Hi, guys. I am learning things like OOP patterns, linear algebra, data structure and algorithms. These things were been easy to choose, in my view. But now I am at the crossroads. In one hand should I dive into to Unreal Engine or should I learn something more. Do I need these things: automata theory, machine learning, game engine architecture, rendering in-depth or anything else? I am not going to UE right now, because I think that without some basics things it would be very hard to master UE. As game developer I want to learn how to optimize game and do game mechanics, some AI. Can I get some advices please?
P.S. I am very sorry If questions like this impropriate here. I read the guidelines and there were no restriction in my point of view.
IMO it’s best just to jump in with some simple project in mind - that way you can get an idea of what type of things you’ll be wanting to learn. Don’t expect your first projects to come to anything except experience. There’s a lot of information out there and a lot of people willing to answer any questions you may have.
Probably though, the best fundamental discipline you can have beforehand is patience.
I agree with @RecourseDesign. Just dive in. Look for a hobby project, people in the forum are always looking for developers for their hobby projects, you could join such a project.
After that, you should start your first professional paid project ASAP. Ask what is needed for the project and prepare for it. Don’t waste time learning things you don’t need right now. If you need them in the future, learn them in the future.
I think you dont need much theory, just let your practice and needs of your project lead you to the fields of theory (vice versa is the case for men of science). The same is with optimizations - everyone wants to write clean and effective code, but bear in mind what problem you are fixing by that. Oprimizations for optimizations is rather idealistic thing.