The gaming industry is ever expanding, with the rapid rise of eSports, and the release of next-gen consoles such as Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s XBox series X just late last year.
This industry makes about $60 billion a year, so it’s not surprising that many young people want to work in it.
The gaming industry involves many job disciplines, ranging from game development, game design and marketing to eSports players, organisers and coaches.
It’s definitely a good time to join the industry, as games now have a wider audience than before with the advent of mobile games.
For game developers, specifically game programmers, they write the code that games run on. They need to work closely with game designers in order to realise a fully functioning game. Game designers include those who work in art and animation, music, sound effects, quality assurance and many others.
First of all, learning how to program is always a benefit in tech industries as almost every role in the gaming industry requires some level of IT proficiency. Paul Kilduff-Taylor, co-founder of Mode 7 games says that C++ is a great programming language to learn for game development.
Wrapping your head around the basics such as the common principles, logic and techniques will make learning smoother in the future. Once you’ve got the basics down, there are many directions to go whenever you want to specialise.
On the design side, designers create all the visual and audio aspects of the game. This field requires both technical skills and creative skills. They are generally a cross between a writer, artist and programmer.
Game designers have a wide role to play, as it ranges from developing the storyline, characters and dialogue to building interfaces and environments.
There are a glut of universities that offer courses in game development and game design. Malaysia’s leading art institute The One Academy offers degree and diploma programmes focusing on game design.
Other notable Malaysian tertiary institutions that offer diploma and degree programmes related to game development and game design include UCSI, UTAR, KDU and MSU.
Getting a formal education will allow you to build the foundation you need to work in the industry and gain hands-on experience from industry professionals.
If you want to try your hand at game development or game design without entering formal education institutes, there are online courses available as well.
Popular game development engine Unity offers lessons ranging from beginner to advanced levels to those who intend to get into the gaming industry.
This allows students to learn in their own time and choose courses that suit their skill level and interests.
Getting an education in a field you’re interested in like game development or design is a good way to get your foot into the door of the gaming industry.
Passion Republic, a Malaysian game art and animation studio, is highly successful, having taken part in producing AAA games such as Demon’s Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Death Stranding, just to name a few.
Malaysian independent game studio Metronomik has also made a name for themselves internationally with the release of No Straight Roads, an action-adventure game.
Read more: The growing eSports culture among us
Read more: What It Takes to Be an eSports Athlete
