October 3, 2021
What a scary and empowering feeling it is to commit to a career path that I'm passionate about. Game design has always been something I've thought about but never truly pursued.
One of the first things I asked myself when committing to this is: "What would I tell someone who wanted to become a software engineer, but knew nothing about computer science?" Why not give myself advice for CS and just apply it to Game Design? Let's see what my advice would be:
- Find people who do what you want to do and ask them TONS of questions.
- Find as many free resources as you can and pick the one that resonates with you most (and seems legit).
- Nothing teaches you faster than JUST MAKING STUFF.
-Make mistakes & don't get too hung up on one project or idea.
Now, this is great advice for anyone looking to learn literally any craft. There's tons of opportunities you can find, you just need to be proactive.
- Leverage any contacts I have to see if they can introduce me to anyone or offer advice.
- Look up "Game Design" within Microsoft and see who I can find. Email one new person every day.
- Go through the URF Game Design curriculum. It's free and Riot Games is a reputable source.
- Lean into what inspires me, I'll need it for when things get hard.
It simultaneously feels like I kinda know what I'm doing and have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. And y'know what? That's a good thing. We often see the final product and don't get a sense for how difficult the journey can be. Especially those first steps.
That's all for now 🍩