Working in the Gaming Industry

[Aurora219]

I've been considering what it would be like to work in the games industry, for the media giants such as EA (or one of their ten billion subsidiary companies) or Valve. Is it such a dream job, as the general image is currently?

I for one would love to have a job in a gaming market, specifically in level design or similar. I'd really enjoy seeing my ideas take fruition and then finally be presented to the masses as part of a grand project. This would be a double bonus for me at the moment as I am currently jobless.

My question to you is therefore twofold; firstly, do you think that working for a game developer is all it's cracked up to be? And secondly, if you were to work for one, what would you like to do and why?

For those select few of you who DO work in the gaming industry (or for the Escapist, which is an awesome job in my opinion), is it such a great job now that you have it?

 

[Susan Arendt]

Even if you love what you do for a living, a job is still a job, which means it's going to have its downside. Combining that inevitable downside with something you love runs the risk of sapping the joy out of gaming for you. I know more than one game journo who quit because they said that writing about games was making them hate gaming.

Any workplace is going to have its share of annoyances. The coworker who doesn't pull his weight. The cubicle neighbor who chews gum too loudly. Office politics. A boss you feel doesn't listen to you. Of course, a good job has its share of rewards, too.

I worked very hard for a very long time to have the job that I have now, and while I wouldn't go back to cubeville for anything, there are days I go home unhappy. Just like any other job.

 

[TPiddy]

I had always wanted to work in the industry, ever since I was 12 or 13 or so... I suppose I came pretty close, as I am a Flash / Web Developer, but I've always come across that stumbling block of just HOW to break in to the industry. I know that most game programming is C++, but that's very complicated to learn and such. I'm thinking of going back to school, but can't afford the income downtime right now, so I will have to look into other courses.

I was especially interested when I heard UbiSoft was opening an office in Toronto. We'll see how it goes.

 

[WickedArtist]

Susan said it better than I ever could, and those words were ones I heard myself when I first took interest in the game industry. Don't let it bring you down though. While the idea certainly runs its risks, developing games is hard and time-consuming work that in many ways require that you love it.

There are a lot of things I and our fellow Escapists could say about the idea of going into the industry, but if you take genuine interest my only advice is to do your research. Some research will help you separate fact from myth and find out not only if the developing games sounds like something you might want to do (or disillusion you from it), but also give you an idea on how to approach it. I find that GameCareerGuide.com is a good place to start.

Listening to other game developers on the subject is, of course, very recommended, but my own recommendation is to take anything anyone says with a grain of salt and listen to as many opinions as possible. Different people will have different takes on the matter, so don't let one or two color your entire perspective.

 

[Jonci]

I'm a game developer by trade, but I don't work in the gaming industry so my advice is mostly from second-hand info.

For one, know what you want to do. You said level design, so you need to get into computer graphic design and animation. Research good schools. By bias approval, I recommend Full Sail University. Mostly because they have a good rep in the industry and you'll get hands-on training, even making assets for a game development project.

If you already have your degree, get your resume and portfolio out there. Not going to get any job offers from this forum, so get to work. Find communities on the web where graphic designers like to chat it up and make some friends. Getting a job in the industry requires connections. It is usually more important than how pretty your work looks, as companies tend to ask their employees for recommendations before putting open positions on the internet.

Don't get discouraged when you don't get the job you apply for. That is likely to happen a lot. I spent over a year trying to break into the gaming industry with no luck. I even had a great conversation with John Romero and still didn't get the job. In the end, I got picked up by a new simulation developer. It isn't the game industry, but I'm doing the same job, getting professional experience, and plenty to add to my resume. Your career goals may take years to reach and you should plan accordingly.

Finally, expect any job you have to suck. Even if it is your dream job, it isn't always a happy dream. You'll have to work hard, long, and sometimes without gratitude. If you are new, you will be a grunt doing grunt work. You are nothing until you have the professional experience on your resume to back up your skill. A good piece of art is worth one word, a few years in the industry worth a hundred, and a released title is gold. Remember that. You'll earn respect slowly, but work hard and you'll be worthwhile to companies after a few years.

 

[Proteus214]

I find the happy medium is to work as a software engineer for any company that has good pay/benefits/job security and develop games independently. That way I am actually the master of my own projects and I don't have my dreams rubbed into the dirt.

 

[BonsaiK]

Computer game design is a "glamour" occupation, and like all other such occupations (like the music industry, where I work), there are many more people seeking employment in this field than there are places for them. A competitive labour market has the economic effect of driving working conditions and pay down, which is what always happens when labour supply exceeds demand - the person who is willing to do the most work for the least pay gets the position. Therefore in the gaming industry the hours are long and the pay is often pretty awful compared to similar jobs in non-glamour fields. You're often expected to do extra unpaid hours for "love" and if you don't you will be seen as lazy and likely lose your job. Also don't expect to be able to exercise creativity - that only happens in an extremely small minority of cases and the competition there is even MORE intense. It can probably ultimately be rewarding but it's a harder road than you might think, even if you do get a break. And I hope you don't value your free time too much.

 

[Void(null)]

You either love it, or hate it. Either your hobby and love becomes your work and you can tolerate it, or it becomes your work and sucks out every last ounce of joy you had for games... especially whatever game it is that you are working on.

Personally, I didn't last long because what was formally a hobby with a limitless amount of possibility became a job with deadlines where you have to be creative and brilliant on demand.

After 6 months I couldn't take it anymore, I hated the site of the game I was working on, and it had been a long standing franchise that I had adored. I decided that gaming for me was better as a hobby than a career.

The most important tip I learned along the way was this:

"Never work on a IP or genre you love."

 

[Da_Schwartz]

I tested for acclaim in NY back in the day. On such gems as Turok2 and shadowman. >.> Ever see the movie grandmas boy? It's kinda like that...alot of lanning, and logging..debugging, very laid back..Great gig for a while till they went filed chapter 7 in like 99' i think it was...hell of a commute though. But a great work enviornment.

 

[Fangface74]

My two cents on Quality Assurance; And I promise you this, Games testing/QA will severely harm your love of gaming. The only successful testers are either socially vapid morons, whose lack of imagination protects them from the mundaneness of their task, or those using QA as a 'foot-in-the-door' approach for more creative pastures.

Like 98% of testers, I was the latter.

 

[TPiddy]

Yeah, being almost 30 years old I'm not sure I want to start at the bottom of another industry... I've worked hard to crawl my way up from where I'm at.... but I think it would just be awesome to be one of the guys that comes up with ideas for games and such.

 

[thehoff]

I think if you worked in the field you would lose the enjoyment of actually playing th egames in your personal time, unless you are really passionate still.

 

[A Weary Exile]

I also hope to get into the gaming industry someday, the only problem is I can't find a way to learn programming, I suppose I could go to Borders and get a '..for Dummies' book on C++ but I don't have the money or transportation. I have the enthusiamsim to work and many great ideas, now I just need to learn programming and get a degree (The only aspects that actually matter to gaming companies, creativity is underrated these days) But there aren't many good schools out there, I had my heart set on Full Sail but people tell me that's a bad choice of college for gaming. It's also pretty hard to find a way to make an amateur game since I don't have flash and I have no money to buy game design software, it looks like I'll have to make my first amateur game in Notepad. Not looking foward to that part.

One thing I never understand is how people get turned off by the long work hours of the job and whether or not it will be a 'Cushy' job. Of course it's going to require many hours of work to complete a game because they're so complex! I would love to work on a game twelve hours a day, seven days a week even if I'm just writing code the whole time because I'd be working on something that I love and as long as the final product reflects my hard work I'd be satisfied.

 

[RollForInitiative]

For those select few of you who DO work in the gaming industry (or for the Escapist, which is an awesome job in my opinion), is it such a great job now that you have it?

It's what I'll do until I'm no longer able to click a mouse, but the view from outside is complete and utter BULL in virtually every way.

I think if you worked in the field you would lose the enjoyment of actually playing th egames in your personal time, unless you are really passionate still.

Interesting thought, but I can say it's not necessarily the case. Those of us that are designers down to the bone still spend plenty of spare time playing games. Granted, it is harder to find games that actually impress us, but we just have a different kind of appreciation.

 

[Jonci]

I also hope to get into the gaming industry someday, the only problem is I can't find a way to learn programming, I suppose I could go to Borders and get a '..for Dummies' book on C++ but I don't have the money or transportation. I have the enthusiamsim to work and many great ideas, now I just need to learn programming and get a degree (The only aspects that actually matter to gaming companies, creativity is underrated these days) But there aren't many good schools out there, I had my heart set on Full Sail but people tell me that's a bad choice of college for gaming. It's also pretty hard to find a way to make an amateur game since I don't have flash and I have no money to buy game design software, it looks like I'll have to make my first amateur game in Notepad. Not looking foward to that part.

One thing I never understand is how people get turned off by the long work hours of the job and whether or not it will be a 'Cushy' job. Of course it's going to require many hours of work to complete a game because they're so complex! I would love to work on a game twelve hours a day, seven days a week even if I'm just writing code the whole time because I'd be working on something that I love and as long as the final product reflects my hard work I'd be satisfied.

Trust me, you won't want to work 12 hours a day all week for anything. "Love" only goes so far.

I went to Full Sail for game development. I loved it. I learned much more than I would at a traditional university. Full Sail has varying reputations among different people. You should make your own decisions about it by checking it out. It is hard and will make you question wanting to be a developer, but if you can tough out the two years and made the effort to learn, you will be ready to take up the challenges. When I joined my current company, it was my first job out of Full Sail and there was no senior staffing to guide me. Another Full Sail grad and I took the project and made it a marketable product in under a year. You don't find training like that often.

As for getting started now, get a book and get reading. C++ is easy, but can be overwhelming. You need to get yourself familiar with it. You can download Microsoft Visual C++ Express for free and either work from that alone or try your hand with XMA and C# to make amateur games for XBox360 console.

 

[Jonci]

I think if you worked in the field you would lose the enjoyment of actually playing th egames in your personal time, unless you are really passionate still.

Interesting thought, but I can say it's not necessarily the case. Those of us that are designers down to the bone still spend plenty of spare time playing games. Granted, it is harder to find games that actually impress us, but we just have a different kind of appreciation.

Agreed. I come home and 90% of the time, I'm going to pop in some video game. I don't care if I just had a hard game working on my project, I wanna get on a game and beat some baddies. I don't know anyone that ever said being a game developer made them hate playing games.

 

[A Weary Exile]

I also hope to get into the gaming industry someday, the only problem is I can't find a way to learn programming, I suppose I could go to Borders and get a '..for Dummies' book on C++ but I don't have the money or transportation. I have the enthusiamsim to work and many great ideas, now I just need to learn programming and get a degree (The only aspects that actually matter to gaming companies, creativity is underrated these days) But there aren't many good schools out there, I had my heart set on Full Sail but people tell me that's a bad choice of college for gaming. It's also pretty hard to find a way to make an amateur game since I don't have flash and I have no money to buy game design software, it looks like I'll have to make my first amateur game in Notepad. Not looking foward to that part.

One thing I never understand is how people get turned off by the long work hours of the job and whether or not it will be a 'Cushy' job. Of course it's going to require many hours of work to complete a game because they're so complex! I would love to work on a game twelve hours a day, seven days a week even if I'm just writing code the whole time because I'd be working on something that I love and as long as the final product reflects my hard work I'd be satisfied.

Trust me, you won't want to work 12 hours a day all week for anything. "Love" only goes so far.

I went to Full Sail for game development. I loved it. I learned much more than I would at a traditional university. Full Sail has varying reputations among different people. You should make your own decisions about it by checking it out. It is hard and will make you question wanting to be a developer, but if you can tough out the two years and made the effort to learn, you will be ready to take up the challenges. When I joined my current company, it was my first job out of Full Sail and there was no senior staffing to guide me. Another Full Sail grad and I took the project and made it a marketable product in under a year. You don't find training like that often.

As for getting started now, get a book and get reading. C++ is easy, but can be overwhelming. You need to get yourself familiar with it. You can download Microsoft Visual C++ Express for free and either work from that alone or try your hand with XMA and C# to make amateur games for XBox360 console.

Well you're the first person I've met who has said positive things about Full Sail (Who wasn't a rep from the school) excluding my parents' friend who is a freelance recruiter. Thank you for telling me that getting into gaming isn't the body-strewn apocalyptic wasteland that most people make it out to be. I have to admit recently I've been quite depressed thinking that I'd never get to work for game company with my limited resources (After reading that 'You're game ideas suck' article on the Escapist yesterday I went into emo mode right up until this very moment) but I have a question: my family can't really pay for all my expenses while I attend so would it be realistic to have, at least, a part-time job while attending Full Sail? I also thought of moving to Orlando and working for a year or two to save up money.

I'm going to get to Borders ASAP, pick up a C++ book and read THE CRAP out of that thing.

Did you know anyone who took the Game Design course? If so, how did they like it? Did they get hired by someone?

ONE MORE THING: what are XMA and C# and where can I find them?

OP:Sorry for kind of jacking your post for my own benefit but I'm sure anyone else trying to get into the industry will find this helpful.

 

[RollForInitiative]

Agreed. I come home and 90% of the time, I'm going to pop in some video game. I don't care if I just had a hard game working on my project, I wanna get on a game and beat some baddies. I don't know anyone that ever said being a game developer made them hate playing games.

I think, if anything, it just makes us more critical of the games we play. I can't play anything without dissecting it every step of the way but sometimes that makes it all the better for me. Even bad games can be viewed as a collection of terrible ideas and potential ammunition for shooting down similarly bad ideas that surface in meetings.

ONE MORE THING: what are XMA and C# and where can I find them?

XNA [http://www.xna.com/] is a Microsoft-developed set of tools and technologies for game developers, both professional and amateur. C# is a programming language. XNA uses that same language and expands upon it. You can check it out with the Visual Studio Express software [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vcsharp/default.aspx], which happens to be free.

Edit: Fixed double-quote and a bad hyperlink.

 

[Dr_Baron_von_Evilsatan]

so...anyone have advice for a graduate with a BA in CS? I'm on my last year and I'm considering the industry, but I want to know what else I need to learn (already have C, C++, Java, Python, Lisp, C#, and a bit of assembly under my belt) I'm also building my own project with XNA.

 

[Kelbear]

As for how to get into the gaming industry. The line I keep hearing from interviews with developers is that you should produce something on your own. Even if it's something primitive for demonstration purposes they can at least have some of your work to look at and see what you're capable of.

A lot of people can put a programming language on their resume, but the difference between their work is WILDLY different. Create something to show that you're different, slap that on a disk, and mail it in with your resume. That'll get you an interview for sure.