Jobs in the Gaming Industry

TheStrategist · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 11:23 pm Post subject: Jobs in the Gaming Industry

It seems like getting a job in the gaming industry is harder than becoming an actor these days... All the jobs are either overseas or California....However, Chicago is starting to sprout a few game jobs here and there....Does anyone have any tips for an aspiring game designer/writer?

Swedish Ninja Pirate · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 8:05 am Post subject:

Get a Bachelor of Science degree. Thats what most of the companies demand. They never say exactly what Bachelor degree they want but they say something like "Basic knowledge of graphic design" or something like that.

check out http://www.gamejobs.com/ and see for yourself.
I'm going to get a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and try to get a job as a map designer or a writer. Later on I hope to become a director but first I just want a gamejob.
_________________
Shiver My Shuriken!!

Saben · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:23 am Post subject:

I say stay as far away from the industry as possible unless you are really confident in your abilities. Every man and his dog that has a passing interest in games is wanting to get into Games Development and schools offering 'specialised' degrees in games design/ programming are starting to become a dime a dozen. If you still want to get into then my advice is 1) Make contacts, 2) Get a qualification that makes you stand out, either by going to one of the top schools like Digipen or Full Sail, or by getting your Masters and/ or PhD.

Within five years the Gaming sector is probably going to have one of the highest unemployment rates, simply because everyone is going to have a Bachelor of Science in Games Design but there just isn't the demand for those elementary skills. If you really want to go for it, then I say specialise as much as possible. Rather than studying a BSc in basic games design/ programming get your masters in AI, Physics, Script Writing, Audio Development or 3D Graphics Modelling.

Swedish Ninja Pirate · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 11:47 am Post subject:

Oh Yeah forgot to say. I've been talking to people in the buisness and they all say the same thing. Stay away from the game developing schools. Those are just a load of crap. Noone trusts them.

Just wanted to say that.
_________________
Shiver My Shuriken!!

TheStrategist · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 1:33 pm Post subject:

Swedish Ninja Pirate · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 3:24 pm Post subject:

Maximillian · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 5:01 pm Post subject:

Learn C++. Get a degree in PHILOSOPHY. Read and Write, a LOT. Make connections in the industry. And most importantly, be willing to start at the bottom.

I used to be work for Acclaim, as a spell checker(I kid you not, a spell checker). I had some friends who were quality assurance testers(play games testing for bugs, glitches, and errors before it is released) and customer service representitives(answer phones and emails). I quit my job to pursue my childish dream of becoming a rock star, but my friends who worked there soon got promoted and are now making games for Acclaim.

Timbo · Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 7:26 pm Post subject:

Maximillian · Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 7:45 pm Post subject:

TheStrategist · Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 10:33 pm Post subject:

The problem with me is, I live in Iowa - and trying to find a game testing job here is like getting George W. Bush to pass a spelling contest...So my only option is to add another major along with computer science....I have already aced dozens of writing classes...I should look into philosophy though - it would probably help with the story that i am writing...
I am also trying to get into the artistic side of the gaming industry.. By practicing with Photoshop & Illustrator, my skills are slowly improving...I've never taken an art class, but the U of Iowa board is so strict, that only art majors can take graphic design classes...My only resolve is to go to Barnes & Nobles and buy a book on graphic design...One of the books I saw was 'Maya Character Animation' but that was pretty much the only one...Does anyone recommend one??

Sophita · Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 4:41 am Post subject:

TheStrategist, are there any community colleges around your area? I know most of the ones I've been to are a bit more rrelaxed and will allow you to take graphics design classes. Almost all the graphics design classes at my school are self-paced as well, meaning you go at your own pace on your own and just give your instructor some work from time to time, but I can't speak for other colleges.

And even if you can't take the courses, well, there's no reason you can't go to your campus bookstore and take a look at the books they're using - surely they have books on the subject.

Maya Character Animation? I think that's for Maya, so unless you have that proggie, I would advise not getting it. >_<
_________________

SCII month continues! DueFiumi.com

John Layfield wrote:

But bubbles... children love bubbles! XD

Edge Riou · Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:29 am Post subject:

I'm sure getting accepted into the gaming industry would not be as easy as one would think. You would have all those interviews and would have to appy all kinds of sciences into those interviews.
_________________

Deleted User 1 · Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2004 12:08 pm Post subject:

Whatever happened to "Never give up" and "Anything is possible if you give it your all." What a depressing crowd you guys are. Did the Liberation Army stand down when they were outnumbered and outmatched by 100,000 monsters?....NO! Did Apple give up looking for Shu's coin in the river, even though her chances of her finding it where slim to none?....NO!!

Maximillian · Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 5:36 am Post subject:

That's a fictional story, this is real life. No matter how hard I try, I'll probably never be a millionaire playboy astronaut with my own private island, despite what my kindergarten teacher told me.

But it's really not that hard to get a job in the gaming industry, the hard part is getting a GOOD job in the gaming industry. You can easily make your way up from QA Tester to Programmer or something, but nobody wants to write code for a living. Getting the jobs MAKING games is more about your own talent than anything else, and no matter how awesome you think the RPG you've written is, it's probably not worth making. Trust me, I used to be in the RPGMaker community, and 99.9% of those games are god-awful, despite how great the makers thought they were.

Kyojin Blight · Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2004 6:48 am Post subject:

I would rather run a videogame web site such as IGN or Game Spot. I worked at AllRPG.com for a while, and I got into the whole press reletions type thing, and I must say I enjoyed it. Coding and stuff just sounds too boring for me. Graphic designing wouldn't be half bad considering I like to do it already.
_________________

	Forum Index -> Community Forum	All times are GMT - 4 Hours Goto page 1, 2 Next
Page 1 of 2