"Can create small projects on their own - like video games"
Uhh what? Making games, especially from scratch building their own engine is one of the most challenging things a programmer can do.
I would put most game developers way above the average web dev in terms of skill level. Web development is very easy compared to game and game engine development
I think equating "small projects like video games" and "building their own engine" is quite an extrapolation on your part.
Even so, I think if you read the full article you'll see that the main focus is not on technical skill but has to do with (a) profession and (b) team work for moving forward from this stage.
I've known some very smart people from school, as an example, who actually were building their own video games. You know, pretty cool stuff.
However, that doesn't mean that they worked well with other people.
It doesn't mean that they were capable of working well as part of a team or could communicate with others very well.
It doesn't even mean that their code is maintainable and easily readable by other developers.
There are many things that are learned from experience that takes time - no matter how talented you are.
Great response. I have to say, James' post is quite good. I think that a hobbyist can really extend from a programmer's first tutorial all the way to someone that has coded 30+ years as a side time gig that does all open source. Programming has various levels that go both vertically and horizontally in terms of skill (take those as you will I think there may even be a Z-axis in there somewhere). That said, a programmers life is one that is in constant shift. No matter what end of the spectrum you're on, you're always building, creating or updating in a new way shape or form (and forum?).
Great post, looking forward to more and great discussions 🇨🇦!
"I would put most game developers way above the average web dev in terms of skill level"
That sounds quite arrogant. I've done both. Professional game developers are better at algorithms than web developers, whereas web developers are better at architecture, design and maintainability. Game codebases tend to be small (Braid was 100k lines of code, which is a very small codebase) compared to any web project I've seen. Remember that web development is not only HTML and CSS, there is reactive UI, a bunch of integrations that should work in a cohesive way, backend (most game developers haven't even heard of the word 'backend', as they are effectively frontend developers working on real-time applications), etc. Game code tends to be a mess as game development is pretty much always rushed and a good amount of programmers didn't have much training in good coding practices (apart from "this executes fast"). Most game developers wouldn't pass a coding interview at a top web development company, as they tend to lack the skills required for that kind of job. Same the other way around, for the same reason.
In short: different kind of skills.
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Hobbyist:
"Can create small projects on their own - like video games"
Uhh what? Making games, especially from scratch building their own engine is one of the most challenging things a programmer can do.
I would put most game developers way above the average web dev in terms of skill level. Web development is very easy compared to game and game engine development
I think equating "small projects like video games" and "building their own engine" is quite an extrapolation on your part.
Even so, I think if you read the full article you'll see that the main focus is not on technical skill but has to do with (a) profession and (b) team work for moving forward from this stage.
I've known some very smart people from school, as an example, who actually were building their own video games. You know, pretty cool stuff.
However, that doesn't mean that they worked well with other people.
It doesn't mean that they were capable of working well as part of a team or could communicate with others very well.
It doesn't even mean that their code is maintainable and easily readable by other developers.
There are many things that are learned from experience that takes time - no matter how talented you are.
Great response. I have to say, James' post is quite good. I think that a hobbyist can really extend from a programmer's first tutorial all the way to someone that has coded 30+ years as a side time gig that does all open source. Programming has various levels that go both vertically and horizontally in terms of skill (take those as you will I think there may even be a Z-axis in there somewhere). That said, a programmers life is one that is in constant shift. No matter what end of the spectrum you're on, you're always building, creating or updating in a new way shape or form (and forum?).
Great post, looking forward to more and great discussions 🇨🇦!
Thanks Spencer! I appreciate the encouragement 👍
"I would put most game developers way above the average web dev in terms of skill level"
That sounds quite arrogant. I've done both. Professional game developers are better at algorithms than web developers, whereas web developers are better at architecture, design and maintainability. Game codebases tend to be small (Braid was 100k lines of code, which is a very small codebase) compared to any web project I've seen. Remember that web development is not only HTML and CSS, there is reactive UI, a bunch of integrations that should work in a cohesive way, backend (most game developers haven't even heard of the word 'backend', as they are effectively frontend developers working on real-time applications), etc. Game code tends to be a mess as game development is pretty much always rushed and a good amount of programmers didn't have much training in good coding practices (apart from "this executes fast"). Most game developers wouldn't pass a coding interview at a top web development company, as they tend to lack the skills required for that kind of job. Same the other way around, for the same reason.
In short: different kind of skills.