Just like video games are being recognized and played even by grandmas and grandpas, Unity, definitely the most popular video game engine, is making its mark outside of the niche game development spectrum. According to the 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey (Non-Web Frameworks, Libraries, and Tools category), nearly 9% of professional developers use Unity — an impressive number considering how narrow the specialty is.
The surge in popularity of Unity is powered by the engine’s affordability (there is even a free plan), simplicity, constant development, and a variety of ways it can be utilized. Unity is now used also beyond games, including in educational AR and VR apps like Shapes 3D.
Of course, the majority of software built with Unity are still video games. From indie gems like Cuphead and Ori and the Blind Forest to mobile hits like Monument Valley to complex simulators like Cities: Skylines — there are simply no limitations with Unity.
And if you want to try yourself with building a future classic in Unity, you will surely need to hire Unity developers. But how to find the right ones for your unique project? How to review their portfolio? What unique skills they should have?
We will cover all this and more in the guide below.
What does it mean to know Unity?
Being a Unity developer may mean several things depending on who you ask. There are self-taught devs who always dreamt of building a game and learned Unity to turn this dream into a reality. There are experimentalists who never built a full-fledged game but produced dozens of demos loved by their community. There are, finally, professional Unity game developers who worked on multiple indie or even AA/AAA games.
What kind of candidate will really fit your business, then? When you want to hire Unity developers, simply look for people with the following skills.
- Proficiency in C#
While Unity simplifies a lot of things, coding is still a necessity when it comes to more complex projects. The engine supports the C# language — but knowledge of any additional object-oriented languages is, of course, a plus.
- Expert knowledge of Unity
This does not only include coding/scripting in C# but also all the tricks that one can only understand after months and years of working with Unity. Things to focus on include experience in optimizing memory and storage usage, implementing textures and animations, and various GUI styles.
- Understanding of game design and development processes
Your Unity developer should be familiar with level design, game physics development, and game QA and testing. While, depending on the size of your team, some of these tasks might be handled by others, your developer still should be able to understand the processes to deliver feedback and help when it’s necessary.
- Experience with version control
Done using various tools, most often Git. It allows to easily keep track of all the changes done in the code and revert them should any issue arise.
- Writing clean code
There are a lot of bad habits that one can learn, especially when a developer learns Unity by themselves. Being able to write clean code is crucial even in extra small teams with only one developer. You simply never know what the future will bring and whether you may need other Unity developers to join your team — and they need to be able to understand the game code easily, from day one.
- Smart use of available assets
Unity has also its own Asset Store which helps developers in building their games faster. These assets can include everything, from character models to sounds of a gunshot. While your game should not be purely based on assets and have its unique look and feel, purchasing assets can be a great way to optimize your budget and speed up the development process. Therefore, your Unity developer should know how to smartly use the Asset Store, making sure to retain your game’s unique style.
Assessing experience in game development
Do you necessarily have to hire Unity developers who worked on AAA games for big studios? Not really! You might be just fine with people who were members of at least 2 or 3 different indie teams — what should interest you the most in this case is whether they actually worked professionally in Unity.
Self-taught developers with no prior professional experience are a more difficult case. You might have heard stories of big companies hiring people who have worked on mods to their games after hours. But these are still a minority — most self-taught developers will be haunted by implementing too many common coding mistakes and having trouble optimizing the game. That’s why it’s simply safer for you to hire Unity game developers with enough experience in professional game development (one or two actually launched games).
Look for a Unity project match
As Unity supports developing virtually every type of a video game you can think of, it’s crucial to hire Unity developers who have experience in products similar to the one you are creating. What’s more, there are multiple layers of the experience match you should review. As an example, let’s consider a situation when you are looking for a Unity developer for hire to build a 2D platforming game for Nintendo Switch. You should then look for someone with experience in:
- Implementing 2D graphics in the game
- Building platforming games
- Developing products for Switch
There can be even more layers depending on how complex your project is. Maybe you need someone with experience in implementing microtransactions? Or maybe you want to have an online multiplayer present?
Review the portfolio of your candidates well to end up with Unity game developers for hire who have already built solutions you need and, therefore, can deliver the results fast and efficiently.
Don’t underestimate the company culture match
The company culture means a lot in the world of game dev. Projects can fall apart if the people behind them are not sharing the same values and feel misunderstood by each other. That’s why when you want to hire Unity developers, you should look for a company culture match between them, their potential future colleagues, and your company as a whole.
Are you a studio dependable on a bigger publisher or just a group of like-minded folks who want to build a game? Are you okay with working remotely or want everyone to be in the same office? Is your team diverse? What style of management do you have implemented?
All the above (and more!) really matters. Only with people who match your desired company culture, you can build great, long-lasting products that will be loved by millions around the world.
Beyond Unity game developers for hire
While Unity game developers are surely the backbone of your project, you will also need other professionals to make your new game successful. Get 3D designers and digital designers on board to make your game look great, funding consultants to help you find financial support, or iOS developers and Android developers to help you port your game to mobiles.
Whatever talent you need to power up your game, we can help you get them on board fast. At Ideamotive, we run an industry-leading network of top IT talents, including video game developers. We can match you with them based on any requirements you have, so you know they will fit your needs.
