|
I am sure that none of you know anything about me, so the quick rundown is that I am 18 years old, currently attending Stony Brook University in New York. The other big thing is I am in love with video games and have been dreaming of working in the game industry for some number of years now.
I have done as much research as a human possibly can on the game industry. I recently discovered this site and have been visiting it on a daily basis since then. On my top bookmarked sites I have Gamasutra, Gamespy, and GameInformer.
To say I love to read about and research what is going on in the industry is an understatement. Most kids sit up at night and watch who-knows-what on their computer; I was sitting up the other night watching a GDC keynote address.
I love to not only play games, but analyze them as well. I like to think about why they are fun. However I run into a brick wall as far as making this a job goes. I lack much of, if not all, the technical skills required for almost any position in the industry, especially considering most studios are simply hiring "seasoned veterans" or "industry professionals".
I have the love for it, but I don't know how to express my love for it, I think that's the problem. I don't know if I'm looking for advice, or help, or whatever it may be, in this blog entry, I just need to put this out there.
The Game Industry has such a steep acceptance and break in rate that it could be turning off would-be employees simply because of the daunting task that is breaking into the industry.
However, is this maybe a good thing, causing only the people with the most determination to rise to the top and earn the jobs? I don't know to be honest. Maybe some of you can sound off on the topic. All I know is that I have to keep trying my hardest to land even the smallest of gigs to get my foot in the door, because once my foot is in the door, I won't be leaving anytime soon.
|
http://www.igda.org/breakingin/
Of course it's good to pursue relevant education - computer science or art school or a game specific program. Besides that though, I think one of the best things you can do is produce some game content yourself. When someone is looking at your application, they need some way to tell that you'll be able to deliver if they decide to hire you.
If you want to be a programmer, find a game you like that has some modding tools and try tweaking some code to do something neat. If you want to be an artist, make models or animations or whatever you love creating and learn how to get them into a game. As a budding game/level designer, you could try doing something like making a level in Little Big Planet or a custom scenario for a game like Civilization. Whatever you do, start small - when you're learning at the same time as doing, everything takes a lot longer than you think. :-)
If you've got the necessary degree/diploma and some examples of actually doing what the job you're looking for entails, it's only a matter of time before you land that first gig.
Good luck!
Let me share with you my experiences thus far. I am 27 years old and I just graduated from a game software development bachelor's program. My area of study was primarily programming. I have had no luck so far breaking in. My problem is that my portfolio of stuff that I have done isn't very big. The worst part about it is this though: I have done a lot of things with many of my favorite games like mods, but this was before I really thought of trying to break into the industry so all of that is gone. I also went through a period where I thought if I was using mod tools to make a game, that I wasn't really making a game, that it was cheating. I felt like I had to do it 100% on my own and not use any tools, this was naive. The industry uses the same types of tools that were available to me all those years, but that I disregarded. Don't fall into that same thinking as I did, it held me back. On the bright side I did create quite a few games by myself which I'm proud of.
So my main point is that you should definitely start creating actual mods in some games like Fallout 3, Half-Life 2, and Oblivion. You should also start working with some game engines like Torque and building stuff that people can actually see. Then build a website and put all of that stuff on it that you've done. My mistake was I never kept track of the stuff I did, and over time it just got lost. Now I feel like I'm running out of time to rebuild my portfolio.
My advice applies to whether you want to be an artist, programmer, level designer, or game designer. It will always help if you have a portfolio of stuff you've done no matter the position. For instance an artist that has also made their own small game or mod is much more interesting than an artist that can only create models. It shows that you understand not just your area of study, but you also understand how all areas come together to create a game.
As a technical recruiter, I've heard the same statement by many other individuals seeking a career in the gaming industry. Doing research is good, but will only get you so far. Obtaining a degree in gaming or multimedia should certainly give you an edge. My advice is to learn as much as you can during school and network, network, network. If this is your passion and you stay focused your 'breaking into the industry" day will come.
RoB
http://blakebertino.wordpress.com/
I'm no expert though, but once I finished a game for IGF and finished school, my resumes and applications began to get callbacks and interviews started to happen. So keep at it.