So you want to learn game development, huh? Luckily for budding developers out there today, some online courses provide terrific resources direct from experts in the field. Take GameDev.tv for instance…
GameDev.tv was created by best-selling Udemy instructor Ben Tristem to help anyone learn how to develop, design, and sell indie games. Based in the UK, Ben and his team make and maintain high quality courses that aim to be engaging as well as entertaining for folks who may know absolutely nothing about code but are enthused and eager to learn how to build their own games. We spoke to Ben recently about what makes the GameDev.tv experience special…
Hi Ben! Thanks for chatting with us. What’s your background in the gaming field, and how did you come to become involved in development?
1) Each of the GameDev.tv instructors on these courses come with a wealth of varied experience from different backgrounds. It’s the combination of these which we feel gives us the ability to connect with, and offer so much to, our students. The instructors on the Unreal course are Ben and Sam.
Ben Tristem comes from a technical background (with a degree in computing from Imperial College London, and a physics diploma from the Open University). After various careers (including being a commercial pilot, stunt-man, rock climbing instructor, and more) he fell in love with teaching game development through one of his investments, and now spends all of his time sharing that passion.
Sam Pattuzzi (who co-instructs on the Unreal course) wrote his first game when he was 14 and programming played a key part in both his work and life ever since. He studied Computer Science at the University of Cambridge, where he also taught undergraduates and had years of industry experience working as a freelance software engineer. He became an online instructor as it offered him the opportunity to combine his passions for teaching and programming.
What are some of the video games you’ve played over the years that inspired you to want to explore this discipline?
The GameDev.tv team are (unsurprisingly) avid gamers, and site the following as some of their favourite (and most inspiring) games: Sid Meier’s Pirates, Defender of the Crown, Age Of Empires, NFL Street, Asheron’s Call 2, Bioshock and RuneScape.
What can you tell us about Unreal Engine, which is the focus of the course that is being offered in our LC Exclusive bundle?
Unreal Engine is a game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game Unreal. Although Unreal Engine was primarily developed for first-person shooters, it quickly became popular in a variety of genres, including RPGs, MMORPGs, Strategy and others. It’s one of the most popular game engines available to the public today (along with Unity). It’s also the engine behind Fortnite, the most successful free-to-play game ever (earning more money than any game in history).
The first generation Unreal Engine was developed by Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games. Tim was also a backer of our Unreal course when we first announced it on Kickstarter.
If someone is a complete newbie to game development, would this course provide everything they need? Does it help to have a little bit of background in coding?
Our Unity courses are completely newbie friendly. We do have complete beginners taking our Unreal course. Unreal and C++ (the language it uses) are more in-depth and additional self-study may be helpful for some students. We note resources in the course which may be useful.
What would you say is the most exciting aspect of training the next generation of game developers?
Great question! Spending hours playing games made by students into the early hours of the morning. Watching students take something you’ve shown them and make it 100 times better. Seeing people realise that their potential is so much greater than they’d assumed.
