'Anyone can become a game programmer as long as they have learned the basics of programming,' said technical director Yukata Ito.
This past January, Ryu Ga Gatoku (RGG) released Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the eighth mainline entry in the crime drama series. Weeks before its launch, technical director Yukata Ito shared a photo of the game's source code. It's an uncommon move for triple-A developers, and in a late November interview with Automaton Media, Ito said it was his way of offering encouragement to prospective coders.
"I created an X account in the first place because I felt like there weren’t many game developers out there spreading technical information for people who want to become programmers," Ito told Automaton. He noted the hurdles aspiring developers can face when they try learning from their established peers, and hoped his thread would help future devs see how programming can be "surprisingly simple."
Programming manager Tomoaki Nakamura similarly acknowledged how common secrecy is in game development, and how people assumed there was "some kind of special programming" used for the Like a Dragon games. He hopes that by showing RGG uses "ordinary" C++, it proves the language "is enough for anyone to be able to make a game."
According to Ito, graduates who apply at Sega don't know C++. However, he believes they should, since a "lot of high-end titles" are made in the technical language. "If you want to be involved in console game development," he suggested, "it’s a good idea to gain experience creating games in C++ while you’re still a student."
By his own admission, that thread "pushed the limits" on what RGG is allowed to make public. But he stressed the move was made with consultation from each team before showing the source code, including the programmer who wrote it. The parts he chose were "relatively clean," which he hoped would make for good reactions, and be intentionally beginner-friendly.
Like a Dragon games release on a near-yearly basis, and sometimes two games per year. To help onboard newcomers and "resolve issues as soon as they come up," RGG veterans (programming and otherwise) are often placed next to newer staff to foster easier communication.
"I always tell our new programmers to respect people in other teams," Ito explained to Automaton. "I instruct them to...try to to be considerate towards the other party. This kind of reliable attitude makes the designers and planners more inclined to consult with the programmers, and I believe this is very beneficial for interpersonal relationships in the studio."
"We require our programmers at RGG to not only work as instructed," he continued, "but to form and voice their own opinions on the game’s design and contribute towards improving the game, so we train them in this area as well."
To aspiring programmers, Ito said the profession is for anyone "as long as they have learned the basics of programming. [It's] not only for those who have studied it professionally. [...] If you are working in another industry with the dream of becoming a game programmer, we encourage you to apply for the mid-career job openings at RGG Studio."
You can read Automaton's full interview with Ito and Nakamura about programming for the Like a Dragon series here.
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