How statistics are calculated
We count how many offers each candidate received and for what salary. For example, if a Video Game developer with TypeScript with a salary of $4,500 received 10 offers, then we would count him 10 times. If there were no offers, then he would not get into the statistics either.
The graph column is the total number of offers. This is not the number of vacancies, but an indicator of the level of demand. The more offers there are, the more companies try to hire such a specialist. 5k+ includes candidates with salaries >= $5,000 and < $5,500.
Median Salary Expectation – the weighted average of the market offer in the selected specialization, that is, the most frequent job offers for the selected specialization received by candidates. We do not count accepted or rejected offers.
Trending Video Game tech & tools in 2024
Video Game
What is a Game Developer?
Game developer is the process of creations of the video game. There are a lot of different people involved that work together to come up with the games people play on their screen. The Game Developer is in a way a software developer and applies tech abilities to the creation of video games.
In fact, if there is one word to describe the reality of who is working on such a game, and all that Game Developers do while working, it would be ‘many’. For instance, some Game Developers work to conceptualise what the game should be. Others create such assets as graphics and sound. Some write code that gets executed – ‘runs’ – the game. Others focus on improving the user experience in some small but valuable way for a person who plays. Still others are testing the game with real people (known as ‘QA’ or ‘quality assurance’). And so on.
What does a Game Developer actually do?
A Game Developer does not only program (although much of their work is coding!). In fact, they can be an active participant in many different phases of game development and design as well as production and have a hand in the process of literally creating the entire game. Depending on the size of an organisation, an individual Game Developer could be involved in any or all of the following steps.
Design
Here, the Game Developer or Designer rolls up their sleeves and comes up with the rudimentary concept, characters and narrative premise for a new game and outlines its general shape: a puzzle to solve, a set of obstacles to overcome, enemies to kill, and so forth.
The mood (or ‘feel’) of the game, its targeted audience, and market strategy are doublessed out at this stage, so the intent for what it’s meant to do is clear, and progresses well as development strides ahead.
In the Introduction to Game Development class, you become familiar with how to form the structure and goals of the game. How to define what rules or constraints the game has. And how to choose the right platform. You learn how a Game Developer might design a player’s goals and objectives based on the player’s motivations, emotions and challenges.
Programming
Having an idea and how it will look is one thing, but actually getting a computer to understand that code and wire the concept into a tangible experience is a whole different ballgame. There are multiple programming languages and logic requirements, as well as performance tweaks and technical requirements that come into play when someone decides to game design. In Introduction to Game Development, you will receive a crash course in the most used programming languages in the industry as well as the most utilised game engines or gaming-specific code bases that are used in today’s game development.
Asset creation
An asset, in games development, then, is any of the art that goes into making the game look and sound the way it does. For instance, the different appearances of the characters, the class of the level visuals and sets, the sounds that get made, and the music that gets played. (You’ll learn more about how character assets and environmental assets are made and used in Introduction to Game Development.)
These are the modern-day assets of a game, big and realistic, sometimes so life-like it will blow your damn mind. You will find a team mostly comprised of Game Developers, 3D Artists, Environment Artists, Audio Engineers, Composers, Character Artists and many more working very hard to refine games into these few factors that will make them unforgettable.
Game Developer requirements
Some of the job descriptions for Game Developer seekers mention that you have to graduate in Computer Science to apply — this is not always the case. Many Game Developers are hired if they have a lot of experience in gaming, one or more rock-solid portfolios, and a great resume.
4 essential skills you need to become a Game Developer
Next to creativity, imagination and passion for gaming, what other skills do you need to be a Game Developer?
- The ability to code. The programming languages at the heart of game development include C, C++, C#, but also Python, JavaScript, TypeScript and HTML5.
- Familiarity with one or more gaming engine(s). So, a gaming engine is the canvas you paint your (video) game on. It’s also variously referred to as ‘game framework’ or ‘game architecture’. You might have heard or read about Unity and Unreal, along with other, less obvious ones.
- Math, physics and problem-solving. A good background in math and physics will help you turn creative ideas into games. For example, if you are working on a game, you may well need maths to develop algorithms for some of the code in the game. Many employers do interviews to evaluate experience beyond mere coding. They want to see your problem-solving skills, too.
- Good communication/documentation skills. Although, to be clear, I’m not talking about docs as Frazier discusses but simply generating proper use of adverbs. Any pitch (as a freelancer) or bottom-up idea from within your chosen firm will live or die from the combination of good communication and documentation.
Where is TypeScript used?
Angular's BFF
- Angular developers get all giddy about TypeScript; it's like peanut butter to Angular's jelly. Their tight coupling makes single-page app creation a sweet, sweet symphony.
Node's New Pajamas
- In the Node.js playground, TypeScript is the new cool kid. It's like wrapping your back-end in a snuggie of strong typing, making bugs quake in their boots.
React's Type-Savvy Sidekick
- React has a buddy that ensures its components play nice. TypeScript is like the hall monitor, making sure all props have a hall pass before they enter the component classroom.
Big Bad Codebases
- Larger-than-life codebases are tamed by TypeScript's mighty sword of types. Like a coding superhero, it brings order to chaos and keeps villainous runtime errors at bay.
TypeScript Alternatives
Flow
Flow is a static type checker for JavaScript developed by Facebook. It introduces static typing to improve code quality in JavaScript applications.
// Flow example
// @flow
function square(n: number): number {
return n * n;
}
- Statically types JavaScript for improved error detection.
- Integrates with IDEs for real-time feedback.
- Gradual typing allows incremental adoption.
- Support for generics and complex types.
- Tighter integration with the Babel ecosystem.
- Less community support compared to TypeScript.
- Can be more complex to configure.
- The project is less actively maintained.
Dart
Dart is a scalable language optimized for building web, server, and mobile apps, offering a sound type system similar to TypeScript.
// Dart example
int square(int n) {
return n * n;
}
- Offers a complete ecosystem with its own VM.
- Strongly typed with rich standard library.
- Used in Flutter framework for app development.
- Less JavaScript interoperability compared to TypeScript.
- Community and resources not as vast as TypeScript.
- Ecosystem is more niche and less universal.
CoffeeScript
CoffeeScript is a language that compiles into JavaScript, providing syntactic sugar to enhance JavaScript readability and brevity.
# CoffeeScript example
square = (n) -> n * n
- Simpler syntax leads to more concise code.
- Reduces the boilerplate of JavaScript.
- Has influenced many JavaScript features.
- Lack of native type checking.
- Additional build step complicates the pipeline.
- Declining in popularity due to modern JavaScript.
Quick Facts about TypeScript
Launched by a Tech Giant With a Twist
Imagine Microsoft putting on a wizard's hat in 2012 and—abracadabra!—TypeScript was conjured into existence. Crafted by the coding Gandalf, Anders Hejlsberg (who’s also the father of C#), this nifty tool swooped in with the promise of taming the wild JavaScript dragons.
From Vanilla to Spicy JavaScript
TypeScript is like JavaScript who went to a private school and got extra etiquette lessons. It's JavaScript plus the superpower of types, giving developers the 'spidey-sense' to catch bugs in their web...code. It's all about boosting productivity and reducing the facepalm moments.
function greet(person: string, date: Date) {
console.log(`Hello ${person}, today is ${date.toDateString()}!`);
}
greet("Brendan Eich", new Date());
Versioning the Unversionable
Remember the time when we had to rely on coffee-stained release notes? TypeScript said 'no more!', with versions popping up more frequently than pop-up ads. Since 2012, the TypeScript landscape has evolved with versions bringing new shiny features faster than a developer's deadline.
What is the difference between Junior, Middle, Senior and Expert TypeScript developer?
Seniority Name | Years of Experience | Average Salary (USD/year) | Responsibilities & Activities | Quality-wise |
---|---|---|---|---|
Junior Developer | 0-2 | 50,000 - 70,000 |
| Requires close supervision |
Middle Developer | 2-5 | 70,000 - 100,000 |
| Requires moderate oversight |
Senior Developer | 5-10 | 100,000 - 130,000 |
| Self-sufficient and sets standards |
Expert/Team Lead | 10+ | 130,000 - 160,000+ |
| Ensures team delivers high-quality work |
Top 10 TypeScript Related Tech
TypeScript
Like a superhero version of JavaScript, TypeScript swoops in to save the day with its static typing. It's JavaScript with a spandex suit of types aiming to prevent those pesky runtime errors. Make sure you can tell your anys from your unknowns!
function greet(person: string): string {
return "Hello, " + person;
}Angular
Imagine a master chef for web apps, and that's Angular. Armed with TypeScript, it lets you cook up robust applications with mouth-watering features.
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
@Component({
selector: 'app-hello-world',
template: 'Hello World!
'
})
export class HelloWorldComponent {}React with TypeScript
Ever wanted to sprinkle TypeScript magic dust on your React components? It's like peanut butter and jelly – better together. React's dynamic UIs get a boost with TypeScript's static bliss.
import React from 'react';
interface Props {
greeting: string;
}
const Hello: React.FC= ({ greeting }) => {greeting}
;Next.js with TypeScript
Next.js is the cool hipster in the TypeScript cafe, offering a full-stack framework for the React lover who enjoys server-side rendering and static site generation.
import { NextPage } from 'next';
import React from 'react';
const HomePage: NextPage = () => {
returnWelcome to Next.js with TypeScript!;
}Vue with TypeScript
Vue's like that friendly neighbor who's easy to get along with. Mix it with TypeScript, and you've got yourself a delightful concoction for building your front-end vistas.
Express with TypeScript
Running on Node.js, Express is the trusty old steed for back-end development. Saddle it up with TypeScript, and ride through API town with style and grace.
import express, { Request, Response } from 'express';
const app = express();
app.get('/', (req: Request, res: Response) => {
res.send('Express + TypeScript Server');
});
app.listen(3000);TypeORM
TypeORM makes dealing with databases feel like a walk in the park while on a unicorn – that is, if the unicorn understood object-relational mapping and had a knack for TypeScript.
import { Entity, PrimaryGeneratedColumn, Column } from "typeorm";
@Entity()
export class User {
@PrimaryGeneratedColumn()
id: number;
@Column()
firstName: string;
@Column()
lastName: string;
}TSLint/ESLint
Consider TSLint and ESLint the hall monitors of your TypeScript code. They'll keep you in line, although TSLint might be retiring soon, giving way for ESLint to rule the school.
// ESLint example with TypeScript
{
"extends": [
"eslint:recommended",
"plugin:@typescript-eslint/recommended"
]
}Jest with TypeScript
Because even your code needs a health checkup, Jest steps in to test your TypeScript. It's like having a personal fitness trainer for your functions and classes.
import { sum } from './sum';
test('adds 1 + 2 to equal 3', () => {
expect(sum(1, 2)).toBe(3);
});Prettier with TypeScript
Prettier is the stylist of the coding world, helping your TypeScript look its best. It's all about keeping up appearances, because even code wants to look pretty!
// Prettier config example
{
"semi": true,
"singleQuote": true,
"parser": "typescript"
}