The Secrets of Minecraft: Becoming a Game Developer

[NARRATOR] Secrets. We all have them.  For example, I’ve secretly forgotten   how to pronounce the name of a certain crafting  game. Welcome to The Secrets of Mincruffutah.   Nailed it. Greetings! My name is Narrator. I’m a  wooden puppet that dreamed of becoming a real boy,   but sadly, I became this instead.

And I’m  Marilla, the exact opposite of machine learning.   This month, we thought we’d discuss something that  should be less secretive – the shady world of game development. Err, it’s not shady. Did i say shady? I  meant ….brighty. We thought we’d tell you what  kind of game developer we look for,

And why we didn’t hire Narrator as a developer. Nonsense. I actually turned them down. Of course you did.  Ooh! My new “patronizing lie chip” is working! [MARILLA] When working on a development team, people skills  are essential. We want people who are polite, friendly, and can work well with others.

Basically the opposite of my co-host, who answered “i” to almost every question on his application. Being a team player is vital in this industry. You could   be the most brilliant developer alive, but it  won’t matter if nobody wants to work with you.   Oh? Are you implying I’m the  most brilliant developer alive? Eeehmmm….

Anyway, to help you develop team skills, why  not try collaborating with friends on creative  projects? Or, failing that, work with a computer you secretly despise. Good idea! Thank you. One of the best ways to get into game  development is by getting into the modding scene,  

Like how I occasionally mod  myself to play a better show. Some of the developers who work on Minecraft  today came up through the modding scene.   I myself made a peerless mod for Minecraft, one  that should replace Caves and Cliffs immediately. [Rule Britannia plays while someone slowly golf claps]

Modding is a great place to start. If  you want to increase the skills you’ll   need to be a professional game developer, you  should learn a programming language like C++.   I’m an expert in C++, because that’s what  I got as my final mark in narration school. [NARRATOR] Admit it. You’re impressed!

Right…..  what did you get in forgery? An F minus.   C++ is a programming language used by the  Bedrock development team. As for the Java Edition… that’s programmed in Java. I am NOT following this. Those are the languages we use,  but there are all sorts of programming languages out there.

The sooner you immerse yourself in one,   the sooner you’ll be making your  own crafting game that’s so good it   crushes us and puts us out of business.  Precisely! Also, please don’t do that. Study hard! Education is one of the great  equalizers, and it’s never too late to  

Make the switch and learn about how to make video  games. One of our developers used to be a doctor, and if there’s one thing the world needs it’s  fewer doctors. Once you become a coding master,   maybe you can also figure out why  this keeps happening to my screen?  

Yes… that certainly wasn’t intentional.   Speaking of which, why are you telling our viewers to get a good education? I thought the point of this  segment was to cynically promote Minecraft Education Edition. They asked you not to do that,  remember?   Apparently whenever you endorse a game, their sales collapse.

That’s just a  coincidence. It’s only happened….  every time. [MARILLA] Uh-huh. Education Edition does have  coding tutorials. They can be a handy gateway into   learning more about developing games, but there’s  plenty of ways to learn about coding that don’t   involve giving us any money at all. Phew! I fully endorse Education Edition also.

[MARILLA] No, no, no – stop! Truth is, there’s no right or wrong  way to get into game development.   Well actually, there are  thousands of wrong ways… Point is, ANYone (who’s not my co-host) can become a game developer. It may seem like  

An unrealistic dream but the secret is that  it really really isn’t. We don’t care where   you’re from or what your background is, we have  developers from countries all over the world.   Wait – there are other countries that  aren’t Britain? [laughs skeptically] … No. Hush! Study coding,  learn to work with others,  

And work well. Bring passion and  enthusiasm to everything you do,   don’t forget to have fun, and who knows?  Perhaps someday, this will happen to you. [Triumphant kazoo noises] [NARRATOR] End the episode now, please. [MARILLA] Didn’t you two used to date? [NARRATOR] I said NOW.