13 days ago I started the #100daysofCode challege, I went into it working through the Team Treehouse JavaScript Track. I was really struggling with JavaScript for quite some time but I was getting through it bit by bit.
When I first started this journey, quitting my job and saying "OK I'm going to learn to code full time", I did not know just HOW many jobs there are! I assumed that I would just be a web developer and make websites. I learned how to make some pretty cool sites and I was enjoying it for the most part. I really was just enjoying learning something new and in the last month networking with some incredible people I met at a coding festival.
11 days ago, I stumbled upon the C# track on Treehouse. I had heard of Unity Game Engine but I did not realize that you use C# to code games on there. I found an incredible Udemy course on using C# with Unity and built my first game in 9 days. I refused to use their basic ships, enemies, and powerups and designed my own in Photoshop. (That skill came in handy!) I am a huge Trekkie... So of course, when the teacher said that we are making a space shooter my mind instantly when to Star Trek.
You can play the full game here! Link
In the past 9 days, I felt more alive when it comes to being passionate about work than I have ever felt. I've decided that I want to continue learning C# and see where Game Development takes me.
I have always LOVED playing games, but being able to see how it works from the inside, fixing the errors, succeeding and having a finished game that people enjoy, dude... THAT is where my heart is.
Top comments (17)
Congratulations on building your first game!
The next logical step for you is to start developing an online presence for yourself in terms of a portfolio at a bare minimum. Have a GitHub setup that showcases your learnings during your journey, share you experiences with other people, and link them to your portfolio as well.
Most importantly, have a presence on LinkedIn. That is where the recruiters will discover you most probably. I have around 2-4 recruiters per day approaching me on LinkedIn, it is very powerful if you know how to harness that power effectively.
Thank you for the advice! I have been pushing my projects to Github for about a month consistently now and I am building my presence on linked in as well! Looks like I'm on the right track :D
Yes you are, good luck with everything!
It's awesome you love making games! Before you go into the industry though I recommend looking up the working conditions at the job you're applying to. Some of the big companies are notoriously bad at taking advantage of passion like yours.
Good luck and have fun (÷
Thank you for the heads up! I will keep an eye out and avoid the mustache twirling villainous companies :D
Damn I'm impressed! Listening to that Star Trek Voyager theme brought back memories. And yes I noticed that In a mirror darkly theme from the Enterprise series too! 😁 I was considering learning C# because I am also a gamer and Unity is pretty popular even AAA studios use it.
Nice! As much as we all say "anybody can do it, if they're willing to put in the work," it's still great when the next person actually does it, because the willingness is the problem.
As for next steps, two big ones come to mind, though your personal path is obviously going to be specific to what you want and the resources near you.
Since you have a previous career, the first is spending some time thinking about what you're doing now could apply to what you were doing then. You might feel behind the curve as a beginner who isn't just out of school, but a lot of managers will accept someone with less programming experience if they already understand the business, and you probably already have contacts in that field.
Speaking of connections, it's tougher during a pandemic, but it'll make life a lot easier if you get to know other developers in your area. Having people you can rely on and who know they can rely on you takes a lot of the bad randomness out of job-hunting, since you become that really smart person they know who's perfect for the open position, instead of just an application in an inbox.
Best of luck!
The next step is to learn as much as possible about design pattern. Something like that udemy.com/course/design-patterns-c...
Believe me, it will change the way you tackle problems.
Thank you Diana! :D
Wow! We can feel your passion just by reading your post. It's really incredible and inspiring. Well done, and there is no doubt that you'll build even more amazing stuff with time.
Awww thank you Franck! I am really excited for this chapter in my life!! :D
Greetings fellow Star Trek fan. LLAP! I'm also considering learning C# soon
Great job on the game, it was fun to play!
Learn some theory - SOLID for example and maybe some OOP Design Patterns
Also depends what you want to do as a Job. You certain it is games?