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Thomas Brush29 Nov 2022

If You're A Student Wanting To Make Games, Watch This

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
The early independent game sector proves that leveraging digital distribution methods to validate concepts can provide a viable alternative to traditional academic career paths.
02
Self-starting ventures can bypass formal education when a business model demonstrates immediate, scalable success, as evidenced by early independent developers earning over $100,000 in the 1990s using the shareware distribution model.
03
A professional portfolio demonstrating tangible capability in coding, art, or modeling is the primary metric for hiring, often outweighing the value of formal academic credentials.
04
The necessity of a degree is role-dependent; while AAA studios may require formal qualifications for marketing or specialized technical positions, creative roles remain largely meritocratic.
05
Formal education functions primarily as a structured training path for foundational skill-building and a professional safety net rather than a mandatory industry requirement.
06
Aspiring developers should weigh the opportunity cost of remaining in school against the potential for immediate market validation through the release of high-quality, market-ready work.

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Transcript

if you're a student wanting to make a game should you go to Game Dev school or if you're in college should you drop out to begin your Game Dev journey I had the honor of chatting with Scott Miller the Mind behind what I would call the First Independent games Wolfenstein 3D and Duke Nukem stick around because Scott's going to tell us his story of starting a game Studio despite those around him telling him to finish college should I keep going to college or should I build a studio um because I just made 20 grand that's sort of a proof of concept but I just stuck with it through college and got a degree that I really hated and I'm curious about your story cuz it's it's kind of like similar to mine but you made a different decision so while I was going to college I was making these games and so they would pay a couple hundred doar for these things and but they wouldn't take your rights they would only like want them exclusiv exclusively for one year I I can make some more money out of these I think but I didn't know how I didn't you know retailer you know retail Publishers

wouldn't return my my letters uh you know didn't email people back then you sent them letters so I decided to um release a couple of my games online on bbs's I had two text Adventures that I released and I released the full game and uh asked for people to send me some money if they liked it and I hardly get any checks at all and then I had these cross games I had these three cross games um and I decided to try something new and I released just one of them to uh BBS systems and I I asked people uh at the end there was an ending scam when you finished it if you like this send me um some money I forget what it was $ or $30 and I'll send you the other two episodes which each contain like 20 levels each or something and that that was the secret that that actually worked you know people won't pay for what they already have in their hand but they'll pay for something extra that they will they will get so that really started to work and for like a year um I I started

you know checks just start coming in the mail and think about how hard it is for someone to write a check and send the mail being yet you know I made over $100,000 at first year and I kind of knew I kind of knew I was on to something and um I was you know a senior I was a senior in college at this time you know and 200 $100,000 back in 1990s probably 200 250,000 now so quite a bit of money and um you know I knew I was on to something so I was like you know do I finish my senior year I think I was I had had like a semester and a half to go and I I just said I said you know this is too big I think I'm on to something I need to drop out and see what I can do here and uh you know my friends were all like Scott man you're crazy you know finish finish your degree at least now and I was like I you know I remember talking to him you know I I can always come back if this doesn't work out you know yeah not that big of a deal so um so I I I quit and made this my first full-time gig and within a year all my friends were were working for me so it

totally worked out totally worked out were you going to school for um code or computer computer science degree uhuh okay like a lot of my audience they're students in high school and they're wondering should I go to college to get a degree in computer science or like game design and you know I I tell them it depends on what your goals are do you want to be in AAA or are you an entrepreneur are you a self-starter or do you like to sort of get led by somebody else and just curious any ADV you have about that I'm always scared to give my advice because I'm afraid to send people down a bad path that they that they may regret because it really is a very personal decision but I will say that in all the time we've ever hired anyone we've never cared if they've had a degree or not that's never a question we ask never we just simply look for you know their you know a display of their talent you know if they're artist let's

see some art if they're a coder let's see some samples of code if you're a modeler let's see your models it never even occurs to me to ask do you have a degree or not just doesn't even occur to me um for a lot of Studios that's how it is now like you said for AAA Studios and stuff they be they may be more concerned especially if you're going for like marketing for instance stuff like that I think you know it's reasonable to expect to have a degree but if you're a good coder you're going to get hired yeah you know just based on you know demos that you put together that really display your talents um right maybe if you're not a good coder then you need to go to school and and get get that kind of training and and build up your craft and so on um so it's it's it's a very you know it's it's really my advice is it's uh it's not Universal you you really have to weigh you know the pros and cons for for yourself um but I'm just saying in our case a Dee doesn't matter at all

you just don't yeah you you won't look at the degree like it's you haven't even like asked for never have even asked yeah I mean I tend to agree like I have a small team I just like anytime I get an email from somebody saying Hey I want to work with you guys I just say where's the portfolio like that's really what I'm looking for I just want to know if you're good or not that's that's all I really care about but I do wonder is there a

Summary

The decision to pursue formal education versus immediate professional entry in the game development industry hinges on individual career goals, entrepreneurial drive, and the specific sector of the market being targeted. While traditional academic paths offer structured training for those needing to build foundational skills, the industry increasingly prioritizes tangible evidence of capability over formal credentials. For aspiring developers, the primary metric for success is the quality of one’s portfolio, as studios prioritize demonstrated talent in coding, art, or modeling above academic degrees.

Historical data from the early independent game sector illustrates the viability of self-starting ventures. By leveraging early digital distribution methods—specifically the shareware model—developers can validate concepts and generate significant revenue before completing formal education. In one notable instance, a developer earned over $100,000 in the early 1990s by releasing a portion of a game for free and charging for additional content, a proof of concept that justified leaving college to pursue game development full-time. This experience underscores that when a business model shows immediate, scalable success, the opportunity cost of remaining in school may outweigh the long-term value of a degree.

Ultimately, the necessity of a degree depends on the intended career trajectory. Large-scale AAA studios may maintain stricter requirements for certain roles, such as marketing or specialized technical positions, where a degree serves as a standard qualification. However, for creative and technical roles, the industry standard is a meritocratic evaluation of work samples. Prospective developers are encouraged to assess their own self-discipline and professional objectives, recognizing that while education provides a safety net, the ability to produce high-quality, market-ready work remains the most critical factor in securing employment or building a successful studio.