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[atyourservice]

edit: ah, shit. meant 'advice' in the title

Based on your experience with the industry, your child comes up to you and is serious about wanting to professionally go into game dev, whether through college or indie routes.
Do you support them or suggest againt it?

Why or why not?

 

[Brigandier]

Tell them to learn a trade like electrician or gas engineer.

Why? Job security and less toxic industry and won't be surrounded by the biggest delinquents on mother earth.

 

[Cakeboxer]

If the child is non binary yes.

 

[Kataploom]

I'll support him, and believe me, I can almost 100% see him coming lol I'll just try to guide him in order to make a successful career as a very skillful engineer or designer so he can adapt to any circumstances, even switching industry. These days adaptability is more important than specialization.

 

[Hypereides]

Advise against it. Do it as a hobby. Don't pursue it as a professional path. Its better to seek other tech/STEM oriented directions.

 

[killatopak]

Probe them deeper and ask them what part of the creative process they want to be in.

Writer, designer, modeling, tech stuff etc. Find out where their passion lies and make them specialize.

Game development is a broad job with plenty of parallels in other industries which the child can fall back to should their endeavors not pan well.

 

[pudel]

If the child is non binary yes.

The other way around. If the kid is based....go for it.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Don’t do it, child. Think of all the
agg it’ll cause ya

Yeah, all the agg it’ll cause me!

 

[justiceiro]

Sure... If he like gacha games.

 

[Dutchy]

I think you should always support. But it's good to set realistic expectations.

If the kid is happy and can pay the bills later on then nothing else matters really.

 

[SimTourist]

From what I've read it's really hard to break into the industry and what you get is long hours and relatively low pay. A lot of companies are also leaning on contractors instead of offering fulltime positions with appropriate benefits. Not to mention overall politics and inclusivity bullshit. In indy space it's hard to standout due to a constant flood of trash games on all storefronts.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

No. Software development is not what it was 20 years ago. Things are especially difficult for entry level developers. Choose something with better job security. Too much AI + H-B1 Visas has made competition tough. Pick something with better job security and less headaches.

 

[Shifty1897]

I would say it's a job that requires an overwhelming amount of passion to be successful. If your kid goes into it thinking that they'll be off nights and weekends and get paid the same as other industries with the same occupation, they're going to be upset when they find out.

 

[IAmRei]

As long as not fully indie themselves. Indies are harder rightnow, because its so damn easy to upload on game platforms, then flood the platforms with low effort asset flip, or awful game which burden industry with saturated market. If they want to learn or find careers, make sure they are having knowledges, be it industry, technical, and which good games which bad games. Gamedev aint easy, of they are just part of it aka speaclize in one area, they are fine and can be narrowed into some big dev names.

 

[Thebonehead]

I'd tell them to remove the purple dye in their hair, start using proper pronouns and get a proper job

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

No.

I will encourage my son to pursue a career choice with greater financial security.

I.e. Medicine, law, IT, or finance.

 

[tanners]

Short answer:NAH NOPE
Long answer: If just some random passion about dreaming making game could printing $,then nope.
If my son show some interest in art/programming/music etc. I will offer some help but not directly support for entering game dev landscape.

 

[TrebleShot]

No because this and other software engineering jobs are going the way of the dodo due to AI.

 

[theStartupSound]

Support, but help to have a realistic view of the job (work as intern, try to make hobby projects, talk to people who are already in the business).

The experiences there can help with other jobs too, if it doesn’t work out.

 

[TintoConCasera]

No, I'd advise him to become a plumber.

 

[nkarafo]

If he is going to be a developer it's better to be an indie/solo one, maybe one day he can make a Balatro or Minecraft and become a millionaire.

As an employee on a company though? That sounds bad.

 

[Closer]

First I'd ask why but full support. Curiosity is what moves the world and I'd be proud to see their development in the area.

 

[Sentenza]

15 years ago I would have even encouraged the choice, but now I'd actively advise against it, especially if he seems to be doing fine in terms of mental health.

 

[Kurotri]

The gaming industry is pretty shaky in regards to job security and pay. I'd advice my kid to build himself a safety net first, something in a STEM field or something, before they put all their eggs in one basket, waste years and then regret it later. I get it, passion and all, but the world isn't that easy or kind. I know because I've made similar mistakes, nothing gaming wise but you should always have a solid backup plan.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Child? What kind of gerontocracy do you live in where at 16 you’re called a child?

I would advise against. The chances you eventually get to a point where you’re more than just a name in a Ubisoft-like credits reel among literal hundreds of other nobodies who worked on an aspect of a game that literally anyone else could have made, are very slim. At least, this kid should not choose careers with the prospect of working on video games specifically.

 

[Tams]

I second no, and if they show aptitude, to strongly encourage them to have it as their hobby.

If they want to do games, have them try making their own ones, or getting into some mod projects.

If they care more about general software development, then their own projects (say, make a backup utility) and maybe an open source project.

Having a portfolio of their own work and work on projects, especially in their own time, will let them get into the games industry later if they still want to. And at least they'll have whatever else they trained for as a backup.

Game development university courses? Hell no.

 

[baphomet]

Tell them to learn a trade like electrician or gas engineer.

Why? Job security and less toxic industry and won't be surrounded by the biggest delinquents on mother earth.

Lol, have you ever worked around gas engineers?

 

[Brigandier]

Lol, have you ever worked around gas engineers?

You ever worked with a bunch of blue haired landwhales and green haired goblins???

 

[BacklashWave534]

I would encourage him to work his way up as a corporate executive in another field, then move into the game industry and fire all of the weirdos.

 

[EviLore]

Advise against, but if they must, then either STEM degree so they have somewhere to pivot after burnout or politics has their way with them, or straight into building an independent project as lead.

 

[Holammer]

Follow your dreams, but be prepared to be replaced with AI.
Robotics that can independently do your carpentry or plumbing will be decades away.

 

[Guilty_AI]

People are talking about the thorns of game dev here, but honestly whatever path you seek nowadays will have its issues, theres no "correct" choice of carrer today and there's often luck or connections involved.

Just let him follow it, however i'd ask for the specifics as game dev is a wide market. Also make sure he has realistic expectations.

 

[SweetTooth]

Tell them to learn a trade like electrician or gas engineer.

Why? Job security and less toxic industry and won't be surrounded by the biggest delinquents on mother earth.

I second this masterpiece

 

[baphomet]

You ever worked with a bunch of blue haired landwhales and green haired goblins???

No, but most of the technical jobs I've worked are dudes making gay jokes and butch lesbians. Refinery work, wind energy, aerospace, etc.

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

Child? What kind of gerontocracy do you live in where at 16 you’re called a child?

I would advise against. The chances you eventually get to a point where you’re more than just a name in a Ubisoft-like credits reel among literal hundreds of other nobodies who worked on an aspect of a game that literally anyone else could have made, are very slim. At least, this kid should not choose careers with the prospect of working on video games specifically.

Your offspring is referred to as your child regardless of age. Your child =/= a child.

That being said, a 16 year old is a fucking kid.

 

[StereoVsn]

No because this and other software engineering jobs are going the way of the dodo due to AI.

Yeah, 16 now means he would graduate in 6 years. Most entree level jobs in dev will disappear due to AI at that point.

This is on top of game industry being a toxic place to work in with long hours and not properly compensated for it. If the kid is smart and has the brains for it I would recommend electrical or electronics engineering degree. Chemical or Materials engineering is also good. And maybe mechanical engineering going into robotics.

Otherwise Medicine will still be needed I think even if it will also have greater AI involvement (don’t go into Radiology).

Law I think will see a fairly big hit due to AI in paralegal and some entree level positions but will still be needed as I doubt AI will be fully accepted without human in the chain.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

At 16 I would tell them the pitfalls of their choice but would support whatever they wanted because they are at the age of doing what they want anyhow.

Around that age my son wanted to be a writer and was going to Indiana University for that and started a Summer job loading trucks for Coke and now at 35 years old he holds one of the highest ranking positions for Coke in the Eastern part of the US making nice bank

Funny enough he started free lance writing a couple of years ago and its amazing how much money is in that if you are good and his short stories sell nicely, so much to the point he is considering quitting Coke and writing full time

 

[Windle Poons]

There will always be a need for plumbers and electricians.

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

Probe them deeper and ask them what part of the creative process they want to be in.

Writer, designer, modeling, tech stuff etc. Find out where their passion lies and make them specialize.

Game development is a broad job with plenty of parallels in other industries which the child can fall back to should their endeavors not pan well.

100% the best advice... game development is a broad church indeed. Also, AI is changing the landscape by the day. Some of the jobs that exist today may look very different in a few short years.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

A friend is a programmer who almost went into games. But reasoned that he'd get paid a lot more for programming in a bank than in a games company.

So there's that, if you're doing largely the same thing, is there a way to get paid doing more or less the same thing?

 

[BigLee74]

At least 35 years too late to make any decent money from it!

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Tell them to learn a trade like electrician or gas engineer.

Why? Job security and less toxic industry and won't be surrounded by the biggest delinquents on mother earth.

But You're bang on the money. Being a Sparky can earn you some serious money.

My kid wants to be a commercial pilot, so that's me fucked for the rest of my days. £12.000 just for the basic PPL

 

[Tajaz2426]

STEM, did I mention STEM?

 

[ReyBrujo]

As a software developer living in Argentina I'd advice against it based on local statistics. The software industry down here employs about 155k including designers, community managers, testers, etc, etc. And out of those about 1500, or 1% are related to the gaming industry. IIRC there are about 100 game companies here, so you are greatly limiting yourself by targeting such a niche segment. Going indie? Yes, it's a possibility but what is the percentage of an indie getting a big hit like World of Goo, Flappy Bird, Slay the Spire or Balatro? Finally, the development side has quite a lot of drawbacks (misogynist environment, low salaries, tight schedules that do not allow for good programming practices, lacks time for retrospective and you usually end up with bad code that cannot be refactored because you shipped and got to be preparing the next project.

By the way, at 16 it's already kind of old for taking that decision, I kind of feel that for gaming they already mention they want to make games all the way back at 10, and if they had been programming by that age then it would be a different matter. If they just start at 16 it means they might not have the passion for long coding nights and low salaries in them.

 

[Griffon]

He's 16y old, support him as long as he's into it.

But be prepared for his next change of heart and see him want to become a doctor or something, support that too.

 

[jm89]

Tell them to avoid it like the plague.

Actually I would keep my children away from tech industry as a whole.

Get a job they can't outsource or replace with AI.

 

[ABnormal]

Support, they are not asking to become drug dealers, and the skills learned about game development could be used also in other things anyway.

 

[Robb]

I’d support it and advise him to specialize in statistics/mathematics and AI. That’ll leave the door open in loads of other fields as well.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I think you should always support. But it's good to set realistic expectations.

If the kid is happy and can pay the bills later on then nothing else matters really.

Part of being a parent is seeing miles ahead a kid is among a stupid decision and having the courage to tell him so.

 

[flying_sq]

I would ask them to try and make a game by themselves or with friends. See how they like it. Luckily with game dev, the barrier to just give it a shot is very low. At 16 I feel like you would know already, it's a pretty nerdy thing to do and a weird career out of the blue but hey you never know.