10 Amazing Perks Of Being A Game Developer Nobody Talks About
It's not all crunch and soul-sucking corporate goals, y'know.
I feel like every time game development is brought up in the media, it’s to either talk about an outrageous discourse scandal or to describe just how horrendously difficult it is, like reporters have to venture into a dive bar full of toothless, hook-handed bikers every time they want to get their next story.
I mean, some of us are like that (I think I actually saw a level designer eat a live snake at Criterion, once), but it’s most certainly not all bad (the snake burst free and got its bloody boa revenge by constricting his oesophagus from the inside... in an event that absolutely did happen).
In fact, contrary to things you’ll read from myself (a sociopathic liar but an undeniable fox) and my morose, jaded peers, there really are a plethora of mega-perks to being a game developer these days, and I’m not just talking about VIP status on Gamefaqs (the definitive sign that you’re now a total success in this world).
So, here are some perks of the job - when the job is working in one of the most fascinating industries on the planet.
10. We Get To Create Something For People To Enjoy, Every Day
Part of me is the eternal altruist - I love the warm fuzzies of knowing people around the world are happy. Laying there, in their wee baffies, drinking Ovaltine, watching Come Dine With Me.
... Happy.
But then there’s a part of me that needs to know I helped bring them that happiness. A selfish joy vampire who feeds off the knowledge that I brought them that glee; that the games they’ll be playing this evening as they scream on Xbox Live at a small Korean child... I helped make that.
It’s the same in every creative field, I’ll wager - cooks love watching people eat their food, game devs love watching people play their games, and YouTubers love watching people leave the same hurtful comments on their videos, again and again, slowly sapping their confidence until all that remains is the false shell of pleasance.
Some people only get to create something other people enjoy now and again - whether it’s Rice Krispie cakes for a bake sale, or an erotic sculpture for a grandmother-in-law’s birthday.
Game developers get to make something for people to enjoy, every single day.