roadmap.sh: Game Developer

What it is

roadmap.sh is a community project that publishes visual learning maps for software roles. The Game Developer map is one of them. It is split into client-side topics, the things that run on the player's machine, and a separate server-side branch for online games. The client-side part covers game engines (Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot and native engines), programming languages, game mathematics (vectors, matrices, quaternions, curves and splines), game physics (dynamics, collision detection, broad and narrow phase), game AI (state machines, behaviour trees, pathfinding, decision making), and computer graphics (the rendering pipeline, shaders, lighting and shadows, and graphics APIs such as Vulkan, DirectX and OpenGL).

Each node opens a short explanation with links to articles and videos. The site is free to use; you can sign in to tick nodes off and track progress.

Is it worth your time?

Yes, as a map rather than a course. It is good for three things:

• Seeing the size of the field. Game development is wide, and the map shows how gameplay, physics, graphics and AI relate.
• Checking gaps. If you want to be a gameplay programmer, the maths, physics and AI branches tell you what studios often expect.
• Choosing what to go deep on later. Graphics programming and engine work are specialisms; the map shows how much sits behind them.

It is less useful as a first step. A beginner who tries to learn every node in order will spend months on linear algebra and rendering theory before making a game. Make small games in one engine first, then use the map to decide what to learn next.

How it fits the Sefism roadmap

Use it as a reference alongside the Game development roadmap. The Sefism roadmap is ordered around shipping small games; roadmap.sh is ordered by subject. When a topic in your stage feels thin, find the matching node here and follow its links.

Time and prerequisites

There is nothing to finish. Reading the whole map takes an hour; working through every branch would take years and is not the point. Basic programming is enough to read it.

Free vs paid

The map and its explanations are free. The site also offers optional extras such as an AI tutor; you do not need them to use the map.

Common questions

Does it teach me an engine? No. It points to engines and topics; learn the engine from its official tutorials.

Is the graphics branch required? Only if you want to be a graphics or engine programmer. Most gameplay roles need the maths and physics basics, not Vulkan.

Who maintains it? The open source developer-roadmap project on GitHub, which had about 368,000 stars as of 2026-09.