What hard technical skills are built while developing games of each genre?

Game development builds hard technical skills that vary by genre:

**Action/Action-Adventure** – C++, C#, real-time rendering, physics engines, animation systems, collision detection, GPU optimization, 3D modeling (Maya, Blender)

**Platformers** – 2D/3D movement code, rigid-body physics, level design, pathfinding, parallax scrolling (Construct, Godot, Unity)

**RPGs** – Database scripting (SQL/JSON), AI behavior trees, dialogue systems, event-driven programming, object-oriented design

**Simulation and Strategy** – Systems engineering, AI algorithms (A* search, Dijkstra), economy balancing, Python prototyping, procedural generation

**Puzzle and Casual** – Algorithmic logic, UI scripting, mobile deployment, JavaScript/HTML5, front-end development

**Sandbox and Open World** – Procedural terrain generation, dynamic lighting, physics simulation at scale, Unreal C++, Unity DOTS, multi-threaded programming

**Shooter and Multiplayer** – Networked physics sync, latency compensation, client-server architecture, C++/C#, cloud infrastructure (AWS/Google Cloud)

**Sports and Racing** – Vehicle physics simulations, input calibration, procedural animation, inverse kinematics, telemetry integration

**Fighting and Rhythm** – Finite-state machines, real-time animation blending, frame timing logic, precise input mapping

Programming languages most used: C++ (high-performance games), C# (Unity), Python (prototyping), JavaScript/HTML5 (browser games), Lua (Roblox/modding)

Each genre reinforces different technical cornerstones—action games teach optimization and rendering, RPGs strengthen database and architecture, strategy titles train algorithmic planning, and sandbox games mirror enterprise-scale system design.