Game Development: Why would you?

 Why Getting Started as a Game Developer is Like Trying to Fly a Helicopter with Chopsticks

Alright, so you’ve decided you want to be a game developer. Excellent choice! You know, just like deciding to run a marathon without ever walking faster than a brisk waddle. It’s a *totally* reasonable, simple career path that won’t leave you awake at 3 AM, sobbing softly into your keyboard. At all.

But seriously, folks, game development is the Wild West of the tech world. It’s exciting, chaotic, and full of incredibly talented people… but holy *pixels*, is it a tough place to get started. Let's break it down, because the struggle is hilariously, heartbreakingly real.

1. You Need to Speak “Code” – aka The Language of Wizards

Remember those kids in school who could just look at a math problem and *understand* it? Yeah, game development is like that, except instead of math, it’s sorcery. You have to learn languages like C++, Python, or UnityScript, and then act surprised when your computer politely responds with “Syntax Error” after you’ve written 47 lines of code that only summon the eternal void. (Spoiler: not a feature in your puzzle game.)

Imagine trying to explain *anything* to a computer: 

- You: "Okay, I want the player to jump."

- Computer: "Define ‘jump’."

- You: "Jump... like... into the air."

- Computer: "Height?"

- You: "Uh, 5 units?"

- Computer: "What’s air?"

- You: *Sighs into infinity*

You see where this is going.

2. The Great Asset Hunt (or How I Spent 3 Hours Looking for Free Trees Online)

Graphics are hard. Let’s just get that out there. You have this incredible vision of a sweeping forest filled with towering trees, majestic mountains in the distance, and maybe a cute little raccoon that dances when you press “R.”

And then you Google “free tree asset” and are treated to either a 2002-looking green blob that vaguely resembles broccoli or a hyper-realistic ultra-4K tree that costs $500. You choose the blob because rent is still a thing, but your trees look more like you’ve accidentally wandered into a spinach farm.

If you're an artist, maybe this part is easy (or maybe you're lying), but for the rest of us, it’s like trying to paint the Mona Lisa with a broken crayon.

 3. Game Engines: Where Dreams Go to Get Compiled and Then Cry

Unity, Unreal, Godot… they sound like magical, all-powerful deities, don’t they? You install Unity for the first time, and suddenly you’re staring at a blank screen of endless possibilities.

But those possibilities don’t come with an instruction manual, my friend. No, instead, you’re left watching tutorial videos with titles like “How to Get Started in Unity in 3 Hours (Good Luck, Buddy),” while a perky YouTuber walks you through 25 minutes of setting up an empty project that crashes immediately after.

Oh, and let’s not forget the forums, where well-meaning experts are like, “Just drag your mesh collider into the 3D space and bam, add a Rigidbody!” Sure, bud, I’ll do that right after I Google what the *&$#@! a Rigidbody is.

4. Imposter Syndrome is Real – and It Lives in Your IDE

You thought you were smart. You went to school, you read some articles, you’ve played literally *every* game from "Pong" to "Elden Ring," so how hard can it be to make your own? Well, spoiler alert: *very* hard.

Imposter syndrome hits you like a runaway cart in "Donkey Kong." You start looking at every other indie dev on Twitter—oh sorry, *X*—posting screenshots of their beautiful prototypes, and here you are, stuck on making your character stop T-posing like they’re auditioning for "The Exorcist."

Meanwhile, your fellow devs are talking about advanced AI pathfinding algorithms and seamless multiplayer integration. And you’re just here like, “Uh… my menu button works… most of the time…”

5. The “Feature Creep” – The Reason Your Game Is Now an 18-Month Saga

You set out with a simple idea. Maybe it’s a platformer where you collect coins. A classic! Easy! And then your brain decides, “Hey, you know what would be awesome? Flying enemies. And weather patterns. And crafting. And a 400-page epic storyline inspired by Norse mythology, with 13 endings and full voice acting.”

Before you know it, your 2D coin collector has transformed into "God of War: Ragnarok" but made entirely in MS Paint. And now you have to explain to your friends why your game—originally slated to take two months—is still in development three years later. (Look, maybe that’s ambitious. Let’s be real, six years later.)

6. Playtesting: The Part Where Your Game Breaks in New and Unfortunate Ways

Finally, you’ve got a working prototype. Your character moves, jumps, and doesn’t explode every time they touch the ground. (Progress!) So, you send it to your friend for feedback.

Two hours later, they text you: “I fell through the floor. I tried again, and now my character is spinning into oblivion while the music is just… screeching? Also, the main menu is upside down. Is that on purpose?”

Is it on purpose? Who knows anymore? Everything is a feature if you just squint hard enough.

Conclusion: You Got This, Right? Right…?

Despite all the chaos, there’s a reason people stick with it. When something *finally* works—when you see your character jump, and they actually obey the laws of physics, or when a player gives you positive feedback about how they enjoyed your weird little game—it feels like magic. Or at least like you’re not a complete failure destined to spend the rest of your life battling code that refuses to compile.

So yeah, game development is tough, but if you can handle the existential crisis, the hours of tutorial binge-watching, and the emotional rollercoaster of bugs and feature creep, you might just make something great. And who knows, maybe one day you’ll even finish that game. 

But first, maybe just figure out how to make that tree asset not look like a broccoli impostor.