Anyone who has ever picked up a controller and guided a little glowing digital avatar through adventures across deserts, stellar battlefields, or labyrinthian dungeons has wondered what goes into making a video game. Video games are the fastest-growing entertainment form you’ll find today, and they are becoming increasingly important as education and training programs utilize them as tools. And, let’s not ignore that they are just damn fun to play. It’s natural to want to get in on that sort of action, and lots of people have started to consider coding for games as a career. But how can a beginner break in and start writing games?
We’ve got your back, you beautiful future game developer. In our guide, we look at the best courses you can find to teach you to start writing code for games. You’ll be amazed at how soon you’ll be putting your lessons to use and building actual working games, and you can parlay that experience into job applications. Soon, with our guidance, you could be in the deep end, shaping ideas into games that inspire and entertain. What are you waiting for?
Learn Unity at Udemy
Get used to hearing the term “Unity” thrown around—it’s one of the most popular game engines for PC-, Mac-, and Web-based games. Getting a good foundation in Unity will make you an attractive employment prospect, and it’s the perfect choice for a beginning gaming coder. You’ll find many different courses that will teach you how to write code for Unity, including this excellent instructional series from Udemy.
The courses are affordably priced, and they offer a comprehensive education in writing C#, a powerful programming language that works well with Unity, as part of their services. A course such as this can get you started and make you a viable game developer. Put in a little money and some time and this option will pay off big dividends for the rest of your career.
Learn Game Development at Coursera
If you prefer a broader educational approach that provides a more traditional education more in line with a four-year college, consider getting your beginning game coding experience through Coursera. Coursera was developed by Michigan State University to offer a comprehensive and holistic game coding education and will get you ready for full-time game development.
Coursera’s Game Design and Development course is an intensive six-month program that will ensure that you have the essential skills you’ll need as a game developer. It’s a fantastic way to get gaming literate. Even better, the program is free to start, so there’s no risk to check out the course– and no excuse not to do so. Visit the site, strap in, and start learning!
Try an Unreal Coding Tutorial at Epic
You’ve probably seen the term “Unreal engine” more than once while booting up a new game or reading message board complaints from disgruntled gamers who feel compelled to gripe about how the Unreal engine is either the best or the worst thing to happen to video games since Donkey Kong discovered barrels. In truth, Unreal is a powerful suite of software tools that can be used to make complex and dynamic games. Learning Unreal is essential if you want to break into console gaming.
Epic, Unreal’s developer, is aware of the demand for Unreal training, and they’ve provided a series of online tutorials to help meet it. You’ll learn C++ and how to use it to write for Unreal, and you’ll get advice and help from working professionals who want to help you succeed. You won’t have to worry about your wallet, either—Epic offers its game coding tutorials free for all who wish to learn. Don’t pass up this golden opportunity to get learned up at no cost.
The idea of becoming a game developer and making products that bring pleasure to millions of people is a heady one, but it can be tough to figure out how to get started. This guide will help you make those crucial first choices and get you on your way to realizing your dreams of writing games. It’s a good world out there for game coders, and it’s only getting better, so join in and learn how to create fun!
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.