Hello I am a student perusing a Game Programming and Development degree and I wanted to get advice on skill development. Looking at a a few job descriptions in the field I can see some examples of the specific skills and experience that are listed. One example lists the Skills and Experience needed as

· Extensive knowledge of C/C++ programming languages.

· Visual Studio experience.

· Familiarity with Unreal 4, including ample familiarity with the Blueprint system.

· Excellent 3d math skills.

· Familiarity with Maya is a plus.

Being a student I have small amounts of experience in each of these points, however I would like to develop them further, past schooling, before I jump into the field. What would be the best way to improve these skills individually?

I think, programming is best developped by working on an actual project, like a tool or something that may come handy in the future, like your little set of functions and algorithms, that you can transfer between different platforms later on.

For the art part, I've practised so much in blender, and can use it like as if it's a part of me, but I still can not draw anything useful… Guess there are other factors, or the way programming and art learned are different.

By the way, I'm just an enthusiast, not a professional, though I would love to have one or two of my game ideas in solid.

And for the details, you don't need experience to be able to use visual studio, and if you know object oriented programming in general, then it shouldn't take much time to adapt to C++. Unreal 4 is made pretty easy now. There are lots of tutorials, and the blueprint is like child's play, seriously. Blueprints are so intuitive, perhaps even my grandma could play with them… Okay may be not, cuz they wouldn't know what a vector is, so 3D math comes in here.

Good luck!

Nclatino said:
· Familiarity with Maya is a plus.

Not that if you apply for Game Developement/Programming, then that does not mean that you need to be able do artist work in Maya. It only means that you should have a rough idea of artist workflow, what assets you can expect from them etc… to integrate into the game. If you want to focus on the programming side of things, don't feel forced to also learn how to create art. In the same way, Game Artists might be expected to have a general knowledge of whats practial in an actual game engine, and not only know how to create 2mio-poly-16k-HiDef models.

· Extensive knowledge of C/C++ programming languages.

Whats really important at your stage is to pick something you like and stick with it for a while. Once you have it down, jumping to other languages is a lot easier, because you can map your previous experiences to the new ones and understand the differences/advantages of languages. That said, C/C++ are staples in the industry for AAA quality, efficient games; if you have the opportunity and inclination, go for it. C# is another popular option. Some classes force you to write in Java, Python, etc., the important thing right now is to continue piling on knowledge of the fundamentals and gaining practical experience with projects.

· Visual Studio experience.

Whiles its a common IDE that people use, its just a tool you can learn to improve your workflow, this shouldn't be a hard requirement at most places. What is really important is to understand how to leverage the IDE/tool set you have available to build and debug your projects efficiently. Pick something that fits your needs and always be open to trying new tools.

· Familiarity with Unreal 4, including ample familiarity with the Blueprint system.

UE4 is great! Unity is great! Making things is GREAT! Go to any major website for a game engine and they have a learning section to get your feet wet. Google "[Insert Game Engine here] tutorial" and you will drown in results. This website has them in the menu bar right on the left side of the screen! Don't stress about picking the perfect project, just start making something! Attend a game jam or hackathon in your local area via game dev meetups or w/e.

IMO, for entry level positions, most folks are looking for you to understand the building blocks of programming, cause they plan to mold you into what they need. Having a project with tangible features/systems to point to are great talking points during an interview. Make sure to document your progress and have it as a portfolio of some kind, give people something to start the conversation on and wow them with your understanding.

· Excellent 3d math skills.

Take more maths for your extra classes while still in school, see if you can join a math club or programming club (seriously, get involved), and try to challenge yourself with problems that require more difficult math than you currently do. Khan academy has great math classes you can take for free, online. You should know geometry, trig, discrete, and all the calculus your brain can handle. I know plenty of programmers that are not math heavy, so its not always a requirement, but its a huge leg up! With more pay!

· Familiarity with Maya is a plus.

Try to be a T shaped person, i.e., be very deep in one domain, and know a decent amount in two others. The more time you spend on your main domain (programming), the better. For the other two pick something: design, art, production, audio, narrative/creative writing, marketing, business, w/e gets you excited. Then you should find ways to mix those skills into something unique, rather than just throw yourself full force into several domains and find out your are not particularly great at any one thing. You should know the other domains within game development at a shallow level, there is a saying “Jack of all trades, Master of none”.

Something you didn't mention is ability to work with a team. You can be a genius programmer, but if you lack the ability to communicate and collaborate, and just have terrible personality overall, you will get passed over in a heartbeat.

Be kind, work hard, and good luck!

Nclatino said:
Familiarity with Maya is a plus.

If this is a programming job, this might mean knowing the APIs or even MEL scripting.

These are fantastic tips and suggestions, thank you @Acey @Juliean @Quillenator and @fleabay for the great advice!