As a budding game designer/developer for a few years now, using Unreal and also trying out a few programming exercises along the way, I have a very serious question.
Is it just me, or is video game programming in this day and age, becoming a thing of the past for a DIY indie developer?
For instance, I look at C++ game programming tutorials, and they are basic games at best. However, I know a lot of complex work went into them.
But from a strictly, “I am an indie dev and want to make the best looking, most awesome game possible” standpoint, is there seriously any reason to learn programming? And get real here, I don’t care about “ohh if you learn c++ for 10 years you can optimize memory” or anything like that.
The main reason I ask is I find programming fascinating, but it seems to be an insane amount of work for even minor things, whereas with Unreal I could prototype a BA lookin game in no time flat. One I assume would take years of programming.
Honestly, I’ve been thinking about this situation a lot lately. It seems to be a problem nowadays where on first glance programming isn’t worth it.
Visual Scripting has this aura around it to some that if they use Blueprints they won’t need to use C++.
I’m not talking about you specifically here, just in general.
Anyway, the real problem comes from the fact that if you want to make the game your looking to make you would need some complex Blueprints.
And those complex Blueprints can only be created if you know what you’re doing.
And to know what you’re doing you need to know C++, which Blueprints is based off of.
Theoretically you can create small games in very little time no C++ knowledge, but when it comes to the real problems you’d face you’re going to need to understand when to use a Boolean or an Array even while using Blueprints.
Making a quick game based off a template is the easy part. Making the game you want to make, that’s something completely different.
Plus, if you do take some time to learn C++ you’ll be smarter than the other guy.
Which could help you in two ways…
a. It could help land you a job
b. When you’re a big-time game designer who’s running a company and you’re programmer starts throwing out terms to you…you’ll be able to understand what he’s talking about.
If you ever forget how important programming is to the game industry… just think about how Unreal Engine 4 was created.
Thank you for your reply , I agree with a lot of what you said.
I understand programmers will always be needed, especially in other industries. But think of your last line, to think of how UE4 was created. That is precisely it; since it has already been made by these geniuses far smarter than I will ever be at programming, why reinvent the wheel?
I guess what I take from what you say, and what research has come up with is this:
If you need deep customization, you need to know -some- programming.
Otherwise, these tools shortcut you through years and years of mundane tasks that have been done for years.
I want to learn programming, but don’t want to be stuck spinning tires.
I see it like this sometimes. Say I had one month to make the best game humanly possible. I think by far and beyond my best choice would be to bang one out in Unreal.
So, seems some programming will be required, which maybe is the perfect amount.
Blueprints still are programming. Sure, it’s high-level and probably more akin to scripting, but the core concepts of data and functions, process flow etc are all still there. Don’t think that using blueprints over C++ somehow makes you inferior. Ultimately, it’s about whichever tool gets the job done.
You could, if you wanted, write an entire game in assembly. People don’t because the potential performance benefits are far outweighed by the fact that very few people have the skills to write optimised assembly, it will take forever, will be a nightmare to debug and so on. 30 years ago you often had no choice because the hardware was so weak that saving a few clock cycles made a difference, but today C++ does the job just fine.
As hardware continues to improve, expect higher level scripting like blueprints to become more common as low level performance becomes less critical.
As to whether you should learn C++, I would say “yes” to get the most out of UE4. C++ and blueprints work together nicely, so if you enjoy programming then go for it!
Programming is much more than just writing down code. Programming is all about solving complex problems, like in every other area of game development. If you’ve gained some experience with programming, you’ve not only learned a lot about patterns and algorithms to solve problems, also you’ve learned how to analyse and estimate problems. And exactly these logical understanding helps you in every complex situation.
That’s the reason why it’s not hard to learn a new programming language for an experienced programmer, the language and the actual coding is the smallest part of solving the problems. And Blueprints are nothing else than just another language.
I’ve seen a lot of Blueprints written by non-programmers. Mostly they find a way how to solve the problem, but the way they do it is neither efficient nor reusable. In the beginning it’s maybe faster to directly blueprinting your game without getting a deeper understanding of programming, but on the long run you will definitely miss it.
