Gaming is great, making your own games is even better! As a game developer, you not only have a cool, but also a well-paid job with a future. Hundreds of new games come onto the market every year, and the games industry now achieves higher sales than the film industry in Hollywood, and there is no end in sight!
But game development isn’t exactly child’s play. Just like other jobs in development, skill, creativity, and patience are required here. In this article, we’ll show you how to present yourself in the best light if you are having a game developer job interview.
1. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
As a game developer, you are involved in the production phase of gaming. First up is the game designing. Another part of the job that I also find particularly interesting is level designing. It’s exciting to design the levels, characters, and missions, develop and describe the story and design the virtual environment, usually in the form of a model. There is also the definition of fixed and moving elements in the game and their appearance. And not just that – you determine how the gamer interacts with the game. You create the user interface in the first-person perspective or the top view. Thousand tiny details make for a smooth experience for the player. The possibilities are endless.
2. What Are The Roles Of A Game Developer?
The job of a game developer offers a wide range of tasks. Some of them are:
- Game design, with a focus on programming sound and graphics and testing the games.
- Many game developers also work as project managers and accompany a game from the idea to marketing.
- Developing game concept: dealing with the basics of a game. Thinking about the rules and the different levels and the actual goal of the game – this designing of game worlds is a challenge in itself since even the smallest changes to the game design can have fundamental consequences for the course of the game and/or the degree of difficulty of a level.
- After this stage, graphic designers deliver the first drafts that determine the basic appearance of a game. And the task of the game developer is now to create a virtual world based on the specifications and drafts.
3. What Are The Qualities That A Game Developer Need To Be Successful?
Whether for mobile phones, PCs, or consoles: As a game developer, you are the person who breathes life into the body of the designed game, who technically implements the designs, and thus turns the concept into a product. You program the specifications of the game designers and use them to create the virtual world. So, in addition to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (e.g. Three.js is a cross-browser library for graphics), game developers must use a programming language such as C++, Java, or C# or a scripting language such as Python or Lua. For app game development on iOS, you need Objective-Cor swift. Your code gives the game the mechanics and interactivity that the game community expects: Smooth and without bugs, glitches, frame rate drops, logical errors, or crashes that abruptly destroy a successful illusion.
In order to achieve this, a game developer works as part of a team. Each of your mates often has their special area, such as modeling, graphics, animation, or sound. Close cooperation with the game design is important to exchange feasibility and details. Marketing is connected and maybe someone who manages the project, who wears the hat for the game until it goes live. In short: There is no “I” in game development – teamwork is crucial to success in game development.
4. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role? How Did You Manage Them?
Perhaps the most demanding part of becoming a game developer was putting my knowledge and skills to the test. I found that the best way to do this was to start a practice project. Practicing allowed me to familiarize myself with the working environments and design requirements of my first game.
The single best way to learn game development is by doing, and creating practice projects is the primary way new developers start their journey into game creation. With each attempt you make, you’ll learn something new, and you’ll be ready to take on new challenges the next time. I really got better and more confident in game development in a short time.
5. Describe Your Daily Routine As A Game Developer?
As a game designer, I would be involved in a new project right from the start. Because before it comes to the graphic and technical implementation, I would think about a game concept for the team. What exactly should the game be about? Which tasks should the gamer solve and what does he achieve with them? What are the rules in this world? In addition, like a screenwriter and director, I would take care of the staging of a story that keeps the players engaged with exciting plots and surprising events. Finally, I would also include the preferences and wishes of the respective target group, for which the game is mainly intended.
6. Describe Briefly About Your Experience?
I have a computer science degree, as well as an experience as a graphics programmer. I developed the graphics engine for strategic games. As part of the game engine, I was responsible for the visual presentation and implementation of the game. I was in charge of implementing techniques such as 3D rendering which were important in order to create a breathtaking user experience.
7. What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Are Required For This Role?
I think being successful as a game developer depends heavily on two character traits: determination and passion. Determination is your commitment to gaining the knowledge and skills you need to develop games. Passion describes the inexhaustible drive to use your newfound knowledge and skills to create the game.
8. What Is The Biggest Challenge You Foresee In This Job?
An important part of game development is to find your niche in this highly complex process and at the same time not to lose sight of what the others are doing. Game development is not done alone, but as a part of a larger cycle with many persons involved. The real challenge is to ensure coordination and alignment between all sides working on the game development.
9. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?
Few people can escape the fascination with computer games. Overall, video game development is a fascinating work environment in a rapidly growing industry. No one project looks like another, and you never know what you are creating the next time. Even during times that you are developing the game – things change constantly. It is a good feeling when you get to the end product- especially if the game is a hit.
10. Describe A Time You Failed In This Role And The Lesson You Learned?
Any game developer knows how hard is to create human faces. One of my first projects was a representation of the human facial expressions of one of the characters. It was such a complex and exhausting process for me. I spent many sleepless nights on that. I was still not satisfied with the outcome. I gathered my strength and asked for the help of a senior game developer. He worked with me for a week, and a learned a lot.
11. Why Do You Feel You Are Qualified For This Role?
For starters, I can withstand high levels of stress, am good at motivating myself, and enjoy working in a team. I have also developed logical thinking, and have experience in the safe handling of different operating systems. I have extensive knowledge of common programming languages (C++, Java, Swift), as well as knowledge of software development methods. I am also familiar with various graphics programs, graphic user interfaces, and app development.
12. Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement
While I was taking my computer studies, I dedicated a lot of time to developing my first game. It was a mobile, puzzle, quiz-like game. I really enjoyed creating it, it was more like playtime for me. I was quite thrilled when I saw it was downloaded more than 500 times in a few months. It felt amazing, it encouraged me to work even harder and think about new game concepts.
13. What’s Your Favourite Game?
My favorite games are games like Goldeneye, EverQuest, and Destiny. They stand for different periods in my life and I also remember them fondly because of the friends I played them with.
14. How Important Is Player Feedback To You?
Positive comments always feel good, of course. But even more important is constructive feedback from players. It’s a good practice to be active in the game community. Members of the development team should engage with players on various social platforms and hear about the changes and additions they would like to see made to the game.
15. Have New Technologies Made Your Work Harder Or Easier?
New technologies don’t make day-to-day work harder by any means, rather they open up new possibilities for further development. A successful game developer is never satisfied with the status quo and wants to keep evolving the games. Advances in technology can also present us, developers, with new opportunities to improve our workflow, which is critical to keeping pace with players’ strong demand for more content.
16. Are You Challenged By The New Consoles And The Technologies That Come With Them?
Ultimately, for game developers, improvements in technology always bring new creative ways to bring our ideas to life. Of course, that also brings new challenges, but I think the games industry is special in that so many of the people who work in it are also gamers themselves. I look forward to the new experiences that this next generation is sure to bring.
17. Which New Technologies Would You Like To Work With?
I basically love to experiment with new technologies and develop new things with them. Of course, it isof a great benefit when you have many of the newly available gadgets in the studio and have a lot of fun with them.
One technology, albeit in the remotest sense, with which I would like to work much more intensively is gamification. Gamification is the application of typical game elements in a non-game context.
18. How Are Games Actually Developed?
Modern video games encompass numerous artistic domains: text, music, digital art, and animation. And all these areas are brought together by the code. When someone is interested in how games are developed, they often wonder how to even get started. The good news is that today anyone who owns a PC can create their own games. Tools are readily available, many development platforms are free to download, and not all require extensive programming language knowledge or coding experience.
19. Which Platform Did You Use When You First Started Developing Games?
Unity* is one of the most popular game engines used by both game developers and digital artists. Well-known titles developed with the Unity engine include Hearthstone, Cuphead, and Subnautica. Unity is best known for its ease of use, comprehensive documentation, and dedicated and supportive community. In addition, Unity makes cross-platform development a breeze and even supports dedicated interfaces for developing games in 2D or 3D. The platform is perfect for beginners because it is an easy way for them to gain experience and grow with their projects.
20. How Do You Know Which Platform Is Right For You?
Many game engines offer all the necessary tools and are therefore equally suitable for starting a career as a game designer. So it is wise to simply try multiple platforms and then pick the suite that suits you better. If you are new to the world of programming, you can also base your decision on each platform’s scripting system. If C# in Unity is easier for you, use Unity. And if C++ or Blueprint Visual Scripting are more your things, you can go for Unreal. And no matter what you decide: The choice is not final. If you want to switch after development has started, you can export your resources and design concepts to the other engine. You might have to rewrite a few scripts, but this way you’ll quickly get to know the new engine.
21. How Do You Handle Stress?
I believe that planning is key to coping with stress. In my last position, I implemented a work calendar that allows us to anticipate activities and plan accordingly.
22. What Have Been Your Most Positive And Negative Work Experiences?
A while ago, I had a supervisor who had difficulty delegating to others. He constantly tracked homework and was inflexible. That made me feel unmotivated and put a brake on my initiative. In my last work experience, on the other hand, my boss was very open. In addition, he was always attentive to the opinions and needs of the workers in his charge. Thanks to him, I was able to grow in the company. I am more productive in environments where collaborative work is valued and relationships of trust are established.
23. Why Do You Want To Work Here?
When I started looking for a job, I was very careful about the type of company I sent my resume to. I like working in organizations with which I share values. Innovation and respect for the environment are two principles to which I am committed. In my research, I discovered that this company is interested in those topics. Working here would allow me to contribute to the development of a sustainable future for the planet.
24. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Position?
I want to take on new job horizons. I feel that your company culture is more suitable for me because of your projects and goals.
25. What Was The Corporate Culture Like At Your Previous Job?
The corporate culture of my previous company was not very focused on the environment and therefore, getting involved with the environmental visions of your company motivates me and encourages me to want to work with you.
Conclusion
Now if you are looking for a game development job then you need to prepare for some tricky interview questions. Every interview is indeed different depending on the different professional profiles. Here we have prepared the 25 essential game development interview questions and answers to help you conduct a successful interview.
