The game developers are the game whiz in the professional world. Many students would wish they are game developers because they think it's an excellent job. They believe that you would sit all day long doing a trial and error with the game that might make a name in the gaming industry. However, the nature of this job is not about creating a character or hero in the latest war game that people love playing or sketching a new tool or gem colors that players would soon buy from the store. Game development is more than what most people think of.
In today's article, we will glimpse how game developers work and design games that would surely make a hit. In today's discussion, too, we will know the activities of the game developers and if they can avoid a sedentary lifestyle in a day at work. Now that more and more people go back to the usual office setting, we will know how game developers sustain a healthy lifestyle despite the job requirements that they need to meet. We will also discuss the benefits of switching from a traditional chair to a desk bike in sustaining a healthy lifestyle amidst the sedentary activities that a game developer experiences.
With this, let us start this discussion.
I.What Does a Game Developer Do:
A game developer's job is focused on three things which are:
1. Planning:
A game developer collaborates with his teammates to come up with a groundbreaking game. They start with the feature request. They try to conceptualize, make a storyline for it, then create characters that would build the story and the progression. After that, the whole team would set up a timeline for all the deadlines of each task. The timeline includes setting the milestone for the game and creating prototypes.
2. Developing:
In this stage, the game developers start to design the games. They usually the 2D and 3D models using computer applications. This is the part that they apply effects and animating the characters in their games. In this stage, too, the game itself is having a face and is more discernable. Developers also try writing codes for the games that implement the game's logic. Through this, the developers may test the games how players would interact with the said game. Lastly, it is in this phase that developers would be testing and debugging games. They will try the codes if errors are present.
3. Producing:
This is why the games are introduced to the market. Still, game developers continue improving the game by putting add-ons and making updates that introduce new levels and characters.
Aside from their job description, a game developer also needs to possess the following characteristics to help him start a promising career in game development. The following requirements are:
● Good Analytical Thinking Skills:
This is required for a game developer because of the nature of his job. He needs to write codes.
● Good Problem Solving Skills:
In developing a game, there are game codes that are difficult to manage. Hence, a game developer should learn how to solve problems by debugging some game codes and transforming their design into codes.
● Organizational Skills:
An effective game developer knows how to collaborate with teams efficiently. Developing a game needs teamwork and more than one idea to consolidate. With this, a game project would become a reality and may become bankable once it's fully developed.
● Knowledge in Programming and 2D and 3D Designs:
This is the topmost requirement for a game developer. Although game designers are responsible for 2D and 3D designs, game developers still use this to work on the game assets.
The nature of their job might not be as easy as we can imagine. A lot of detailed work needs to be done. Hence, they might not be excluded from the list of workers who face mental health and physical health issues. In fact, in a report published online, it was stated there that even game developers face mental health
topics that are rooted in the following:
II.Mental Health Issues: The Problem Game Developers Encounter
● Online harassment: online criticisms are thrown at them, especially if a certain game program triggers haters. They are not safe from harassment verbally. This creates havoc on their mental health.
● Unpaid overtime: In the same report, it was stated that game developers experience this, and it creates an effect on their mental health. This is evident when they need to work overtime for a particular game they are developing. However, some people do not get paid fairly. This happens, and a lot of game developers are affected by it.
● Job instability: Game developers experience this because the competition is stiff, and some projects are not stable or run for just a short time. Hence, it's pretty hard for some game developers to land a permanent job. This also affects their mental health stability.
So looking at these things, we may say that the stress level that they face could be insurmountable. This could lead to worse problems because game developers create the games that the young ones are exposed to. If the gamers continually experience these mental health issues, what kind of output could they come up with? There is a possibility that their outcomes might get affected because of the problems they face online. Hence, they must find support from people and groups who could help them live in a safe environment. The nature of their work too should be a healthy workplace where:
● They could sustain an active and healthy lifestyle:
This is important because once they get exposed to a sedentary lifestyle, they might not come up with good ideas. Hence, it's better than ever at work; they could maintain their health using a product that can give ergonomic support just like an under desk bike from Flexispot that is called the Desk Bike V9U-considered as the best standing desk mate
● They could work in an environment that is conducive and free from distractions:
A game developer needs to sustain a quiet and conducive ambiance when creating their ideas. Hence, one should go to a workplace to concentrate well when trying to solve a problematic game code.
Being a game developer is a challenging job, but one could overcome the obstacles in developing a groundbreaking game with a strong support group and colleagues.
