Is it possible to call a person a programmer if he is engaged in game development?

Question

Programming

Hello everyone, I am 16 years old and I am fond of creating games on corona sdk. But my parents don’t let me live, they say “how will this be useful to you in life, can you earn money with it?”, they say “this is programming in general, can you be called a programmer?”. So I asked myself this question, it's just that in this engine you need to write as if with commands that are not very similar to the program.

Answer 1

We take
1. Average statistical algorithms used in modern games
2. Mathematical models of shaders and other graphic junk
3. Stochastic network algorithms for stable multiplayer
4. Genetic algorithms for testing in sandboxes
5. Algorithms for transferring and packing resources by priorities, also in P2P
networks that it goes way beyond any common CRUD that 80% of "real programmers" do.
Real gamedev is a thing, well, very, science-intensive, with a lot of mathematics, and there is even more mathematics here than in any other direction of development.
Gamedev, in principle, combines all the science-intensive dregs from all areas of development.
Another thing is that now everything has turned out, and people refuse to delve deeper than the capabilities of their game engines, and there are only a few who are really capable of understanding this whole high-tech dregs.
People who are able to start the game and bring it to the end are also very few.
If your parents are not satisfied with a salary of $1000-2000 from the start, with a calculation of $10-12 per hour, then I really don’t know how best to explain it to them ...
Now the situation is such that universities provide very little knowledge that can really be used in practice, and what is given is the initiative of the teachers themselves, and in general, it turns out "as lucky." Everything that he himself learned from school has been used until today, and the university has only become a "list of references", and no more. Fortunately, there is a toaster and other projects - there are knowledgeable people who can tell you where and how. But when leaving for a hillock, the presence of education plays a very important role, so you shouldn’t neglect it very much, but it’s also stupid to hope for it.

Answer 2

Show your parents the average salary of programmers and the number of vacancies, let them stop living in the 19th century.

Answer 3

Yes, you are doing everything right. I am sure that when you turn 40 and you achieve something in life, your parents will still remain parents and continue to teach you about life and you will not get away from it. But it makes sense to think about getting an education because:
1. Get academic knowledge.
2. Learn to learn. This is the most valuable thing that is given in higher educational institutions. Remember, at the university they do not teach the wisdom of the specialty, they teach you to read between the lines to find the necessary information and quickly switch from task to task.
3. Exchange of experience. I am sure during your studies you will find many like-minded people with whom you will exchange ideas and possibly launch joint projects.
4. Parents will leave you behind for the next 5 years and most likely will help financially.

Answer 4

Since we are in Russia, without a higher education diploma, you will not be considered a programmer.
If you are told that a diploma is not important - do not listen, a diploma is very important, especially if you have the knowledge, because. With a diploma, you can go abroad, and without a diploma, even finding a job is more difficult.

Answer 5

Your parents need a good slap on the back of the head ... For the fact that they don’t see shit beyond their own nose ... And poke their faces into these answers that they wrote to you here. Realistically, ask them to read each answer.
I agree with previous answers. Yes, you are a programmer.
I will only add that in the future, of course, it is necessary to go beyond the boundaries of corona sdk, to learn mathematics and serious programming languages. But the most important thing is that a start has been made.
You do what you like and that's the most important!!! But do not forget to develop in this!