Becoming A Video Game Design Programmer

When most people look at a video game all they see is the game itself, not all the work that goes into it.  This is especially true for the programming behind the games that make it work because unlike graphics or sound, it can see be need or hears.  Even though it cannot be seen or heard it is there, and without it the game would not function.  Without a programmer all you would have it a bunch of images, 3D models, and sound files that would do nothing, programming is literally what holds all of these pieces together.

I have always been fascinated with the mechanics and how they make a game function.  When I look at a game I notice all the visuals and sounds but there is always a part of my brain that is trying to figure out how they made this trigger that.  I love everything about it from looking at the game mechanics from Frostbite 2.0 and how you can change an entire map during a game to jotting down ideas for a basic AI in a notebook in between taking notes on the class I am sitting in.

Computer programming is one of the fastest growing professions in the world and the game design industry is growing right along with it.  Most of the people who think game design is easy are wrong and because of that a lot of people come to the conclusion that it just isn’t for them.  Out of the ones that do stay most are interested in graphics, story, or 3D modeling.  There is so much competition in the game design industry so most people who decide to be programmers choose a more stable field.  I considered doing this but it just doesn’t feel the same to me.  I like the way that the programming holds all the other pieces together.  It gives me the satisfaction of solving these problems while still letting me tap into my creative side.

There are many different types of programming used in game design.  Since I am working on my own right now I am doing all of these parts on my own so I guess you could call me a jack of all trades but I am still unsure of the exact aspect of programming I want to go into for game design.  Games can be designed using many different software such as Unity or UnReal and use of these uses different programming languages.  Because of this, game design programmers need to become proficient with multiple languages so that they are able to work with all the mainstream software used by the major game design studios.

At the moment I know a fair amount on the programming required to make a video game work and yet there is just as much that I do not know.  I love experimenting with video game programming and every time I do I learn something new.  It is this love that drives me to learn more and keep challenging myself and someday drive my career.