Video Game Careers
- Thread starter Xilef
- Start date
One I've applied for a few times (and not got) is the unlikely role of forum moderator - a paid, serious, position. I'm not sure to be honest if adminning HBGames is a good thing or bad thing for that role. But they're after hardened, serious people, not amateurs; knowing your way around a forum is less important than having customer facing experience and other such things.
noise shaman
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games journalism
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This is a very informative topic for anyone who wants to take their hobby of game development and turn it into a full-fledged career. There is something truly special and rewarding when your passion aligns with what you do for a living.
I will be graduating in June with a B.S. in Game and Application Development, which at my particular school translates as more of a generalized software development degree with an emphasis on game development. I cannot stress the importance of some of the topics that have been brought up in this thread. I hate to actually admit this to myself, but most (though of course not all) of what I've learned about game development and design, I learned outside of class and on my own time. That being said, I believe that since the game industry is such a melting pot of disciplines to begin with, any such related degree (like computer sciences, art, etc.) can be spun into something that can work for you as long as can show them that you are applicable to their company. Experience and a strong portfolio will land you a job over someone who has the best degree but little to show for it. This is a forum about making games, so I'm guessing nearly all of you have done so, and just because it may be with RPG Maker, or what have you, that still counts as a game and something you might consider putting in your portfolio, if it works for what you are applying for. Obviously, if your applying for a programming job within a game company, you'd want to show something you've programmed yourself. If your looking to be an artist, you'll need to showcase those particular skills.
One of my current problems is that, until recently, I didn't know which direction I wanted to take my career. I didn't know whether I wanted to be an artist, a programmer, game designer, etc. As a result, I have a large portion of general knowledge how to do everything, but little knowledge of the specifics. While this is a blessing, because it gives me versatility, it is also a determent because now my portfolio and my career goals lack focus. If you really want to make this your career and primary source of income, I would suggest figuring out a specific discipline within the gaming industry that you are really interested in doing, and stick with it. Otherwise the chances of you being hired by the big AAA companies is probably going to be severely limited, cause chances are there will be plenty of other candidates who will be able to produce higher quality work than you, with consistency, because they specialized.
Fortunately, there is a booming indie game industry now that really caters to those who are multi-talented and wish to remain that way, as well as those people who would simply rather keep this whole thing a side-quest. Just know that your workload will be much higher, the road longer, and the income not so steady (if there is any at all).
I will be graduating in June with a B.S. in Game and Application Development, which at my particular school translates as more of a generalized software development degree with an emphasis on game development. I cannot stress the importance of some of the topics that have been brought up in this thread. I hate to actually admit this to myself, but most (though of course not all) of what I've learned about game development and design, I learned outside of class and on my own time. That being said, I believe that since the game industry is such a melting pot of disciplines to begin with, any such related degree (like computer sciences, art, etc.) can be spun into something that can work for you as long as can show them that you are applicable to their company. Experience and a strong portfolio will land you a job over someone who has the best degree but little to show for it. This is a forum about making games, so I'm guessing nearly all of you have done so, and just because it may be with RPG Maker, or what have you, that still counts as a game and something you might consider putting in your portfolio, if it works for what you are applying for. Obviously, if your applying for a programming job within a game company, you'd want to show something you've programmed yourself. If your looking to be an artist, you'll need to showcase those particular skills.
One of my current problems is that, until recently, I didn't know which direction I wanted to take my career. I didn't know whether I wanted to be an artist, a programmer, game designer, etc. As a result, I have a large portion of general knowledge how to do everything, but little knowledge of the specifics. While this is a blessing, because it gives me versatility, it is also a determent because now my portfolio and my career goals lack focus. If you really want to make this your career and primary source of income, I would suggest figuring out a specific discipline within the gaming industry that you are really interested in doing, and stick with it. Otherwise the chances of you being hired by the big AAA companies is probably going to be severely limited, cause chances are there will be plenty of other candidates who will be able to produce higher quality work than you, with consistency, because they specialized.
Fortunately, there is a booming indie game industry now that really caters to those who are multi-talented and wish to remain that way, as well as those people who would simply rather keep this whole thing a side-quest. Just know that your workload will be much higher, the road longer, and the income not so steady (if there is any at all).