Skills That May Help People Retrain to Work in the Gaming Industry

Time for a career change? Adults looking to learn how to code or work on game development may find that there are some opportunities in the industry for a successful career that suits their lifestyle. Everyone has a video game idea or a dream of working in a creative industry at the very least.

Skills to get into the gaming industry may be varied and there are a lot of different roles, which is one of the most intriguing things for people wanting to retrain. Artists may find an opportunity to create characters or backdrops for games, whereas people who are more into coding and technical skills may find that development is more for them.

Opportunities in the Gaming Industry

Gaming is not just a hobby, it is a career for thousands of people. The gaming industry is worth billions every year, with many games having hundreds of millions thrown at them to create the best possible titles.

Slot games and casino gaming are another section of the industry where there is a lot of growth. Since slot games made the switch from being mainly played on physical machines, coded games built using HTML5 or other coding languages are normal now, gambling sites often have hundreds of different slot games alone which shows the demand for people working on these games.

Slot game developers often work separately from the main casino sites, providing games for them to use while employing their own teams of developers. Both freelance opportunities and employment are common in the industry, so there are even chances to start a business.

iGaming is just one of the fields, and big teams also work on AAA titles. Take Rockstar Gaming, the company behind GTA and the Red Dead Redemption titles. Rockstar employs over 2,000 people across its offices.

In the US, some people are surprised by the studies related to those working in computer gaming, as there are over 250,000 people in the industry. Not all of these work in the production of the games, but it is a good barometer of how many opportunities are truly out there.

Skills for Working in the Gaming Industry

Following a look at what kinds of opportunities are in the industry, we will now take a look at what kinds of skills may serve people well if they want to work in the gaming industry.

Take this as a general guide. If your goal is to make simple word games the skills might be different from those who want to be the next Rockstar employees.

A Technical Mind

Gaming is inherently technical. Behind the scenes of all of the different games, there are plenty of technical aspects whirring away. Code is at the heart of everything, driving the game and making it appear on our screens. Sometimes this code is simple, but over time it has become more complex and there are more advanced methods of creating immersive, photorealistic games. Python, C++, C#, JavaScript, Swift, HTML5...these are all coding languages people come across on a day-to-day basis, and without a technical mind you wouldn’t even notice it.

Adaptability

Games are so incredibly varied which means that there are rarely two days the same in some forms of development. Working in small teams, especially, some people will need to wear many hats in terms of the skills they bring to the table.

You may be an absolute perfectionist and spend a lot of time creating things in the precise mold you are looking for, but sometimes adaptability is the most important skill. Working on different games may come with the territory of the job.

Creativity

Creativity is a huge part of the gaming industry. Conception of ideas, as well as designing characters, worldbuilding, and the other aspects of development. Creativity also comes into play in the world of coding, and problem-solving. When an issue arises, people may well find that a creative, problem-solving mindset is what will repair the problem. Sometimes, the best brains can turn problems into interesting features.

People think of creativity and they may think of artistry, but actually, there are far more elements than this. Creative thinkers may also be incredibly technical thinkers. Businesspeople are among the most creative people, which may not fit the stereotype, but creativity is generally solving problems that people have (which may include business opportunities).

Conclusion

Big gaming companies and developers are idea factories, with huge numbers of people working on the ideas as well as the implementation of those ideas. Many of the biggest games in history have come from simple ideas though, and not always behemoth companies. Some games have been conceived and created in a bedroom before hitting the big consoles. Skills may vary slightly, but those wanting to work in the industry are almost always creative individuals with adaptability.