Ask HN: How do I get into game dev?
How does one go from a career spent in financial software, data science, ML and web dev towards game dev or some other industry that might benefit from software skills?
As a mature intellectual returning to games later in life, I really enjoy financial and market simulators. OpenTTC, Kenshi, most 4x strategy games have crude forms. It may sound strange to others, yet simulated versions of real life complexity makes for gratifying intellectual challenge.
Or make a tiny game exhibiting some kernel of wisdom you have learned over these years.
Build yourself up to it, starting in the back of your mind.
I think the first path is probably easier and more lucrative, but will have a much longer time difference in terms of getting you where you want to go.
This isn’t to disuade you from game dev (I have very fond memories of my time in games and most of my best friends are from that industry), but rather to let you know that I have experience in games, domains similar to what you do now, and radical career transitions.
First, I highly recommend the book "What Color is Your Parachute?" It’s very much a book about exactly this. I do X, I want to do Y, and coming up with a plan and intermediate goals on how to migrate in that direction. In the process, you end up learning most of what you’ll need, too.
Next, ne of the key points of the book worth focusing on is in finding overlapping skillsets that can get your feet in the door and begin giving you experience in games. For example:
* Data science is directly applicable to telemetry data capture, analyses, A/B testing of features, etc. While not "game code", many games today capture tons of data about their players, what features are used, ignored, never touched, etc. And game developers are decidedly not data scientists.
* Web development is important for game home pages, community building, exposing in-game data to the world (think MMOs and being able to lookup other players online, see their talent builds, gear, etc), and much more.
* Financial software (depending on what part of financial software you write) has crazy performance requirements and deep understandings of various financial attacks in network communication that are also important to games.
Finally, I can promise that most people you interview with in games are going to care a whole lot more about what you’ve done (and completed!) than what you’re interested in doing or passionate about.
A common metric in game interviews for candidates is "how many games have you shipped?" This isn’t about dick-measuring, but about knowing that you’ve stuck it out with a team through the really hard times taking something to 100%. You haven’t shipped a game yet, but you probably have similar stories about difficult projects - both at work and personal - that were difficult to take across the finish line. Focus on those.
If you don’t already have a GitHub repo filled with little side game projects you can share with potential companies, that’s another big feather in your cap. Doesn’t matter if they are Unity, Godot, your own engine, interactive fiction (text-based), a MUD, or something else. Right or wrong, in games these things can matter a lot when applying for a job.
Last note: games can be a LOT of fun. But it’s also probably a LOT more work than you think. The stories you read online about crunch are very real. But the people I’ve worked with in games were some of the best people I've ever met or worked with. And even though I don’t make games professionally any more, I still make them; I’ll never get rid of that itch. :-)