This become my dream since the first time I was making my very 1st card game using Visual Basic when I was Junior 3. I still remember that I saw this book "Visual Basic 3.0" which is chinese version in my secondary school library. As a noob, I asked my friend a Noob question :"What's this?", my friend, Cheong if i not mistaken tell me this is something which allow me to make my own computer program in computer. I was stunned and got very exciting with the fact that I can start making my own computer program! (I think someone might finally found out why Kuan so interested in programming, Coz I actually fall in love with it in first sight. )
Then I borrow this little book back to my house, and start flip it over. (I still remember the first time i read that book is when I was doing my business in toilet :P ). I got very exciting, I learn textbox, command button, label, variable, event driven, one new thing i learn, I got myself one level higher excitement. Not to promote but I learn all flow in the 2nd time I read the book, If, While, For, Switch, and I love them. In few days, I created my 1st calculator (I don't know why but I just created it...). Some weeks after that, I made a card game which rules similiar to black jack but largest point is 9 and just draw once - "Dok Dok" I named it.
I pause programming for one year and picked it up again at my Senior 2 and made a Chinese Chess Half Board. They are kind of easy but I enjoyed making them anyway. I not wanted so bad to be a game developer at that moment. I just felt that become a game developer is my unreachable dream. I love playing game and amaze of how to make such a cool game (StarCraft, Quake 3, Final Fantasy) but I learn very less knowledge of game development and have a very very high view of that job. I thinking that become someone who making game is the hardest thing I will achieve in my life. That I will say it as my hidden true dream :)
Now, I am on my way to my hidden-true-unreachable dream. Initially my point of view for game developers was a very hard job which earn very less and hard to become rich (Young thought). It's still the fact now anyway and it's harder than what I used to imagine, somehow, I knew it is reachable now and thats why I am here bloging a site namely "Game Dev Life for a Student". It's still tough, it's still a great challenge, when going after what you really wanted, it's nothing to lose.
Work as A Game Developer
Although I am Hatchlings Games's programmer, I never put myself into realy game development process so far so it's not true that I ever WORK as a game developer. Then who am I to say something about works. Well, sooner or later I am one of them ^^v (Solid teach de smileys, it's ^^ 2 eye, and 'v' is the finger 'v' shape). I guess anyone like me, who wanted to become one of the soldier in the battlefield of Game creation, will have some question. From my guessing, the most famous question in mind will something like "How much I get...am I going to survive!?" or "Do I need to work part time while making game" OR "How am I going to use my whole tons of Salary!!" (jk...).
Lazy Kuan surf around the internet, reading this and that, and finally clicked back the bookmarked Gamasutra and found an interesting post. This post title is "Are You in Demand? Hot Jobs for Big Bucks in the Game Industry" This post is about what is the average pay for USA game developers. Anyway, USA market is totally different from Malaysia or some other country but what I think is, may be there wont be the same figure but relatively same ratio in the country job market.
Something I like to highlight from the post (Since not everyone will click it and read...) is the average pay for fresh graduate or early game developers. Average game developer salary is USD 70,000 per year. Figure is about... RM 260,000 per year and RM 21,000 per month. (Thinking fly over to US and work in Blizzard? ask me to join :P ). Even I divide the figure with 10 times, I still getting RM2100 pay as fresh grads ...not bad...
Well, this is Statistic and it is US's statistic too. It not likely to make any comparison to Malaysia but I believe there are something related. Codemaster from US planted in Malaysia...wow... some other statistic for fresh graduate in game industry is :
- Programmer US$ 52,989 - RM 196,000 - RM 16,000 per month. ( I can upgrade PC every month, Travel every half year, spend you all Chilis every weekend night)
- Artist and Animator US$ 45,675 - RM 169,000 - RM 14,000 per month.( Lo Shyang can buy one new console per month, buy original games like buy pirated games, collect all FF thingy in one month)
- Game Designer US$ 43,486 - RM 160,00 - RM 13,000 per month.
So? Game Developers earn a lot man! Making game is the funniest job I can think for myself in my life, though it's working for someone, it's employee, it's hard, it's OT, it's crunch time, it's instant noodle job, it's sleepless, it's .... it's dream job :)
today feeling :: stop raining, I wanna play Tennis!!! Assignment is killing me off dy~
