[Survey] What is the difference between a 'wannabe' and a professional GameDev? Thread

I'm curious guys, which of these things do you do as you develop games? And how good are you doing them? [Survey]
I'm trying to figure out in the most precise way possible what is the difference between a 'wannabe' gamedev, and someone who can live from making games. What do you think? (Some of the questions are a bit hard. Have fun!)

Probably the wrong answer, but I do work with a 'mentor'.
Why? There is a huge difference between theory and experience. I suggest: get a mentor.
Will this make me/you/us a pro? No clue. But for now I do what he tells me to do. And so far, real cash is coming into my account.

Mentor doesnt make any of us pro, its just shows that we lack of something or not believing in our work, but at the time when you dont need mentor anymore, and you succesfull without him, you can call yourself a pro.

I agree. While having a mentor is not going to make you a pro automatically, is by far the faster way to become a pro, in my experience. And thank you for helping me with the survey! We are almost there.

Thought GameDev is just a job title (so in general that the main difference one is a job the other is a hobby) in my personal opinion both types of people can be more similar than you think. Both can earn a lot of money and barely anything, both can have a massive team and a small indie group, both can create amazing things and both can do poorly. So, in general, the only main thing that creates differences between wannabe and GameDev would be the passion to its own work.

I saw wannabe with 20 years in industry working for a large sum of money creating really amazing things in a massive project with as little passion as you can possibly imagine treating this as work only that has to be done. At the end, though the game looked really good it lacks that special spark/touch that would make a game great. It was just another pretty copy paste game with nothing special.

We should not look at this as a job title as at the end what people are doing is art, something that will affect people and create classics in industry. Something that people will remember for years and go back to after decades. I can bet that some of you still play games that were made 10, 20, 30 years ago.

So in my personal opinion, GameDev is not a job title, but it's a state in which you create your game.

Edited by: Lionsart

It depends by natural skill as well, some beginers could outperforme pros, I saw it before

Money. If developer earns from games enough to live AND continue development, he is a pro. Otherwise, he is a wannabe.

"A professional is a member of a profession or any person who earns their living from a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skills necessary to perform their specific role within that profession. In addition, most professionals are subject to strict codes of conduct, enshrining rigorous ethical and moral obligations" -- Wikipedia

Lazy answer, but to my defense I found the survey pidgeonholed for solo indie devs and possibly managers - and I am neither. Also, I do find the wikipedia description to be spot-on in my case.

Edited by: Nightshade

Money. If developer earns from games enough to live AND continue development, he is a pro. Otherwise, he is a wannabe.

Totally agree! as this is what defines between Pro and Amateur, (although pro is not always better than amateur). I've seen many Devs who started part-time but ended up quitting their job and go full time. Like myself, I'm not pro since I'm still relying on my monthly income from other sources.

Continuously developing one's creation I think. Money, Popularity, Trends can be a good indicator. Good gamedev surely create himself at least one of that or in case he isn't, he will make someone earn a lot of those things from their workpiece.

I don't think that "wannabe" is the right term here ... maybe pro vs. amateur is a better way to think about this like Beat-Fu says. If you are consistently making games, are employed by a larger development company, or can sustain employment in the field, I think that makes one a pro game dev. But plenty of people start out doing game development as a passion outside of the jobs that actually pay the bills and move their way into a game dev career.

I've seen a large number of so called "pro"'s having no real passion for what they are doing but many more so called "non-pro" which outperform them in this domain by a large margin. So "pro" really is no quality label here.

And don't use the term "wannabe" for what you are asking here. It's a negative term for people thinking they are great at doing something but actually have no skills at all or little skills.

Also masking a profit does not equal quality or passionate work. Many grossing titles are down-right boring and a grind-festival with little passion behind it. On the other hand really great games did not get the attention they deserved. "making money" might line up with the "pro" term but it's not equal (many pro studios went bankrupt with publishers staying alive laughing... and boy they are really not passionate about games in the most time).

Edited by: Dragonlord

Professional: Someone who makes a living from making games. Alternatively, someone who has shipped a game.

Wannabe: Someone who makes games with the hope of making money from them in the future. Alternatively, someone who has the intention of shipping a game in the future, even if for free, but who has not shipped one yet.

To me the difference between a professional and non-professional is simply money: if your primary income is from developing, you're a professional developer. If it's not, then you are not a professional developer.

Will this make me/you/us uc browser filezilla rufus a pro? No clue. But for now I do what he tells me to do. And so far, real cash is coming into my account.

Edited by: vityra

Well I've programmed professionally for years, and I definitely don't wannabe a professional games programmer, by all accounts that's even worse in practically every respect that all the jobs I've had to date.And some of those were pretty bad!

So as far as games programming is concerned, what do I wannabe? Well definitely not doing it for a living. I've wrote some home-brew for old consoles (Vectrex mostly, in assembly) I've dabbled with writing PC stuff with various languages, and would like to write something that sells reasonably well to prove that I can do it. I have had various stuff published in various formats before, but not doing everything on my own - all indi!

vagrantscout wrote:

I don't think that "wannabe" is the right term here ... maybe pro vs. amateur is a better way to think about this like Beat-Fu says. If you are consistently making ga rufus mes, are employed by a larger development company, or can sustain employment in the field, I think that makes one a pro game dev. But plenty of people start out doing game development as a passio I suggest: get a mentor.
Will this make me/you/us a filezilla pro? No clue. But for now I do what he tells me to do. And so far, real cash is coming into my account.n outside of the jobs that actually pay the bills and move their way into a game dev career.

Edited by: nitadia

Interesting thread! I'm not sure someone can be a wannabe game developer. You either are, or you aren't. There are pros and amateurs though. I'd call myself an amateur but not exactly a beginner. Truth is, there are so many careers related to game development that programming alone hardly makes a game, a GAME. Let's not forget those who do 3D modelling, rigging, character animation, music, fxs, etc. They're all necessary in order to create an interesting and fun game. The higher the budget the better. It's about doing what you can with what you have.

Wannabe is someone who wishes to develop a game. Pro is usually someone who makes money with the craft.

The main difference between a "wannabe" and a professional GameDev is that a professional GameDev has the skills, experience, and knowledge needed to create high-quality and successful games. A "wannabe" may have the passion and desire to create games (vanity), but may lack the necessary skills and experience. Becoming a professional GameDev takes time, dedication, and hard work, but it is achievable with the right mindset and resources.

Ummmm... all pros were wannabes at some point

DireBoarGames wrote:

Money. If developer earns from games enough to live AND continue development, he is a pro. Otherwise, he is a wannabe.

I agree with this, if you can't make money to live it is just a hobby.