WEB DEVELOPMENT VS GAME DEVELOPMENT: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

INTRODUCTION

In today’s economy, both game development and web development are in high demand.  If your interest is hooked on any of the two, it is very crucial to first understand the similarities and divergences between the two. Moreover, web and game development to those outside the industry may sound like the same job. However, the skill sets and mindsets applicable to these career paths are totally different. This article is equipped with all that it takes to enlighten you as far as web development and game development are concerned. It will help you to make decisions wisely on which career path to choose.

What is web development?

Web development is also called website development. It is associated with building or creating and maintaining websites along with applications running online on a browser. This may however involve website design, website programming, and database management as well. Website development is closely associated with tasks of feature designing along with application functionality.  Development is a term that is reserved for the actual building of these things. Web development involves basic tools called programming languages such as HTML, and CSS along with JavaScript. However, there are several programs habituated to facilitate the building of websites that would otherwise have to be done from the scratch by writing codes. Some of the content management systems lie in this category including Joomla! WordPress, Drupal, and TypO3 among others.

It is the mandate of web developers to design, develop and maintain the website. They work in different industries or organizations and in most cases specialize in one area or multiple areas of web development. These areas are front-end, user experience design, and e-commerce development. They utilize different programming languages and website development frameworks to construct a website that is both visually appealing and functional. They also put their work to a test to ensure the website is working as expected and do some necessary changes. Website developers in some cases are responsible for managing the contentment of the website ensuring it’s accurate and up to date.

Web development pros

Becoming a website developer comes along with unique benefits. Here we have compiled five pros of becoming a website developer for you.

Little education time

It may only take a very short period of time to become a web developer and begin your career. Some employers may want you to submit an associate degree in web design or a field related to that before announcing you as hired. You may also discover online training schools that offer you a degree that is relevant and you can earn while you work.

The potential for creativity is high

If you are hungry for a career where you can express your creativity, web development is a career you may enjoy.  Programming gives you a unique creative platform that permits you to design dissimilar aspects of the web such as constructing visual layouts. Some website developers may also utilize website design programs to generate creative artwork such as branding art and logos for use on their consumer’s websites.

Freelance Opportunities

Though web developers may own positions with marketing industries or professionals in web development, they may also do freelance jobs instead. In this job, they are able to select assignments and set their potential earnings. You may decide to solely focus on freelance work with several job sites or supplement the income of your website development by developing freelance jobs. The availability of these benefits allows you to construct your development portfolio as well as potentially transition to positions of higher level within your company.

Career Growth

Website development contains dozens of growth opportunities within the field that may expand the developers’ earnings and enhance their development experience. You may also in your company transit to management in your industry late in your career. The position of management always comes with a higher salary and concentrates more on planning instead of hands-on coding tasks.

Salary

The average salary web developers can is 67225 per year and as you gain experience your salary may go even higher. The person ells with over six years may earn up to 78436 dollars while those with over ten years of experience may enjoy an average salary of 85472 dollars per year. You may also earn more money in this field by advancing to positions of management as well.

CONS

Coding Knowledge Is Needed

Website development careers always need multiple programming codes that coders use in website creation. Some individuals may view this process as time-consuming or hand-to-master. Having this knowledge and experience may allow you to shift to other technology careers if you are willing to try something new such as programming applications or video games.

Involve Long Hours

Developing a website means spending eight to ten hours every single day coding depending on their position. They may also work on weekends so as to polish up their coding. Some of the personnel may feel comfortable working these long hours and utilize downtime within them to boost their careers. This involves coding smartphone applications during the break or book reading while waiting for the test to wide up. Individuals who like to code may also discover these long extremely enjoyable.

GAME DEVELOPMENT

Game development is referred to as the process of designing, constructing along with releasing games for different platforms. There is various component available for game development, and you could be requested to focus on a single component or the entire game. These components are coding game characters, designing, networking, multiplayer, and environment.  Game developers are responsible for handling these jobs. They create and develop video games in collaboration with programmers, and artists alongside other game development staff. They create video games that are innovative, creative, and fun when playing. They are professionals with a background in software engineering and computer science. They make use of software development and programming language tools knowledge to breathe life into a video game. They work hand in hand with game designers to discover new ideas in collaboration with artists to generate game graphics and sound. The developers of games in general typically work for studios related to video game development but some may be working independently.

Languages to begin learning for game developing

• C#
• C++
• Objective C
• Java

Games Developers Pros and cons

Your work Generate results that are tangible

Designing a video game produces results that you see and interact with. Moreover, playing the video game helps you understand the feeling and enthusiasm your consumers will enjoy your product upon its release. 

Availability of multiple routes of entry.

The industry of video games is large with multimillion dollars games projects generated by major studios to games that are independently built by single developers doing the job in their free time. This opportunity diversity also generates options of diversity for getting into game design. Though you may decide to pursue a degree from a university, you may want as well to independently work or learn to program informally before searching for a job with a video game studio.

Working as an Independent 

This is a kind of job that provide opportunities for individuals who never enjoy working in a corporate setting or structured environment. While independent game development may need sacrifices in terms of finance during the process of development, games that are independent may reach critical and popular success. 

Availability of part-time work

This is another area that game development that can provide an advantage to an aspiring designer of a game where he can work part-time while maintaining the main job. This allows a source of income that is steady from your full-time job while as well pursuing your dreams for a designer of a video game.

VIDEO GAME DEVELOPERS CONS

Highly Competitive

The opportunities for completion within the industry of video games are tough. This does not only occur when applying for these jobs as a video game designer but also in the video game market for your game when released. The demand is high for video games in the industry and the high competition level along with the demand can be combined to provide even more job opportunities for productive and talented designers of video games.

Work Might Be Physically Demanding

While video game developers spend a lot of time sitting coding and working at their desks, it can be demanding in terms of physical appearance. When working in any computer-related field, it is necessary to have a break and stretch your legs. Ensure to make use of ergonomic devices to reduce strain. 

WEB DEVELOPERS VS GAME DEVELOPERS

Below are the differences between web development and game development.

Job Duties

While both game developers and web developers utilize coding, their duties differ. The developers of the web make the codes that the website requires to properly function. They conduct the research to identify the customers’ needs, then create codes that build the website look and properly function on the browser. Games developers will develop codes that make up a video game or make a video game function. They sit down and bury their heads in coding trying to write programming that keeps controlling the player’s navigation through a game. They make codes that affect the result of the game. Moreover, the developers of the game frequently test their game after coding to ensure minimally or zero technical issues exist with the gameplay.

Qualification or job requirements

For web developers, the education requirements correspond to each other in a way that typically they both at least require a bachelor’s degree. Nevertheless, the game development field is considered more competitive therefore master’s degree or higher may be essential to stand out. Game development and website development in terms of training require technical skills that are potent. They also need of working well in a team environment as many projects are accomplished by a team of developers. Their experience in both website and game development experience is also alike and their portfolio of work needs to be strong to show to potential employers. However, the developers of games require a stronger understanding of the process of game development alongside experience with particular game development software.

Work Environment

The developers of the websites typically work in an office environment. However, they may travel from one place to another to meet their customers. These developers sit for many hours at a desk on their computers typing. The game developers spend their time in an office or studio environment. Nevertheless, they may travel to events or conventions for the purpose of showcasing their games. They utilize most of their time standing as they work on computers.

Skills 

Both Game developers and web developers habituate computer programming skills to build their merchandise. Nonetheless, game developers also utilize game engines which help them create video games more efficiently. Moreover, game developers collaborate with a team of other designers alongside programmers to construct the final merchandise thus needing to own stronger skills of communication.

Developers of the web typically build websites utilizing programming languages for example HTML, and CSS, along with JavaScript. They may also make use of server-side scripting programming languages such as  PHP, ASP.NET, or Ruby. They habituate these programming languages to construct video games though they utilize game engines such as Unreal Engine or Unity, to assist them with the process of development. Game developers and website developers require to be originative so as to come up with unexampled ideas for their merchandise. They also require to own strong problem-solving skills to be able to debug code errors. Nevertheless, game developers have to possess additional skills. These skills are an understanding of the design principles of the game, to build a fun product that is entertaining.  

Salary

The average salary web developers can earn is 78677 dollars per year while the average salary game developers earn per year is 88394 dollars. Both developers’ salaries can vary depending on the company you work for, experience level along with your location. 

WEB DEVELOPER TO GAME DEVELOPER, IS IT POSSIBLE?

Companies in search of developers to hire for their team should take enough time to figure out their needs first so as to make perfect hiring decisions. The development of a website is much more straightforward and streamlined when compared with all that goes into the development of a video game. Having an assumption that a web developer can handle video game development or vice versa may not be a fair assumption. Every development type comes along with its own specialties, processes, and requirements of collaboration among many others that make the jobs alike but not interchangeable.

Game development is known to be a bit more competitive and exclusive world of development as well. Gratitude for its potential of oversupply of candidates versus work availability. The developers of a website owner have a much easier time discovering an entry-level position to hit the ground running after wrapping up their training. Logistics is not the only thing that spikes a problem to shift from one to the other, but also includes a swift in how developers go about programming because of scene addition, physics, and artistry. This thinking and approaches switch are not something developers of any sort have the ability to just turn off and on. Developers consume a lot of years of training or learning and practice to become either type of developer and counting them as interchangeable is ill service to them.

CONCLUSION

Website development and game development are both fields that are very promising and they produce opportunities for candidates that are interested. Nevertheless, the field that does not require much experience, and has minimal stress is that of web development but it pays really well. This article has really tried to gather all the information you need to make your best and perfect decision on which turn to take between web development and video game development.

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