How I went from bricklayer to game developer
No coding background, and three games made or on the way. This is how a career change into game development went for me, and what I'd tell any new game developer starting out.
Can you become a game developer with no experience?
Yes. I'm the proof, though I had more to bring than I first thought. I was a bricklayer for 22 years and I can't write code. What I did have was ideas, a stage training from 2016, years of designing things, and a trade's habit of turning up and finishing the job.
I had to change careers because of injuries. Carpal tunnel and my lower back mean I can no longer do brickwork. That was hard, but it pushed me to do the thing I'd always wanted, which was to make an app and a game.
How to start making games as a beginner
Start with something tiny. My first game, Brick Run, is a little runner inside my app Hard Hat Way. You jump over skips and collect bricks. Making something small and finishing it teaches you more than dreaming about something huge.
Make what only you could make. Hard Hat Graft is a building game by someone who really has laid the bricks. Pipp is voiced by someone who trained as an actor. Look at what you already know. There's a game in it.
Plan it before you build it. I draft the story and storyboard the idea myself first. Good decisions early save weeks later, same as setting out a wall.
Play it on your own phone, every day. That's how you find what's boring, what's confusing and what's actually funny.
Making a game with AI when you can't code
I'll be straight about this: I use AI to help with the coding. It's what made my games possible. But it doesn't come up with the story, decide what's funny, or know when something feels wrong. I do the writing and the directing, and I make the decisions. Every voice in Pipp is me in the booth.
If you want to try it, treat AI like a very quick crew who've never met you. Tell them exactly what you want, check the work, and don't sign it off until it's right. You're still the one responsible for the job.
What game engine I use
Hard Hat Graft and Pipp are made in Unity and built for iPhone first. Unity is a popular place for indie game developers to start, and there's a lot of help out there when you get stuck.
What I'd tell any new game developer
- Finish small things before you start your dream game.
- Your old career isn't wasted. It's your material.
- Get it in front of real people early, even when it's embarrassing.
- Start your website and social media before you think you're ready.
- Say honestly how you made it. People respect that.
- Enjoy it. I'm enjoying every second, and I feel like this is where I belong.
See what I'm making
My games are all on this site, and I share how they're made on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. If you're starting out too, come and say hello.