CodeX Diaries - Deepro Chakravorty
July 14, 2023
Hey!
What I do at CodeX is something every tech club should have, but many don’t. I’ve made it my life’s mission to prove that Game Development is a tech field and should be actively promoted.
A Little Bit About Me
I’m Deepro, also known as DThePro, which is my name everywhere except irl. I am a sophomore (as of July, 2023) at Manipal Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. I am a game developer and myself, along with Arnav Upadhyay and Aryan Dalal are making a game called “The Long Road Home”. Right now, since we’re having our semester break, I’m doing game development throughout the day (almost) and whenever I’m not, I watch movies or play games (yeah ig I should go out sometime today).
Well, it’s not to say I’m a complete nerd. I love traveling, cooking and cars too.
My Story
When I first got to know about CodeX, during our freshmen club orientation in September last year, I of course had to join it. It’s a coding club after all. And yeah there are other tech clubs, but they are much more niche and they weren’t for me.
The first thing I noticed, was that CodeX didn’t have a Game Development department. So I filled the form as a core committee member and went to talk to our club president, Rochak Saini. I proposed to him my idea, and he was interested at once. He asked for some of my work and what I had done, and after a short interview, I was the team lead of the Game Dev department!
A few weeks later, when I was starting to nurture the idea of a game we would make and publish later, I realized that I would need some help if I were to do it. Game dev can become extremely monotonous at times, and you may feel unmotivated. During those times, having someone to cheer you up and push you to build that one gameplay mechanic you were sitting on for so long is a huge plus.
So I got in touch with Aryan and Arnav and we started working on it. Well, it was just the story at the time. Gradually I realized that even for the different workshop that we’ll be conducting, I would need help because my Blender knowledge is limited. This laid the foundation to the Game dev team lead trio, because now, Arnav and Aryan were team leads as well.
And that’s that. Since then, we’ve conducted workshops, we’re building a game and most importantly, become good friends.
What I Do At CodeX
Yeah I do game dev.
Well, specifically, I am in charge of level design, UI, animations and sfx for our game. I do know C# and Blender, but Aryan knows C# better and Arnav knows Blender better. So they are, naturally, the Lead Programmer and Lead 3D Modeler respectively. That makes me Lead Developer.
Why You Should Not Feel Ashamed/Embarrassed To Pursue Game Development
I have met individuals throughout my game dev career (mostly people above the age of 30) who, upon informing that I make games, made a face which is best described as “unimpressed”. Why? Because there’s the word - GAME. People associate game development with gaming and the old myth, that Gaming (even non-excessive) is bad for kids, drives them to say things like:
“Gaming is for children how can game development be any different?”
Yeah, unfortunately that mindset isn’t quite gone yet. First off, let me make it clear that gaming, right now, is bigger than Hollywood and the global music industry combined. I don’t think something that belongs to children can make that kind of an impact. Secondly, game development and gaming are two completely different things. Well, if someone thinks they’re the same, then there’s no difference between them and Satyajit Ray, cause, well, one is watching the movie and the other made the movie, what’s the difference?
Game development requires a blend of technical and non technical knowledge. Every movement that is seen on the screen has been coded painstakingly by a programmer behind the scenes. And every splash of color and every note of music has to have been created by a talented artist. It is a huge deal to make a game. It needs programmers, 3D modelers, texture artists, rigging artists, level designers, UI/UX designers, sound artists, animation artists, and the list goes on.
And yet, you can make a simple game from scratch on your own, if you are willing to put the time and effort. So please, if anyone is proving to be an obstacle in your wish to become a game dev, show them this blog and ask them, do they really want to deprive you of this life changing opportunity?
Conclusion
Sorry for the rant. Hope you liked my story at CodeX and will one day write your own.
Cheers.