of course its good money., but its also very complicated.

But the only people that are hired usually are people who have a lot of experience in making games and c++.

There are universities which teach game design.

The main areas of game design are the visual and engine sides.

Visual programming requires a good understanding of 3d programs and models, and how to translate that to the working game (OpenGL & Direct X tutorials are available all over the internet)

The other side is the engine, which is the physics of the game as well as things like the hit box's and weapons etc.

The best way to get into game development is to create or recreate small games and offer them for free on the internet (Flash games etc).

This way you can sometimes get discovered if you make cool games.

Then when you are ready to move onto 3d games its always good to create a mod which involves modifying a game engine like the Half Life , Quake or Unreal engine to create a different game.

This save you a lot of programing which is already done by the large companies.

When you apply for a job its often good to provide games \ mods you have created to show you have an understanding of game mechanics and programming.

The course you are looking at seems to cover everything you need.