Right age to start game development?

Hi guys , I am 15 years old and I'm so passionate about game development ..
Getting a job in CAPCOM is my dream
Last year I developed a game in 3D Rad , it was simple , no coding stuff , this year , I am working on a big project , I am learning Scripting.
Is 15 years of age too old to start learning? I'm worried. And If in these 4 years , till I'm 19 , if I work so hard and become master in coding Will I be able to get a job in any industry as a Programmer?
Thank you so much!
And btw one more thing , if you earn money by developing games then please tell me about your salary

 

Actually 15 is a pretty good age to start. I started writing QBasic on an old 386 when I was in 8th grad (so, about 13-14.)

I think that programming in general is actually a great discipline to go into. Don't limit yourself to games, though - a good programmer is one who can write game logic or a business app, because the truth of programming is A) knowledge, and B) problem solving. As programmers, those are our two domains - we know a situation inside and out, so that we can understand the problems, and write code that helps humans solve them.

The road to Capcom will be a long one. While I'm not too interested in working for a major AAA studio until the working conditions in the game industry change a bit in general, there are others who work in AAA game dev who can tell you what you need to start working on (as a rule: start with making a game. Prove that you can do. You'll get feedback on how to do well as you go along.)

Most importantly, don't fear failure; it's something for you to learn from. And, once you've learned, don't repeat it.

As far as people telling you about your salary, that's usually not considered a polite/good/professional request.

On that note, another thing to work on is behaving like the professional you will be regarded as. Be nice to everyone, learn the social limits. If you're not sure if you should ask/say something, the rule of thumb in my experience is "don't," use some social intuition and try to reason what topics are safe and otherwise.)

Something useful on that note - when I was in Marching Band, I had a director who had a rule that he told us about a couple of times, sometimes to express exasperation with a bunch of teens trolling him, other times as a bonafide life lesson: "If the first thing I would say would get me fired, consider the next one. If that would get me fired, consider the next one. If that would get me fired, say absolutely nothing, because there's probably nothing I can say that won't get me fired." In my day job - and, even on the forums most of the time - that rule has actually served me really really well.

 

Ok thank you so much for your quick reply bro ...
What do you work as? A programmer?
And I asked about salary because I wanted to have an idea about the field I've already jumped in lol.
One question , what a 19 years old with great programming skills can do? can he get "ANY" job ? If yes , then what will be his "Expected" salary ? (he's not experienced)
I know I sound so stupid and noob but forgive me please , I just wanna clear some confusions in my mind so I can proceed with this thing free of tension , I'm already tense about many things . God bless you!

 

Programming tends to be something much closer to a meritocracy than other fields of work. Reasonably gifted individuals who prove that they can do can, in certain isolated circumstances get jobs without a formal higher education. However, this is rare - if you want to stand the best chance, and get something resembling a reasonable check, you need to do a 4-year plan at an accredited college.

And, I'm a professional programmer. I'm actually writing this over my lunch break. As far as what a programmer can expect to make in general, I'd suggest Googling, "average yearly income for a programmer" or something similar.

Another skill you need is the ability to independently perform research. Don't expect people to give you the answers to your questions the way they sometimes do in public school; if you want to learn anything of interest, you'll have to seek it out yourself. If you're 15 that means you're a freshman in high school, so you're almost to the point where said teachers disappear from that role anyways. This is a good time to start practicing those research skills.

 

You're so kind , thank you so much
And you're a Professional Programmer just at the age of 27 , thats kinda impressive!
I've never been so passionate about anything like I am about game development , I am in the 1st year of high school , I regret I did my matriculation with Biology . Now I'm in Computer Sciences , fortunately and unfortunately , the 1st year has nothing to do with programming or language but in 2nd year , we'll go through learning C .
So , if I work side by side , in my college as "studies" and in my free time as "extra learning" . I think one day I'll be a good programmer as you
One more question only if you don't mind brother , what language is the best for future?
And if you can suggest me a good Book (or E-Book) to learn language to develop games , that'll be a great help.
God bless you again !

 

This might make some people groan, but I think UnityScript is a great way to learn. It's reasonably loose and permissive, but will give you some good fundaments to start learning how to write code.

As far as books, I don't really know any. I learned by just messing with QBasic (and, giving myself StackOverflow errors), and learned more useful details during my college education. However, I'm sure other forumgoers might have some better suggestions. My suggestion would be to click the big blue 'Learn' link at the top of the page.

The thing with games though, is you don't want to limit yourself to just coding as a rule. You need to know about art. You need to know about sound. Understanding the mathematical principles of game design is also a must. Project management is a big part of games - games are software packages!

 

Ahaha thanks , that was a great help !
I understand everything now ,
Thanks again for your brother-like support.

 

You may check my game project "Resident Evil - Salvage Hunting"
I've made its page on facebook.

 

UnityScript may be a great way to learn, but I recommend learning C# once you understand programming concepts pretty well. (At least if you plan to use Unity.) In my experience you'll find more tutorials, assets, and resources in C#.

 

I started learning to program in 3rd grade. After that, I fiddled with various computers and their languages until 6th grade, where I had a summer class... And it was rather weak compared to the knowledge I had acquired on my own. My next class wasn't until I was in my mid-20s, which I only took to get the paperwork to have a degree.

tl-dr; The right time to start to learn to code is right now. There is no age that is too early. If you can read, write, and think logically, you can learn to code.

 

I was like 14 when I started modding games.
Frankly, no matter what it is within reason, if you know what you want to do as a career the earlier you start on it the better.
I'd probably wait 'till you're older to actually release something commercially, though. A person needs a stronger sense of worldliness and finances before dealing with online transactions, returns, fees, legal issues etc.
Not to mention the fact that your judgement of the actual quality could easily be very skewed due to sheer lack of experience with both games and the world as a whole, and filling the market with even more of that would be... well, bad.

 

Not sure that there's a right age but it's probably best to start when you're younger. I started late, I learned how to program at 20 (Though I did some basic things in VB when I was 17 in school), and I got into game development as a hobby at 28. Today I do work as a programmer in my day job and my career has gone well so far, let's see how developing games turns out.

 

You might be underestimating the time it takes to master something.

 

Yes, sorry. At 15 years of age I am afraid your best years are behind you. You should have started when you were 7 or 8 years old at the latest.

It doesn't matter when you start. Sooner would be better than later, of course. But whether you are now 15 years old, 9 years or 60 years old the important thing is to get started. A younger mind is often more like a sponge able to learn quickly. An older mind will have more frames of reference to draw upon. You are only limited by your own drive and willingness to work!

 

I am starting at 43. I know, it is too late but I am having good time. I had to learn C# this year in order to desing a video game for a master degree. Programming helps me to keep my mind busy and not lazy.

 

Any age is a perfect age to learn to program. Computer programming is the most important thing in our modern world. Computer programming skill is literally the closest thing to magic powers you can possess. Never worry about being too young or too old. Just jump in and learn everything you can.

It takes about 10,000 hours to master a skill. You probably won't master computer programming in 4 years, but you can get a good solid start in that length of time. Just remember to build skills by practicing on seemingly simple projects. Then use those skills to tackle larger projects. Good luck.

 

Started when I was 12 16 years old now and I have learned soooo much. I can't believe I made it this far and I still have so much more to go. I am currently making a 2.5D action platformer (announcement in signature soon) and I have been developing it since November of 2013. Almost been a year now and I have worked so hard to get to this stage. Point is, doesn't matter when you start learning as long as you work hard and continue to improve yourself everyday. You will be filled with accomplishment!

 

I would not be opposed to a machine that allows a fetus to learn programming in utero.

 

Start as soon as you can handle a keyboard.

 

Who needs a keyboard?

 

To answer the how much you can get paid, I will say that I have two relatives in the AAA industry and they both pull at least 6 figures.

From what I've heard the AAA community tends to be all about being in the "in crowd".

You need to have the experience, the education, shake the right hands, never screw up, and have a healthy dose of luck.

If you get your first job, the second, third, and fourth are a cinch. Oh, and if you work for AAA studios, expect to change your job frequently. I think in the last five years my (one relative) has worked at four different companies.

 

Here in Australia I think about 20-30 thousand dollars would be a reasonable estimate for a entry level job, damn near impossible to find one of those though.

 

Can you please tell what is meant by "Unity Script"?
Because I can only create JavaScript or C# script in my Unity 3D.
Thanks in advance!

 

That makes so much sense , thank you!
Have you created a game yet? If yes , feel free to show me

 

Okay thanks for sharing your experience So , is 15 also late to start?

 

That hurts my feelings a bit , but yeah I think you're also right in your point. I heard that Hideo Kojima (Kojima Productions) , the one who makes Metal Gear Solid started learning in his 30s. Look , he's a great developer now!

 

Definitely a powerful answer! Can you please tell me the right subjects to chose in College ? Thanks a lot!

 

Oh great I am so much encouraged by your answer right now , thank you!
I think I'll work as hard as I could , this is my dream and I would love to see this dream come true !
I am waiting for your game to appear.

 

Thanks sir , but what is the annual salary of relatives? You mean 6k monthly? Thats too good to be true
And their age? THANK YOU!

 

15 is a great age to start, I wish I had the interest in this stuff when I was 15. Go for it now and don't look back but don't abandon your schooling for it.

 

ah okay , thank you guys understood!

 

Well, you need a keyboard to type the comment on the break rot node...

"6 figures" means that the annual salary has 6 digits - aka at least 100000 per year or 8k per month.

 

Focus on making all the classics first: space invaders, pong, etc. If you're really serious, these teach you how to make games quite efficiently.

 

Is this better? I do believe, despite the keys shown in the background, that Kodu is programmable with only a mouse. Or gamepad for XBox users.

 

This is pretty awesome. Even being decent with mouse/keyboard, I wouldn't mind being able to design games this way (of course, I'm a visual learner, too.)

 

You still need to type *something*. Virtual keyboard or not, you don't get away from using a keyboard. Which is easy. Piss-easy. Which was my frickin' point

EVERYBODY SHOULD LEARN A LITTLE PROGRAMMING! FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HUMANITY!

 

"a little" doesn't really get you anywhere though

 

If 7 billion people learned a little at least some of them would want to learn more.

 

I started at about 20 I think. I messed around with programming a bit earlier, maybe around 18? What did I do prior to that? Pretty much played video games all the time. On the bright side, all those games I played have really helped me to know how to make a game fun, how to make the experience just right, all the little things. Now it's just a matter of getting the technical skills to make it happen. I don't think you're necessarily worse off if you start at 20 as opposed to 10, to be honest. I think when I'm 30 years old, after having 10 years of experience, you can put me up against someone who had 20 years of experience after starting at 10 and there won't be much of a difference.

I plan to work for myself rather than for others, though, so there's no real "I must be at this skill level at this age" issue. Is there really that issue for AAA companies, even?

As for learning and the brain, as long as you do what you can to be healthy, you'll learn just fine when you're older - perhaps as good as when you were younger. The brain doesn't necessarily get worse with age; that is, unless you fill it up with toxic chemicals each and every day. (So remember, eat organic, exercise, and sleep well!)

 

Passionate about programming? Passionate about helping people will make you a better programmer than being passionate about programming. You need to be good at any job as the 1st and required qualification.

Programming for the betterment of humanity? Let's hope much more so than what it's been mostly used for to date: so far it's mostly used to design and create weapons and funnel money into hidden bank accounts while the haves play a shell game with the law.

 

Its common knowledge that the correct age to start is 16 years, 4 months and 12 days from your name day. If you start any earlier you'll turn into a toad, and any later and your ears will fall off.

 

And don't forget, that if such is the case you're required to buy a llama.

Heh. You thought I'd link the GIF this time, didn't you? Nah. I'm saving it for when the forums least expect it...

 

I am a development manager for a mid sized software house and outside of game development here in the UK a C# graduate developer can expect to start on around £24k ($38k) per year, going up to £40k ($64k) for a mid level developer and then £50k ($81k) for a senior developer then it carries on up to about £60k ($97k) if you are really good or a team leader or technical lead etc. And we still struggle to recruit people, there is a shortage of good developers about, which is why in the UK they have just brought in teaching kids programming in schools and made it mandatory starting in primary school.

So even if you don't make AAA in-crowd god status you can still make a decent living from just your programming knowledge. It's a valuable skill to have in its own right.

 

Salary wise it is hard to say in gaming. I think Riot was like $40k-$150K as an example which seems to mirror industry more or less. This assumes the 4 year degree however I believe. And you can be sure fresh out of college is (alot) more toward the $40k mark. Most places really do look toward a 4 year degree as minimum to get in.

Having hired quite a few people even at these sorts of places however, there are ways around it, BUT you almost have to know people to do so. This probably is not happening since these are the very contacts who you tend to make once employed (usually) - so a catch 22. The way that has happened (twice out of 150 or so coders at our local branch) was through recomendations from the recruiter, having a decent portfolio, and showing good technical and decent people skills at the interviews.

I should really emphasize that communications and people skills are really quite important. Not just code skills. I have recomended hiring / hired people with poorer code skills than their competitors - if their communications skills were a notch above. Passion is also important as well as checking to see if you know about our company and what we do (do your homework!).

 

I dare say you've underestimated your own species. We've mastered breathing and image recognition the likes of which machine-kind can't even dream of!

On topic- I worked for $1,000/month for a summer job helping a game move from Ogre3D to Unity3D. I recommend finding a small company in such a position and offering them your services, it's much more fun than working a sales job! Kickstarter is a good place to find prey.

 

I started about 14, and that was quite some time ago now. Start whenever you want, and if its your passion, don't delay it! Do what you can to acquire skills to get where you want to be. Take the opportunities. Invest (not necessarily money, but time) to build your knowledge. Accept criticism. My biggest starting flaw was starting too big and not taking the criticism for it well. Learn that other people aren't out to get you with criticism, they are actually interested in helping you progress. Start small, even if it's boring, because you'll be rewarded later.

 

Why does this matter? You can't go back, and putting it off can only make things worse. Don't think about when is the right time. Think about whether or not you want to do it and, if you do, then why procrastinate about it?

The "right age" is now.

 

I don't think there is a such thing as learning a skill too early. Then the older you get, the better off you are learning more in depth about things. I forever have my nine year old brother play testing. Heck I have my three year old testing android builds haha. And I try to explain things they don't understand about the overall process of game development too - because down the road maybe I can collaborate with them - or dare I say, compete against them!