Soft Skills for Game Developers:
What Do You Need to Develop a Video Game?

Successfully developing a game requires more than just technical knowledge of coding and design. Unless you plan to do everything alone, you will be working with people. This means you will need to settle conflicts, pitch ideas, and mediate discussions with a diverse team of colleagues, clients, and partners.

Therefore, to be a successful game developer, you need strong soft skills. These are the personal attributes and traits that help you interact effectively with others and navigate the collaborative challenges of bringing a video game to life.

The Core Soft Skills for Game Development

Soft skills are essential for turning a great idea into a finished product. A game's success often relies on a collaborative effort involving many specialists, from a Mobile UA Consultant handling user acquisition to the core development team. Companies like GIANTY – Game Development often emphasize the importance of blending technical expertise with the following key soft skills.

1. Communication Skills

   Communication skills are vital to a game developer. You will need to communicate clearly with clients, colleagues, and vendors at every stage of development. Whether in-person or remote, you must be able to articulate your ideas politely and effectively.

   Communication is not only about speaking; it is also about listening. You must be a good listener to understand the ideas and feedback from others. The key channels to develop include:

   • Oral communication: Conveying ideas and information clearly through spoken language.

   • Written communication: Using written language effectively in emails, reports, and documentation.

   • Visual communication: Conveying information through wordless cues and the use of imagery, such as in presentations or design documents.

   • Active listening: Restating or summarising what you hear to confirm your understanding and avoid misunderstandings.

2. Critical-Thinking Skills

   Another essential skill for a game developer is critical thinking. You must be able to process and analyse vast amounts of information, situations, and issues objectively. This means making decisions based on facts and logic, without the influence of personal opinions or biases.

   Critical thinking allows you to make informed and logical decisions about game mechanics, design choices, and technical challenges. The core components of this skill include:

   • Identification: Every feature in a game is a solution to a design problem. You must be able to accurately identify the core problems so you can begin to explore potential solutions.

   • Research: After identifying a problem, you must research the underlying issues, compare different approaches, and independently verify information.

   • Inference: This is the ability to draw logical conclusions from the information and data presented to you.

   • Curiosity: A curious mind does not take information at face value. Productive curiosity involves asking questions and exploring alternative approaches to problems.

3. Interpersonal Skills

   These are the skills you need for everyday interaction. Since most of what you do will require collaboration, you must be good at getting along with others if you want to be a successful game developer.

   The key interpersonal skills you will need as a developer include:

   • Conflict management: This includes the ability to mediate disagreements, offer constructive criticism, and find resolutions to problems that arise within a team.

   • Empathy: This is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. To excel at this, you must demonstrate compassion, patience, and respect for your colleagues and your players.

   • Teamwork: Even as an independent developer, you will still need to collaborate with others, such as artists or musicians. You must be able to work effectively as part of a team to achieve a common goal.

4. Leadership Skills

   Whether you are leading a small indie team or a large studio department, leadership skills are crucial. These skills revolve around the ability to guide a project from conception to delivery, build a sense of purpose among teammates, and empower others to do their best work. Your leadership skills will help you inspire your team to achieve your shared business goals.

   The key areas of leadership to focus on include:

   • People management: Finding the right people for the right roles and motivating them towards a shared vision.

   • Planning and delivery: Creating a clear blueprint for the project and solving challenges that arise along the way.

   • Persuasion and influence: Encouraging others to buy into your vision by demonstrating its advantages and potential.

Beyond Soft Skills: Other Key Considerations

While soft skills are paramount for collaboration, a successful game developer must also understand the technical and business landscape in which they operate.

Choosing the Right Technical Infrastructure

A multiplayer game requires a fast, stable, and reliable connection for its users. This is facilitated by a dedicated server, which is a powerful computer that hosts the game. Selecting the right game server hosting is a critical decision that can significantly impact performance and user experience. Choosing the right server comes down to speed, support, and security. It should also be scalable to handle a surge in traffic as your audience grows. Ideally, this infrastructure will be housed in a sustainable data center to minimise environmental impact.

Understanding the Business and Regulatory Landscape

Developers in certain niches, such as online gaming, must also be innovative in how they apply their software to create games that are not only entertaining but also fair and compliant with regulatory standards. Robust regulation for iGaming exists to ensure that these innovative approaches maintain player protection and industry integrity. Understanding this landscape is a crucial part of the development process in this sector.

Numerical Skills and Data Literacy

The ability to work with numbers is also essential. To be successful as a developer, you must be able to compile and compare statistical data in various formats, interpret what it means, and communicate the results to your team. Whether you are analysing player behaviour, balancing game mechanics, or tracking project budgets, a strong grasp of numerical skills is indispensable.

Conclusion

If you look closely, you will see that many of these skills overlap. This indicates that you cannot focus on one to the exclusion of others. For example, you cannot build your technical and numerical skills while neglecting your critical thinking and communication abilities. To succeed in the collaborative and complex world of game development, you must cultivate a balanced blend of both soft and hard skills. Thankfully, all these skills can be learned and mastered with commitment and diligence.