At age 26 am I to old to get into indie dev

Hi all,

As the title says I'm 26 years old with some previous basic experience of following c# and a few unity tutorials but never got very far. I couldn't find a answer googling it so thought Id ask here. I'm self employed as a personal trainer and already have quite a lot of commitments taking up my time, but I can designate time especially during the weekends to follow tutorials practice coding etc.

Is it to late /unrealistic to get into indie dev possibly more than a hobby. I fully understand even if I was to get good the most Id likely be able to create would be simple/small games.

 

Of course not. First 26 is not old. Second, you may want to develop games that take advantage of your special experience and skills as a personal trainer. My "gut feeling" is this will lead to more success than if you are coming in with the dream of making Flappy Bird, COD clones and similar stuff.

 

Hi thanks for the reply. I don't feel old, more concerned that I know alot of devs start very young with many years of coding experience. Well thats what I'm assuming. I have a very enthusiastic feeling and mindset on getting into game dev as Its something I've always wanted to do but ended up on different paths. I'm eventually wanting to create something that combines game dev and self development which is similar to what you've just recommended.

I'm not wanting to create any clones but rather come up with something original but that is also possible as an indie.

 

It all really depends on you, your aptitude and time to learn. You could be 40 and learn coding in a couple of years, become better than most people half their age.

 

Yep totally too late. To be cool you need to start at birth and complain loudly whenever an engine doesn't meet your expectations.

Or you can stop worrying about what people think. Frankly you are already losing the moment you ask age related questions. Just do it.

 

I'm 42 and just getting into developing games. I've worked in tech and have done programming a lot, but haven't done any games since I was a kid. I'm now getting back into the game development on my free time and I don't feel too old at all. I'm not expecting to make a hit, but just want to have some fun and design games together with my kids and friends.

So don't worry about lack of experience or your age. You can do it and learn new stuff your whole life! That's also something you need to do to stay relevant in the job market anyway.

 

haha I think thats exactly the comment I needed thanks

 

Whilst we're on the subject does anyone have any links to information on anyone that went into game dev by themselves coming from a completely different career path that has made a successful game? Would like to find out to model what they did but also for inspiration.

 

The guys that began Bioware were medical doctors before dropping those career defining educations and going game dev full time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Muzyka
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Zeschuk

 

The main thing that comes with age is other commitments. A 16 year old in his parents basement can devote a lot more time to learning then a thirty something old with a wife and a bunch of kids.

All other things being equal age really has no bearing on dev ability.

 

I'm 46, just starting in game dev & the only times I feel old are:
When people don't know what xtree gold was & how good it was
When someone asks if I don't think that maybe I'm to old to have a hairstyle like I do (this has happened).
When we are doing game jams & my team don't believe in sleep or nanna naps

 

Only 32 here and I remember using it on an IBM PC XT. What I didn't know is that they apparently decided it was a good idea to publish under the company "Underwear Systems". Can't imagine why they decided to change later... not at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XTree

 

Dude, XTree gold is not that old. I'm not yet 30* and I remember using XTree. Some of the mass file manipulation stuff still beats the built in tools in windows.

*In the narrowest possible description of not yet 30

 

My mental picture of my forum family was totally wrong

 

How old did you think I was? Its @GarBenjamin who is the old man.

 

Hi,

You don't have the right to say that.

I was a trader... I start learning programming langages 7 years ago and now I have 2 companies who make apps and games.

Best regards,



Anthony
All our games: http://u3d.as/pxE

 

Well as a successful chemical engineer already so bored with stuff, I thought you were much older.

On topic -

that's not a bad thing. go invent the next flappy bird and then retire.

 

You get much older then me in this business and you go into management. Chemical engineering is the embodiment of the corporate ladder.

It is worth noting that indie dev is not likely to be a lucrative career. Not for most people. And not if you can only do it part time. Its definitely fun as a distraction.

 

Ha ha. I suppose so although I'm too busy having fun to pay attention to such nonsense. I reached level 49 last month.

My girlfriend gave me a t shirt...

I Don't Get Older
[experience bar]
I Level Up

 

Thanks everyone although you've slightly miss understood I don't feel old in the slightest if anything I still only feel like Im 20. I've just seen some videos and a few posts elsewhere basically saying about how unless you've done a degree and been coding most of your life you wont get very far. But I didn't believe that myself as with anything such as martial arts you can get someone who becomes a black belt in far less time then others because of their talent and dedication.

I was just wanting to see some other peoples opinions thank you though feel alot more inspired.

 

Age doesn't equate to intelligence. You might be 10, you might be 50, and it comes down to smarts, nothing more or less. Throwing more years at it does not help with Unity.

 

I phrased my question badly I more meant with not having several years of experience already behind me as some start with years as a child before they even goto uni or how ever they go into it. But from what Ive gathered now though Is if Im willing to put the effort in and over time even if its years I can become good at it.

 

My grandma (82) is working on Star Citizen.
No age is stopping her.

 

I'm 26 aswell, and I work as a construction worker so no it's not too late for you.

 

I started at age 28 with 3d modeling and at age 29 with Unity. There was one guy in my class 54 years old. Although i agree that sooner is better, it is never too late.

 

I second that

 

motivation matter for sure.

 

26? Man you are done, stick a fork in you! Reminds me of the teenage days when I thought for sure life ended at 30.

 

Aright, so you don't have years of experience backing you. It's not like you're going to die next year, so what stops you from starting to learn now? Does it matter if you begin at 10 or 26?
Yeah, most likely your first few games are going to suck because you still don't have experience. But so did the games of those people who started young.

If anything I can say, it might be great that you are starting at 26. You're not a child that hasn't developed their reasoning skills. And you're living in a year when making games is much easier than previously. You have great easy to learn engines like Unity and TONS of information online on how to make games properly. 10 Years ago none of this existed.
Notch created Minecraft in his thirties. You have enough time to start learning how to make a game.

The most practical way to improve yourself would be to :
1) Read online about making games. Articles on game design or programming( Here's a fun one to watch :

)
2) Actually make a game, or games. For now keep them small and don't invest in your dream game or you can quickly get lost.
3) Post your games online and ask people to play them and review them. What did they like? What did they hate? You have to understand exactly what's bad about your games in order to improve yourself as a game developer.

This post could go on and on, but I think you understand my point. You're not too late to become a game developer. It might be a little hard as a grown up to find time to work on your games. But if you're passionate about making games, you'll manage to find a solution. It could be working less than 5 days a week, or working with a friend on your game in a basement to motivate yourself.

Good luck

 

To late at 26!!!. So, what i am at 54? A dinosaur?

 

54?! Man 5 levels higher than me. I need to grind harder and see if I can catch up!

 

Yes. However their is nothing in the rules that say dinosaurs can't make good games.

 

Don't worry man, this is like golf you want a lower score!

 

Ha ha! That is for most folks. I've always seen it like leveling up a character in D&D (or Diablo if you prefer). When I finally hit level 100 holy cow I should be AWESOME!

 

Thanks guys i feel younger (near 37 here) Just kidding but yes, i admit that i was thinking that you people where mostly in the 20 to 30. Surely just a stupid mental image. I really started to dev full time ten years ago and i'm sometime regretting to not have jumped in sooner (life and stuffs). But what really matter to me is where i am now, at 15 i could not have imagined i would make game full time.

 

Dude. You're self employed, and you already have prior programming knowledge. Absolutely nothing too old about being 26... You're in a very good situation get into game dev!

You should really give it a shot!

 

Someone should start a Unity 50 Club -- membership requirements are you have to be at least 50 years old. Looks like there are enough of us in this thread to get it started.

 

Welcome in the HCDF (Half Centenary Dev Forum)

 

As long as you aren't dead and your mental functions are in order, I'd say it is not too late. Gamedev is easier now than it was, say, 15 years ago. Many problems have readily available solutions these days.

 

Nothing bad. Can possibly. Happen.

 

I was in my early thirties when, after a successful career as a geologist, decided to quit and stay home with my young kids. I was bored so applied to be a writer with an indie studio. Now, years later, we are making our own game. So no, you are not too old.

 

I have a very hard time judging people on here by their age, I am usually way off either younger or older.

I will say I had a lot of fun playing games before I ever considered making a serious one. The bug to do that really only struck me in the last 6 years or so and I am 41. The knowledge I've accrued with automation and building toolchains at my boring dayjobs certainly makes it a lot easier as a solo dev though.

 

I'm feeling really old these days. Many of the sports stars and movie stars that I used to watch as a kid look like they need to be using walkers. Except for Jaromir Jagr, any sports stars my age have already retired.

But technology is finally catching up with my dreams so I'm trying my hand at game dev. My problem is that my brain needs a memory upgrade. Whenever I try to cram something new into my brain, something else pops out.

 

I can totally relate to your situation. I worked as a Royal Marine for the bigger part of my life and quited that when I was 26. After that I also worked for 2 years as a self-employed personal trainer, like you. Because of an growing interest in IT, and game development as a hobby, I decided to follow a formal study.

So now at age 33 I have a grade in Software Engineering with a major in Game Technology. I noticed I couldn't learn at the same speed anymore as my younger counterparts but with a bit of extra effort I ended up nothing less than them. Currently working for a small gaming company with lots of fun.

So yeah, If you really want it go for it. Don't let age be a limiting factor. The sky is the limit, as they say

 

If you do enter the dojo, just be humble. Cause there are a lot of heavyweights out there.

 

Started in game development when I was twenty-three, coming from the commercial art field. As of this posting, I'm forty-six. Be careful or the same thing might happen to you.

 

Fun fact: Van Gogh didn't start taking art serious until he was in his 30's.

He shot himself at 37, but you know.

 

LOL

 

The age issue is one that primarily applies to getting a job at a game company. It isn't nearly as significant in the indie space.

The game industry has a very real issue with age. It is becoming increasingly common for major studios and publishers to hire young and burn their employees out. Because of this, there aren't very many older developers in the video game industry. This has lead to an unfortunate trend where many people consider game development to be primarily for the young.

But the truth is that this has little to do with actual ability, and more to do with a mis-managed corporate culture that is more focused on crunch than cultivating talent.

For someone starting off in the indie space, age shouldn't be a factor so long as you are willing to learn and practice. It's more a matter of figuring out how much time to devote to game development, and balancing this out with the life you want to lead.

 

...We start dying the moment we're born. What's the point in doing anything?