What does it take to become a Quality or Pro Game developer?

Hello,

I would like to know how to become a pro game developer.
I'm a complete beginner and want to make my career gaming Industry as game developer specifically as a game programmer.
May sound stupid.
can some one please guide me step by step.

Thank You,
Vidit Shah

 

Here are a few things that I think it takes.

1. The ability to figure things out, without expecting somebody to guide you step by step. Sounds like a snarky joke but actually I'm quite serious. Software development is more or less continuous problem-solving, all day long. As you get more experienced the problems become higher-level and more abstract, but they're real problems nonetheless. And you will not find a step-by-step guide for solving most of them.

2. The ability to follow directions precisely, so that when you do get help, you can use it. You'd be amazed how many people ask for help, get very specific & correct advice, utterly fail to follow it, and then post back saying "it still doesnt work!"

3. The ability to break a complex problem down into smaller and smaller parts. This is half of what software development (or any engineering skill) is all about. (The other half is managing complexity, but I think that only comes with experience.)

4. A passion for understanding & building stuff. If you enjoyed math class, making up your own LEGO models, tinkering with (or at least understanding) machinery, etc., then you may really enjoy code.

5. The willingness to work long hours for little pay. It also helps if you can move to wherever the jobs are.

 

What I consider to be excellent general advice, from a game developer.

 

Oh! And the point? It takes hard work and practice, practice, practice.

 

Yeah. I've taught quite a few kids (including my own) how to program over the years, and I frequently see the misconception that programming is something you can just be shown how to do, and then you "know how" to do it. Like it was making a sandwich or something.

The realization that it is a deep skill that you can practice every day for decades and still get better at — something far more like playing the violin than making a sandwich — came as a real surprise to some of them.

 

Make a game. Publish it. Repeat until successful.

 

I agree with all the advices given here by JoeStrout, SteveJ and BoredMormon.

Some hints I have for you are:

If you want to be an indie developer, there are some cool hints here on the forum: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/creating-your-first-game-extra-credits.291074/

Another good advice is to do some research about the market and game industry on the country(or countries) you live/want to work. The market usually have lots of specific conditions on each country, and I recommend you to search for forums/groups to meet the people on your country that works on the industry and talk with them about it. These people are the best ones to show you where you can search jobs, find partners for your projects, etc. This is very important to your career.

If you are an indie developer, there are ways to make the international sales of your game better. This can be another good theme to research.