We played games when we were young; some of us still play today. Games have always been an important part of our lives—or at least, they have been for me. I loved PlayStation games—the movement, the characters, fighting opponents in versus mode, speeding in car games, and doing stunts on bike games. It was a thrilling experience.
Back then, I never thought I’d become a Game Developer myself. The idea of crafting these experiences for myself and others seemed far off. Instead, I followed my career in IT and became a Web Developer. I created websites, but I always had a desire to make the web pages more visually appealing—I had an artistic touch in my work.
Quick Walkthrough of My Initial Journey
JavaScript, an essential part of front-end development, became my favorite tool. It allowed me to move, pop, and animate elements in the browser. This felt more like fun than server-side programming, and I’d spend hours making web pages more beautiful, playing with color schemes and adding mouse effects.
I loved my work until web development became more complex. When frameworks started standardizing web development, companies began seeking developers skilled in these frameworks rather than in traditional JavaScript or PHP. The creative side of programming that I loved was gone.
Frameworks weren’t a bad thing, but they took away the artistic element that I enjoyed. While many people around me were still passionate about web development, I found myself unmotivated. I wasn’t sure why.
My Transition from Web Development to Customer Support
I transitioned to Customer Support for a while, working in SaaS companies. My background in Web Development was useful, and I was recognized for my efforts. I provided support for well-known web companies, and while I was making a stable income and helping solve problems, I eventually grew bored.
I began searching for something more exciting. I tried to convince myself to return to web development, but every time I attempted to learn a framework, it didn’t feel right. The voice inside me kept saying this wasn’t what I wanted.
Lost in Life with No Purpose
As I earned more, I started spending more on things like a new bike and car. I went on tours and enjoyed the thrill of it for a while, but the excitement was short-lived. I tried reading, but that didn’t 100% satisfy me either. I realized I wanted something more hands-on, something I could create, and not just gain knowledge.
Time passed, I began watching gameplay videos on YouTube and was inspired. I thought, why not buy a good PC and enjoy gaming again like old times? So, I purchased a Gaming Laptop, and after setting up a Steam account, I started playing series like Arkham and Halo. It was exhilarating—a refreshing experience.
P.S.: I still enjoy reading; I read fiction, Indian Pauranic History as it has beautiful stories in it.
The New Career Beginning
One day, an idea struck me: what if I could create these games myself? At age 35, with responsibilities and a stable career, it seemed unrealistic to start anew. But my curiosity won, and I started researching game development. I wanted to know how characters moved, how gravity was simulated, and how these immersive environments were crafted.
YouTube began suggesting game development tutorials, and it hit me that learning this skill might still be possible. I took some Udemy courses on 3D character creation in Blender, Unity game development, Phaser 2D, and Three.js. I haven’t finished all of them, but I gained a solid understanding of how games work given my past programming experience. It was incredible.
Later, I invested in a game development course from Outscal, which taught me a lot about game development basics.
So, I enjoyed every part of my learning journey; YouTube, Udemy short courses, online certifications, and most importantly my own initiative with the practice, have helped build my confidence. Now, I actively work on Unity projects.
In game development, my favorite part is building environments. Creating worlds from scratch is as fascinating as anything, and I’m grateful to have finally found my passion.
This is my short story: now, I’m a Unity developer actively seeking projects. If you’d like to discuss a project or get in touch just to say ‘Hi’, feel free to email me at pranavrana.com[AT]GMail.com.
Best,
Pranav Rana