In our previous articles, we have already discussed the exceptional growth of gaming industry, how the annual revenue surpassed that of Hollywood, and the emergence of new platforms like mobile and VR that offer new opportunities for Indie game developers.
To sum it up, there is enough evidence based on the latest statistics that learning game development is a very useful skill. If you have decided to learn game development, you are learning something that is in demand, with a potential of a successful career ahead.
However, many people don’t have a clue where to start. There is a lot of learning content available in the form of ebooks, tutorials, online courses, and video guides that it is almost impossible to decide about the best option, and where to start.
Where to Start?
Well, a lot depends on what you want to learn, so you may have to ask a few questions before you pick a learning course.
- Which programming language do you want to learn?
- Do you want to become a game programmer or game developer/designer?
- Which gaming engine do you prefer?
- For which platform do you want to develop programs?
Based on the answers you have, you can choose a course or an ebook that fits your unique needs.
You can also explore some of our ebooks for beginner game developers.
For example, if you are just beginning and want to start with learning C#, which is often a recommended language for game programmers, you can start with our ebook Beginner Guide for C#.
However, if you are looking for some of the best online courses for game development or game programming, we have listed the best for you.
Best Online Game Development Courses
Let’s start with something most popular, which is Unity. It is the most commonly used gaming engine, which is widely used in the industry as well. If you are a certified Unity Developer, the chances are, you can easily find a job in the gaming industry.
Unity not only allows you to develop games for all available platforms, like PC, gaming console, mobile, and VR, but it is also rated as the easiest game development platform. Which means, it is a good option to turn your game idea into a reality.
So, let’s explore some top online courses for learning Unity.
Available on Udemy, this course is very popular for all the right reasons. Created by Mark Price and available for only $9.9, the course received an aggregate rating of 4.4 from more than 3,500 students, while more than 26,000 students in total are currently enrolled for this course.
With total learning time of only 35 hours, you can learn Unity within a week, if you invest 4 to 5 hours a day on this course. It helps developers to design games in both 2D and 3D. It also include six lectures (out of 117 total lectures) for coding in C# in Unity.
The best thing is, this course starts from the scratch for beginners. You don’t need to have any experience in programming or with any other gaming engine.
You can also find our ebook Game Programming: Developing with Unity in C# for Beginners as a very useful learning resource to learn Unity with C#.
If you are learning Unity, we recommend you to become a certified unity developer, but for that, you need to pass the exam. One of the best ways to ensure your success is to enroll in this course, designed to help Unity developers pass the certification exam.
This course prepares you in just a week for the Unity developer certification examination. With more than 16,000 students enrolled in this program with an aggregate feedback score of 4.7 out of 5, it is among the best such courses.
You can go through 100s of practice questions, practice your skills, and also learn new things like programming in C# with Unity. It also pairs lectures with each question, which makes it easy for students to learn the concept and skills.
You also don’t need to be an expert in Unity or programming to enroll in the course. This course also serves as a quality learning resource for beginners as well.
This one is for those who also want to become a game programmer. By enrolling in this course, you can learn both C# and Unity in detail. You start with learning C# and then move onto Unity gaming engine.
The course is also for beginners, received 4.8 out of 5 stars rating, and allows you to learn game development within five weeks. Provided you invest 5 to 10 hours a week. The course is designed by Dr. Tim Chamillard, who is also a Computer Science University professor.
What if you don’t want to learn C# or Unity? Here is the best alternative available – Python.
Python is also considered as the easiest programming language to learn, so many people go this route. If you are among those, the above course is the best fit for you. To enroll, you don’t need any prior knowledge of programming or game development.
The course helps you learn basic interactive applications that build onto developing detailed games using Python. The course uses an online interactive environment that makes learning simpler.
You have to invest 5 to 7 hours a week to complete this course within five weeks. It is also rated 4.8 out of 5 by hundreds of students.
The Final Words
Other than the courses listed above, there are hundreds of more online courses, some even free. However, listed above are some of the best options out there. In addition, you can also learn game development and programming using our ebooks.
Our recommendation is to learn C# and Unity, which is considered as the best combination of programming language and the gaming engine. Fortunately, as this combo is the most used in the industry, the learning material is also available in abundance to meet the demand. So finding a quality learning source is not an issue.
In addition to the online courses listed above, we have also listed some of the best practice resources for aspiring game developers. Learning is not enough – you also need to practice to improve your skills, so make sure to have a quick look at our previous article.
