Game programmer: description, pros and cons, training

Game developer - an IT specialist who solves the issues of developing software code, graphic presentation and semantic content of a specific game that he wished to create. He is also knowledgeable about the solutions that enable his creation to be realized in the life of users. This profession originates from the basics of computer science.

The main feature is that no university will teach 100% how to develop games. At institutes and universities, students take an advanced (in comparison with the school curriculum) computer science course, study computer technology and computers more fully. Even the faculties of information systems, computer science and management, which are part of polytechnic universities, are able to bring the future programmer up to date - he studies two or more programming languages, including the basics of website development.

However, the real developer of games and applications becomes a student who has a lively and sincere interest in programming. Soon he is ahead of the university program in terms of education, leaving headlong into what will become part of his working and professional life.

The main advantages of the profession are as follows.

• Really good, intelligent programmer receives more than a decent salary - 100 or more thousand rubles per month. But the money is paid to him for good reason. He is one of the IT specialists who remain at the forefront of computer progress - in terms of software. His creativity and ideas are something without which the software industry would not have developed.
• His profession is a dream job. He is often haunted by new ideas to create something "sort of" or to refine what is already there.“Make it better than others” is his motto, the ability to constantly evolve, and not stand still.
• Constantly moving forward. He not only refreshes his knowledge, but also seeks, if not to get ahead of the future, then to keep up to date. Keep abreast of the latest developments - this applies to software tools with which it creates and / or modifies games.
• A high level of education, self-organization, which some can only dream of. This allows the programmer to reveal his creative ambitions. Career growth provides the opportunity to get away from working on games in the development of sites, applications, and even become a member of a company that develops operating systems and software for servers.
• Popularity, and not only in narrow circles like him. If he doesn’t just work, but also appears in an interview, millions of fans are guaranteed, and this is the best advertising and self-PR in the world. He always has the opportunity to profitably file himself as a specialist.
• Teamwork. The game programmer works in a team where there are game designers, testers, artists, composers and sound engineers. A game with a long and exciting plot, colorful and luxurious graphics and sound is too much for one person. Dozens of helpers come to his aid.

The development team is at least a game designer, artist, card designer, programmer, tester, PR specialist. Their work is managed by a manager, on which, in turn, is the director. This is the simplest game publisher. The programmer, as the creator of his profile, is only responsible for the “coding”, the layout of what other members of the group have provided. Graphics, sound, plot involved in others.

For example, the character Jade from the game Mortal Kombat was played by an actress. The directors filmed it, the image itself was drawn by designers, artists, animators. And the programmer added it to the version of this game. The tasks of the profession are to realize the ideas for games in the form of program code. The goal of the programmer is to work out the main control in a specific game. It determines how the game will give and reveal itself, what opportunities and features it has, how clearly and quickly it works. The programmer’s actions are as follows.

• Examine the documentation for specific games related to design.
• Creation of new and improvement of already written program code.
• Assignment to game objects of their qualities, features.
• The study of the basics of control in the game is mechanics (combinations of keys and / or “swipe” on the sensor, the main keystrokes on the keyboard).
• Representation of the program in the form of a file structure. Without files, the game will not start. Even “tic-tac-toe” have a startup file, which records all changes during the game.
• Packing files into the installation package (installer), which the user downloads before installing and starting the game.

A programmer must have a good command of mathematics, one or several of the most popular programming languages ​​in which modern programs are written.

An excellent start is technical education in any of the relevant universities. But the university program lags behind programming - additional courses are needed. Do not do without self-education - the best training is practice. Easy and quick learning, self-discipline will help to achieve your goals. You can’t spend your free time just for fun - a person’s life is limited, one day is one big step forward.

An example is the Mortal Kombat game with a 27-year history. Ed Boone began work on it in 1992. She went out for the Dendy and Sega consoles. Around him and his brainchild there was a staff of dozens of specialists of various profiles. Today he collaborates with four firms. The game has changed 11 versions and is ported to PCs and smartphones, has tens of millions of fans.