How Do I Start My Journey as a Game Developer?

As for what every game programmer should know, definitely get familiar with programming fundamentals, and yes, learning about shaders can be beneficial but focus on the basics first. Once you feel confident, exploring shaders is a great way to enhance your skills.

If you're curious about the technical side of things, checking out open-source engines like Godot can be insightful. Otherwise, for starting game development, don’t worry about building your own engine right away. Just focus on using existing engines to create your games.

Since you're starting out and have some JavaScript skills, consider looking into Phaser.js. It's great for 2D games. There are plenty of tutorials available that can help you get results quickly which will keep your motivation high. Playing around with simple projects will really help solidify your understanding.

The best approach is to keep it simple. Don’t try to learn everything at once; it’s easy to get overwhelmed that way. Since you know a bit of JavaScript already, start by mastering the basic programming concepts—think variables, loops, functions, and logic. These fundamentals are essential. After that, dive into a beginner-friendly game engine like Unity with C# or Godot. Focus on building small games, like a basic platformer or a top-down shooter. Completing these tiny projects is super valuable and beats just watching tutorials! Remember, it’s all about understanding game mechanics like movement and collisions. Just be patient, as game development can take time to grasp.

Make sure you're picking a language that works well with the game engine you choose. Start with tutorials on creating simple games, and after you get the hang of it, try making your own stuff! The more you practice, the more you'll understand how it all works. Game development is kind of like solving puzzles.