10 Biggest Misconceptions You Have About Video Game Developers
2. We’re Amazing At Playing Videogames
This one always makes me laugh, because I’m grotesquely mediocre at videogames. I’m gold/platinum-tier at Overwatch on Xbox One, I’ve only won an Apex Legends match four times, and I once got beaten at a Smash Bros tournament by a 12-year-old.*
The chances are, your average game developer has definitely played a lot of games, and will almost certainly be technically adept at them (game designers in particular have an overwhelming knowledge of even the most esoteric details from games), but the vast majority I’ve met are just... okay at them.
It’s a weird one, because it’s one of the few professions where this is positively expected of you online. Can you imagine finding out someone designs wrestling rings for a living and getting livid when you find out they can’t even perform a body slam? Or meeting a Michelin-star chef and getting mad that you could eat hot dogs faster than them?
*In my defence, I should’ve known as soon as this kid rocked up to the screen with a heavily-modified controller and a single cycling glove on. He was not ****ing around.