Become a Computer Game Developer: What to Do Next Chapter 8 What to Do Next Don't get too wrapped up in yourself. One of the problems I have noticed with truly successful game developers is they become so focused on what they are doing, they lose sight of everything else. The risk here is that you will lose touch with reality. Eventually you will become obsolete. Your skills will become finely honed and totally irrelevant. The reality is, there are more young game developers than old game developers. The young people are closely in touch with the state of the art in computer games. They play games, they have friends who play games, they are involved in discussions, debates, and flame wars on such things as algorithms and platforms. The older developers are closely in touch with the state of the art too. They have to be. Those who didn't keep up are already gone. Clearly the lesson is this: keep up or fade away. Keeping Current With the Craft Play Games This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised at how many game developers are so busy writing games they don't take time to play games. Force yourself. It's good for you. Attend Conferences There are many excellent conferences and trade shows put on every year. I suggest E3, the Computer Game Developers' Conference and the Shareware Industry Conference. Communicate Get online and talk to other game developers. My favorite location is the Compuserve Game Developers Forum (GO GAMEDEV) with the rec.games.programmer newsgroup a distant second. I understand there is also a discussion area on AOL, and if you look around you can find game developer discussions other places too. Don't work in a vacuum. Find other people who are doing what you do, and talk to them. Join Up There are several organizations which game developers can join. My personal favorite is the International Game Developers Network . Check out their home page. There is a list of other organizations on their link page, too. Read Up Read books, read magazines, read everything you can get your hands on. Stay informed. Surf the Web You already know this. You found my page, didn't you? I know that you are busy, and game development can be an all-consuming task, but it is important to allocate time to keep up with the state of the industry. You must keep learning and growing. It is the only way to succeed. That's about all the advice I have to give you. You can check the links and references for more sources of information, and check back here some time in the future to see if I have ever bothered to update this page. I want to wish you good luck with your game programming career. If you ever become rich and famous, and you feel like I was the one who launched your game development career, then by all means send me a check. Any amount will be accepted. Now stop reading, refill your Jolt Cola, and get back to work. Games don't just write themselves, you know. Bye for now! Diana Got Books? Home Page | Contents Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 Glossary | Author | Books | Links Discussion This site created and maintained by Diana Gruber . Graphics designed by Susan Kelleghan . Copyright © 1997 Ted Gruber Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved.