Joshua
What is a day in the life of a game programmer like?
I am looking for an answer to this question because I am looking into this as a career choice and I would like to know more of what to expect. #science #computer #programming #game
2 answers
Anwar Khan
Anwar’s Answer
A game programmer is a software engineer or programmer, who primarily develops code bases for video games or related software
Game programming, a subset of game development, is the software development of video games. Game programming requires substantial skill in software engineering as well as specialization in one or more of the following areas, which overlap heavily to create a game: simulation, computer graphics, artificial intelligence, physics, audio programming, and input.
A game programmer should not be confused with a game designer, who works on game design. Its an art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game to facilitate interaction between players for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes.
Game designer creates goals, rules, and challenges to define a sport, tabletop game, casino game, video game, role-playing game, or simulation that produces desirable interactions among its participants and, possibly, spectators.
While the Designers knits the story line of the game and programmer codes it into reality - before the final product is launched in market its the Game Tester who gets to play it first to check for any bugs :)
Micah Silverman 🇮🇱🇺🇦
Micah’s Answer
I am what they call a "polyglot" programmer. That is, I wrote code across a variety of languages and disciplines. I have written games and been on teams writing games from time to time.
I am much more useful on the backend than the frontend. That is, I am better at things like game logic and game physics than things like graphic design and movement of graphic objects.
That said, "a day in the life" for me when I am in a coding mode is:
* maximize focus. I have to eliminate all distractions. Many of my colleagues use music. I cannot do that. I need complete silence.
* take breaks. I can "power through" and get a lot done. But, if I take frequent breaks, I get even more done. I often use the "Pomodoro method" - 25 minutes working, 5 minute break, repeat. There's a lot of good Pomodoro timers out there for this
* write lots of tests. Writing test code to go along with core code is counter-intuitively productive. The code is more maintainable and understandable when I write lots of tests.
Planning is a big part of programming in general and game programming specifically. One of my favorite parts are brainstorming and design sessions where lots of people get ideas out about how the game or program should look and feel, how it should work in general, physics, etc.
What I love about programming in general is it's a great mix of working on a team and working individually. I would not be satisfied entirely with doing one or the other exclusively.
Hope this helps!