Make Your Own Games

In today’s tough economic times, one of the most important aspects of how to succeed or progress within your relative field or industry is education.  In relation to the gaming industry, a good majority of young developers enter the industry with the notion that the AAA studio is going to be your meal ticket. 

While this may be true for some who are in an area where the amount of opportunity is abundant, other areas such as our own area (NYC), may find out that their dream of being in the industry is further out of reach than expected. NYC breeds a different type of student / developer, one who is often creative enough to see beyond the heavy hitters and into their own dream. These types of developers are on the cutting edge of innovation within the industry.  It is just sad that a large majority of these great minds will often “jump ship” to a different area where there are a larger volumes of opportunities within their reach.

Gamasutra has an interesting article about this topic. Expert blogger Tadgh Kelley writes about how AAA studios vs. indie studios are much in the same as an orchestra versus a band. An orchestra is slow moving and methodical, allowing for expertise through conditioning and time, where as a band is more sporadic and creative often leading to the proverbial “Trial by fire” learning curve. 

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Industry education makes out that there are so many skills that have to be learned before you can actually start to make games. But those early developers in the labels that we all loved back then didn't have college courses or a roadmap to tell them where they were going wrong. They didn't have design manuals or worry at all about the practice of doing things. They just tried stuff, saw what stuck. Why can't you?”

To read the full article go here: Gamasutra