Hi. Apologies if this question doesn’t fit the format of the Answerhub. My 10 year old has great interest in game development. He’s moved beyond the kid-level tools and really wants to develop/learn about real game development. There is a summer camp dedicated to game development that we could send him to this summer. The cost is high ($900) for a week. I’m wondering from the developer community if a week long camp is a solid move…or maybe putting the money toward hardware and steering him toward tutorials. Or maybe there is some other type of game development option (one on one on line guide?..maybe that isn’t even a thing). I want to foster his interest in a way that is both appropriate for his age and meets his need long-term. Camps offer a number of other benefits…meeting other gamers, etc. but again, I want to use the money in the right way. I’m hoping maybe one or two of you would have some thoughts on what would have been good at that stage of your game developing career. Thank you. And again, my apologies if this doesn’t fit the format of the community.
Hey finnybear,
First off, it is awesome to hear your son has an interest in game development, at a young age, and that you have support in him.
I was 25 when I decided to pursue video games as a career and caused quite the uproar in my family, as in their mind, video games couldn’t lead to a career path. Without that support system, I was left with what resources I could afford through literature, such as programming books, and what was available online. Learning this way is a grind. It is up to you as the individual to find what you are looking for and often times, read between some lines to figure out what the tutorial is trying to teach, as many online tutorials are made by people who want to try and reteach what they have learned. This means finding a “lesson plan” or really any structure is quite tough. It is however, very engaging to to research what you want, when you want. It just takes a lot of work and time.
This leads me to say that if you can find a trustworthy group of people, with game development experience, $900.00 a week might be worth it, to keep your son on a path. Now, this is dependent on many factors, such as the value of $900.00 dollars; which is definitely a lot of money, to me. But, as you mentioned, socializing with other kids who like making games might be worth the cost.
I would say, it is also dependent on the summer camp and who is teaching it. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to find that the camp is very rudimentary and that your son might blow through it and be bored doing so. I would definitely set up a call with one of the instructors or a councilor to get more information; let them sell you on why it’s worth that much money. If you aren’t convinced by their ability to tell you why it would be a good camp for your son, my guess is that it won’t be.
As for computer hardware, your son will definitely need it along the way. I would say that a $1200.00 computer is enough to develop on and every dollar more, makes it a bit quicker and allows the software (such as UE4), to run a bit more smoothly. Repeat this every 3-5 years (given no hardware failures or accidents), and he will always be setup to make games.
Finally, your son has so much time to get caught up on how to do this stuff. Summer camps, books, or online tutorials, he will have a ton to read, learn, and practice.The way I see it, letting him explore the topic will give him a huge opportunity when he’s reaching 15-16 years old and begins to think about entering the post high school world. This field leads into so many different variants of creativity, whether it’s traditional art, 3D art, animation, programming, world building, lighting techniques, set design, audio production, music, etc. He will be able to understand so many things at a point in his life many of us are questioning what to pursue.
Good luck to you and your son with his endeavours.
Feel free to ask any follow up questions, if you have any.
Thank you! This is very helpful!! I will check in with the camp director and ask about the details and complexity of the activities. If it seems like a good base for him to advance and get a better sense of the scope you noted (all of the different possible areas in which to focus) I think we could be sold on the $900 price tag. If it does seem like he might be bored I think our summer plans may be more self directed. I’ve even thought it might be worth it to take a week off of work and set up a home-camp with him to work through a series of tutorials and exploration. Easier said than done but it could work (and I think I’d enjoy the challenge). One follow up, you mentioned $1200 could get him started with a developer computer. Any recommendations or specifics on brand, model, etc? I’ve looked but get a bit confused between gaming computers and game development computers. Our home system is not new so the graphics card doesn’t support development. (He’s working on my work computer which isn’t a great solution.) Again, thank you very much. I do have some time to figure this out and want to do my best to foster the interest so that he has fun and is challenged.
There isn’t much of a difference when it comes to “gaming” computers and “game development” computers. Some developers do use “server” hardware because it is better at running multiple things in parallel but it is generally more expensive and for somebody who just wants to learn, no where near needed.
At minimum, I recommend something along the lines of:
Intel i5 (or AMD equivalent) processor
1TB hard drive
8 GB of ram
A video card with 2GB of ram, something like, “GeForce GTX 1050”
Here is the official "hardware and software specifications:
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/GettingStarted/RecommendedSpecifications/
If you wanted to buy a pre-built computer, there are a lot of options online. This is an example of something that would be a great start:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102272
Perfect! Thanks!! I may have more questions if we decide on a home version of camp. Again, I really appreciate the guidance!