Do you or a young adult in your life have a true passion for playing games far beyond that of the average gamer? Wondering if there’s a way to make a lucrative living in the gaming industry?
Well, avid players may or may not make good game developers. It all depends…
Take this career assessment quiz to help you make an educated decision. The last thing you need is to spend a bunch of money putting your kid through college for a degree that will never get used in the real world.
Sit down with your high school teen or young adult and go through this career assessment together. This series of questions can help you determine whether game design may work as a career move for the youngster in your life.
Is Being a Gamer Necessary for Game Development?
The answer to this is: Yes and No
Being a gamer has its advantages. It helps players get a gist of the art of storytelling, levels, character development, etc…
But that doesn’t necessarily give young people the skills they need to design games on their own. Anyone who wants actual success within the development industry must have a passion for creating these elements for others to make money designing games.
1. Does your teen or young adult enjoy playing games?
Yes
Seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Well, you’d be amazed how many people want to design games just because they think they can make a lot of money doing it. But it takes a love for “the game” to develop storylines, levels, bonuses, etc… that bring entertainment value to the lives of other players.
Move on to the next question.
No
If there’s no real interest in actually playing video games, this is not the industry for your child. You cannot build passion. It must come naturally. That’s the only way to succeed in this business, no matter what niche a person chooses.
Find another profession.
2. Is your adult or teenage child creative?
Yes
Perfect, because at the end of the day, game developers are essentially content creators… keyword: create!
Move on to the next question.
No
There’s nothing that beats skills in the game creation business more than creativity. You can always learn how to code or troubleshoot errors. But creativity comes from within, A teacher can’t teach this talent in a classroom or online course.
Without creative thinking, games will never be fun and challenging. In a world filled with major and minor competitors, your up-and-coming adult will never have what it takes to capture and hold on to players’ attention.
Find another profession.
3. Does your child have a knack for evaluating games?
Yes
When playing games, future designers must be able to explain why a game would be good or bad for the masses. If this skill exists, keep reading.
Move on to the next question.
No
Although you don’t have to be a skilled gamer to develop gaming content, your aspiring developer must at least be able to determine whether a specific target audience would enjoy the game. If not, knowing what to tweak in the gameplay and content may become a lost cause. This may not be the profession for your child.
Find another profession.
4. Does your young adult child pay close attention to details?
Yes
Good, because being detail-oriented is a must. There’s no way around this one.
Move on to the next question.
No
A good video game has levels to complete. But a great video game is a very complex creature with elaborate details. If your kid can’t identify errors while playing a game or checking out its design, be their audio or visual, maybe this one is just meant to be a player.
Find another profession.
5. Does your child communicate and handle stress well?
Yes
Developing games is a demanding way to make a living. No matter what role a person plays, the pressures are countless. If they can handle this with ease, the sky is the limit for your high school senior or college-aged adult.
Congratulations! It seems like you have a potential video game designer on your hands!!!
No
It takes an entire team to produce just one video game. So, if teamwork, effective communication and receiving constructive criticism are issues, this is the wrong industry to enter.
Find another profession.
Help Your Child Become a Game Developer Now
We all know how important representation is and the power of stereotypes can have on our community. Give your child not only a way to develop universal critical thinking skills but also an opportunity to make an impact in shaping tomorrow’s perceptions today.
Polycaik is game development software specifically designed to help people, traditionally ignored by the game industry, create their own video games.
The platform focuses on providing features that help address many of the challenges people in our community face, whether it be a lack of knowledge, support, or funding. We are dedicated to launching quality games for, by and about us.
Enroll in our course offering to learn everything there is to know about how to use the Polycaik platform. Also, receive updates on product launches, features, and game industry information, as well as opportunities for your youngster to take some of the financial burden off of you.
Get exclusive access to the Polycaik community, a network of developers, creatives, and gamers looking to build and promote digital games rich in Black content.
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