Member Avatar for chizy2

I am currently taking c++ in college, and am looking to move into simulation / game programming/design.

My question is what is the languages that I would need to learn to move into this field. Currently I am a Cisco Engineer, and a hobby programmer ( mainly with Clarion and VB.NET ).

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For : a practical skills map for moving into simulation or game work. Core languages and areas are C++ (engine and performance code), C# (Unity and many tools), a lightweight scripting language such as Lua or Python (game logic and rapid prototyping), shader languages (HLSL/GLSL), and GPU compute (CUDA/OpenCL) when simulations need heavy parallel math. Equally important are math and systems: linear algebra, numerical integration, basic physics, data structures, algorithms, multithreading, and profiling/optimization.

Concrete steps that convert existing experience into hireable evidence: produce a handful of small, finished demos that each highlight a specific skill (a shader/rendering demo, a physics-driven scene, a simple AI system, and a tiny networked prototype). Use game jams and mod communities to get complete projects into a portfolio (itch.io jams is a common starting point). Host code on GitHub, keep commits and README clear, and document measurable performance improvements. Leverage Cisco/networking experience toward netcode, server, or multiplayer infrastructure roles; that background is a real differentiator.

Market realities and tooling: engine familiarity matters — both Unity (unity.com) and Unreal (unrealengine.com) are dominant. Learn Git, a build system (CMake), profilers, and the basics of graphics APIs (Vulkan/DirectX/OpenGL) for engine or simulation work. As noted, many developers start in general software roles and steer into games; plan short, focused projects that demonstrate the exact skills studios list in job ads.

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Member Avatar for Ancient Dragon

moved

Member Avatar for jwenting

Wrong attitude.
You decide you want to become a software developer, and try to find employment in the field.
Afterwards you may try to steer your career towards specific subfields (like game development) by attempting to get jobs in companies where you can develop skills relevant to that subfield (and maybe even companies in that subfield).

But if you have no practical experience and limited knowhow, you basically have to take whatever job you can get.

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