作者：Daniel Doan

1.融入其他游戏开发者

多接触那些你想要成为的类型的人。如果你的朋友是那些缺乏成功动机的人，那么你也会被传染的。就像俗话所说的那样，朋友总是能够影响你的未来。当你身边都是一些非常成功且充满进取心的人时，你便会开始具有能够获得成功的特性。你需要塑造环境去避开那些不想成长也不想改变的人。并结交那些愿意不断发展的朋友。

2.省钱并精打细算

save-money(from dreamstime)

你可以从第一次尝试中赚到许多钱。成功是一种非常棒的感觉。你会想要奖励自己一场奢华的旅行。你会结交到一些朋友并花掉大部分的钱。但是在不到一年时间里你便会退回起点之后。你可能会因此而破产并重新回到父母的怀抱。所以千万不要无所顾忌地挥霍。你应该继续工作从而才能不断成长。并懂得如何为自己以及业务进行投资。

3.你的游戏理念并不重要

Henry Ford并未发明了汽车！他只是擅于为所有人创造汽车。对于你所拥有的所有优秀的游戏理念，你应该假设其他100个人也拥有相同的理念。你应该假设他们已经致力于这一理念。要知道理念并不重要。真正重要的是执行。

有很多人因为自己想出新颖的理念而沾沾自喜。但是在历史上最重要的游戏很少是源于全新的理念。就像《愤怒的小鸟》，《Flappy Bird》以及《暗黑破坏神》都不是什么新理念。这些游戏之所以成功只是拥有比其它游戏更出色的执行过程。

4.在绝对必要的时候借助书籍的帮忙

这是备受争议但却不容忽视的一点。当你需要解决一个特定问题时，你可以选择浏览一些书籍。花几天，几周甚至几个月的时间去浏览与游戏开发相关的内容并不能将你的游戏从理念变成实物。你应该在受困的时候进行阅读。当你需要解决一个特定问题时阅读会变得更加有趣。但是也有很多人将阅读当成一种拖延工具；比起行动，他们总是处于阅读状态。相反地，你应该带着目的去阅读，不要忘记将你所需要的更多内容落实行动。

5.需要做出许多牺牲

不存在一夜成功的奇迹。将游戏带上正轨总是需要做出一些牺牲。你需要每天致力于其中。我们看中的是实用性。比起坚持一些不切实际且无法实现的计划，为什么你不选择投入地工作呢？你应该致力于一些自己在未来回首时会倍感骄傲的事。

6.这并不是关于利益

这是关于价值。你应该创造你的个人价值。你永远都不会厌倦游戏开发。实际上，你会对它充满期待。如果你能够优化你的游戏项目的价值，那么利益就会作为附带后果而降临。有时候你需要赚取大量的收益去创造更长期的价值。如果你只是一味地看着结果，你便不会愿意这么做。

所有赚钱捷径都有可能破坏你的长期品牌或迫使你去追逐一些本不关心的内容。如果你真正喜欢自己所做的事，你便需要投入更多时间于游戏开发中，然后你自然便能够获得一定的利益。

7.找到那些愿意支持你的事业的人

真正成功前你需要做多少工作？真正着眼于这一问题。如果你能够找到那些每年愿意给你100美元的人，你便能够获得足够多的钱去支持基本的游戏开发生活。但是找到这样的忠实粉丝也需要你的付出。你需要做许多事并付出更多。你需要不断证明自己值得他们的关注。你是否认为自己能够得到100名真正的粉丝？我们是这么认为的。这一可能性在互联网时代将能带给你巨大的帮助。

8.网络为王

网络是生活中的基本。如果你想要在个人方面和专业方面有所成长，你便需要网络。是的，这仍然是获得新客户或工作的有效方法。但是在游戏开发世界，你却需要看清在其它游戏开发职业中什么是有效的。这是学习然后落实行动的一种有效方式。如果你不知道从何开始，你便很难到达那些你想要触及的对象。他们有可能会因此选择其他游戏开发者。

9.如果你觉得自己是在工作，那么你就彻底做错了

我们经常会在生活中提到这样的话。做你真正喜欢的事，你便不会觉得自己是在工作。这也是一种生活方式。你可以选择通过做你所喜欢的事而赚钱。你想要通过什么方式而生活？我们便是做着自己喜欢的事而赚钱。如果你是做着一些你所讨厌的事，那请停下来。好好着眼于自己的目标。而在此之前你可能需要花费10年，15年甚至是20年的时间。相信我，你肯定不愿意在投入一项职业后意识到这并不是自己乐于做的事。

10.友善地对待你的客户

他们是你能够待在现在的位置的唯一理由。你应该百分百地尊重他们。即时回应对方的邮件，并真诚地回答他们所提出的任何问题。不要害怕给予。你需要提供给你的客户真正的价值。如果没有了他们，你便很难继续维持这项事业。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转发，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

10 Tips To Supercharge Your Game Development Career

by Daniel Doan

1. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH OTHER GAME DEVELOPERS

Surround yourself with the type of people you want to become. If your friends are the type of people who are not motivated to be successful, then they will bring you down. It’s like how the saying goes. You show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future. When you are around people who are successful and are consistently pushing themselves, you will begin to embody those same traits that will make you successful. You need to shape your environment so that you aren’t fight people who don’t want to change and grow. Surround yourself with others that will make growing the natural thing to do.

2. SAVE MONEY AND SPEND WISELY

You can make a ton of money off of your first venture. The accomplishment of being success is a great feeling. You will want to reward yourself with a lavish vacation. You will bring some friends, and proceeded to blow most of the money. Less than a year later you are two steps back from where you started. You are now broke and moving back in with your parents. Don’t do that! Keep on working so that you are continually growing. Invest in yourself and your business.

3. YOUR GAME IDEA DOESN’T MATTER

Henry Ford didn’t invent the car! He was just the best at manufacturing them for the everyday person. For every great game idea you have, you should assume that 100 other people have had the same idea. You should assume they are already working on it too. Ideas don’t matter. What matters is execution.

A lot of people are proud of themselves for coming up with a novel idea. But the most successful games in history were rarely new ideas. Angry Birds wasn’t a new idea, Flappy Bird wasn’t a new idea, Diablo wasn’t a new idea. These games simply executed far better than anyone else.

4. ONLY HIT THE BOOKS IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY

This one’s a bit controversial, but it must be said. Only read when you need a specific solution to a problem. Spending days, weeks, or even months just reading about game development will not get your game from concept to completion. Read about game development when you are stuck. That reading becomes a lot more interesting when you have a specific problem to solve. Many people use reading as a procrastination tool; instead of doing, they are always reading. Instead, focus on reading with purpose, and don’t forget to apply what you’ve learned more often than mere theorycrafting.

5. IT WILL TAKE MANY MANY SACRIFICES

There is no such thing as overnight success. Sacrifices must be made to get your game off the ground. You will need to work on it every day. We respect practicality. You have to pay your bills. You have obligations to your family. Instead of binge watching a season of House of Cards, why don’t you put in the work? That’s hours of watching a season you will never get back. Why not work on something that you can look back on with pride?

6. IT’S NOT ABOUT THE PROFIT

It’s about value and values. Make what you personally value. You’ll never tire of game development. In fact, you’ll look forward to it! If you optimize the value your games projects. The money will happen as a side-effect. Sometimes you must eat a chunk of money to create greater long-term value. If you’re just in it for the bottom line, you’ll never be willing to do this.

All of the money making shortcuts will either destroy your long-term brand or will put you back in a position of being chained to something you don’t care about. If you love what you do, and you’re investing countless hours into your game development venture, then having a bunch of money sitting around to buy useless material goods won’t matter.

7. GET PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT YOUR CAUSE

Let’s get down to it. How much work does it take to really make it? Take a look at this. If you are able to get 100 people to give you $100 each year, you can make enough money to support the basic game development lifestyle of ramen and caffeine. With that being said, getting those 100 true fans does take work. A lot of work, and a lot more dedication. You will need to continue to prove why you deserve their attention. Do you think you can get 100 true fans? We think so. The odds are ever in your favor in the internet age.

8. NETWORKING IS KING

Networking is the bread and butter of life. You have to network if you want to grow personally and professionally. Yes, it’s still a great way to get new clients and/or job offers. But in the game development world, it’s useful to see what’s working in other game development careers. It’s a good way to learn and then apply what works. If you don’t know where to start, reach out to people who you admire. It’s likely they will know of other game developers you can network with.

9. IF IT FEELS LIKE WORK, YOU’RE DOING IT COMPLETELY WRONG

There is this saying that everyone has heard at least once in their life. Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. There is also the way in which to live your life. You can choose to make money to do what you love. Or you can do what you love to make money. Which way do you want to live? We do what we love to make money. If you are doing what you hate, please stop. Take a good look at where you are heading. Before you know it you can be 10, 15, or 20 years into a career. Trust us you do not want to be that deep into a career and realize that you are not happy doing what you are doing.

10. TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS EXTREMELY WELL

They’re the only reason you’re here in the first place. Treat them with the utmost respect. Reply to their emails promptly, and answer their questions earnestly. Don’t be afraid to give. You need to give value to your customers. Without them it will be hard to stay in business.(source:gamasutra)