I don't have frustration in learning and developing games, despite constant discouragement. So should I give up and just turn away from all these discouragement? Maybe I'm not meant to be because people say I'm not meant to be a video game developer? Who can be a video game developer?
You're not serious about giving up, are you? Now just get back to work, goldurn you!
Anyone can be a game developer, just like anyone can be a tennis player. The real question is what are your goals and are they realistic.
As far as what other people think, what really matters is what you think and what you're willing to do to make that happen.
Game development in general is hard. If you're working on your own, or even with a team, it can be very solitary and you need to be able to motivate yourself and keep yourself going for years. Not everyone can do that.
I guess the first thing is to listen to your gust feeling and follow your dream.
This is simple, everyone has their opinions including me. It is up to you to weed out the biased and anti-fact ones. My example to you, many years ago and before college. I met my wife's (ex now) uncle. He was a farmer who had no true knowledge of the technology industry. He asked what I did for a living and I said "I do insulation for homes, but I am going to college." He then says to me "Oh, what are you going to school for?" where I replied "Software Engineering"... The next response will go to show you some people don't know what they are talking about. He replies to me and says "Ah, you'd make more money doing insulation."
Was that his opinion? Absolutely!
Was he right? Not in the slightest.
Good thing I didn't listen to him, cause not only did I follow my passion but I am making more then if I just settled for some insulation job somewhere and never strived to achieve more out of my existence and hated life wondering what if... Also learning how to program games isn't so niche to say you couldn't morph into a Software / Web application developer position down the road. Maybe you discover that road along the way.
I'll say this in closing, I didn't go into this field for the money. If that is the case there are far more professions out there that pay more but you may not be happy doing that for the rest of your life either. So in turn if doing insulation will make you happy the rest of your life do it, if programming does then do it!
I don't have frustration in learning and developing games, despite constant discouragement. So should I give up and just turn away from all these discouragement? Maybe I'm not meant to be because people say I'm not meant to be a video game developer? Who can be a video game developer?
Do you want to quit? If you don't have any "frustration" then thats good on you. Why are you listening to other people anyway. Besides game programming can be used as a starting point for programming in general which has alot of job opportunities at good salaries. Anyway my opinion is that you should follow your heart in combination with being realistic. How old are you? If you're young you have time... give it a serious go and see how things go.
I've been there about 11 years ago. Just because we program or develop games (or any other type of software) doesn't mean we are an authority on who can and can't develop games. We also can't tell you if you should give up or not because that is something that only you can decide. Anything worth doing is always hard at first. Just keep at it until you get it or until you decide yourself that it isn't something you want to do anymore. Ultimately, you shouldn't run your life, passions, or hobbies based off the opinions or views of others because they aren't you and don't know what you are capable of; so just keep at it.
Just because we program or develop games (or any other type of software) doesn't mean we are an authority on who can and can't develop games.
That's right. Ultimately the only authority on whether or not you can be a game developer is me.
So stay on your toes and get back to work.
(Truth be told, though... You shouldn't let other people determine your fate for this one simple reason: Everyone wants to control you some degree or another, and the only way to get any kind of entertainment out of life is to frustrate people mercilessly over this.)
Maybe a little story? I started programming when I was 14 after transferring to a high school that offered AP Computer Science. My parents were of course happy to pay a little bit of money for me to take an AP test that would count for college credits. Then I took an intro to C++ class the next year, which was free, so they had no problem with that either. Then I kept programming, graduated high school, and didn't want to go to college or work a normal job - I had a game idea and was going to develop it.
Naturally, they gave me the "playing on your computer all day isn't work you'll never make any money get a job or go to school or get out" speeches on a regular basis. I wound up moving in with my best friend after they cut off my internet, which was my only educational resource. His parents were more than happy to support me to some degree while I followed my dreams; unfortunately being an 18 year old living with my best friend (who had no interest in game development) made it pretty much impossible to focus on that (or stay out of trouble for that matter), so after a few months I wore out my welcome there and had to move back in with my parents. Eventually they wore me down, I didn't want to go to college (due to my older siblings warning me about their insane college debts) so I joined the military, got out, got a job. At 27, I work at a home improvement store - a job I genuinely enjoy - and live somewhat comfortably, I've worked on various projects in my spare time, but I never did complete that game.
I still write game-related software all the time. I've never brought a project to completion, though. I don't know if I have a point besides that I feel ya.
