Getting into the Video Games Industry

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Can you bring back Leisure Suit Larry?

[Sample00]

what a great thread!, I am gonna pass this along to my son. This stuff is his passion.

[chid]

My sister is graduating this year hoping to be a game designer, where are some good companies to get her foot in the door? She currently lives in London Ontario but is pretty interested in re-locating somewhere.

[arsenal]

There was a site (magazine) that I used to read religiously. It was all about game development, listed companies, listed jobs etc.
http://www.gamasutra.com/

I think anyone interested in making games, should at least browse that site. There are job postings from all sorts of studios, as well as grass roots community groups.

That should give you a good idea of where companies are located, as well as what type of skills they are looking for for each type of position they have available.

It isn't just programming jobs either. They post jobs for everything that involve game development.

Again, I haven't been to that site in ages, so I am not sure how good it is now.

[Dan02]

May i suggest a browse of gamedev.net

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by chid

My sister is graduating this year hoping to be a game designer, where are some good companies to get her foot in the door? She currently lives in London Ontario but is pretty interested in re-locating somewhere.

Silicon Knights is based in London I believe. If she's an american citizen, California or Austin TX. are her best bets. If she wants to stay in Canada, Vancouver is by far the best place to start, as it has nearly every game studio in Canada.

[Kerplunk]

I've been thinking about trying to get into games development. I tried a year and a bit out of school, but didn't make the cut. Should have the experience to get into it now. But there isn't much in the way of studios in Calgary....maybe I should just bite the bullet and look into something in Vancouver *shudder*.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by flaming_potato

I'm currently studying to become an audio engineer. Haven't really looked into the gaming industry as a place of employment after my studies, though after reading this thread it sounds intriguing. How hard is it to get into the audio side of things?

There are fewer jobs for audio guys (most studios only have 1-4 or so on staff, but i'm sure that number increases for sound-based games like Guitar Hero). So, in essence, you've gotta know your stuff.

As I've mentioned before for the other general roles, volunteering on an internet project is a terrific opportunity, you'll have to learn not only how to create sounds, but how to implement them into a game as well, so this is a good way to learn that stuff. Also try taking an existing game and putting your own sounds and music over it. (modding websites for popular games can help you learn how. As always, Google is your friend).

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by Kerplunk

I've been thinking about trying to get into games development. I tried a year and a bit out of school, but didn't make the cut. Should have the experience to get into it now. But there isn't much in the way of studios in Calgary....maybe I should just bite the bullet and look into something in Vancouver *shudder*.

That's your best bet. Studios will at least look at you seriously most of the time of you're local. If they have to fly you in to interview you, that's a potential waste of money for them. Thus, making yourself a local is in your best interests

Also, this is for everyone. Networking is VERY VERY important. So if you can find a way to meet people in the games industry they can help you get jobs, usually. I suggest joining your local branch of the IDGA, or looking into games related events you can attend in your area.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Good advice. So it sounds like two options would be: to bite the bullet, relocate to another city for a while if I'm successful in getting a job, then hopefully move back to Calgary later; or try to find smaller projects, work on my portfolio, until I'm at a point where I have enough experience to work remotely for a larger company.

So what genres are most in need of writers? I've mainly looked at the RPG industry, and I plan on writing some NWN2 levels which are very dialogue and story heavy, while developing UT3 levels wouldn't really add to my portfolio.

NWN sounds like a good start. RPGs need the most writing, as you might expect.

If you're looking for an internet project to join, look into "Hero's Journey" it's an mmorpg in development that uses a lot of volunteer staff.

[NuclearFart]

Ahhhh yes, video games. I've got nothing to add to this thread except that I still wonder if I should have pursued that as a career instead.

One of the few things I recall actually having a passion for back in high school, but I havent really had time to play them in years.

Serious question: Is your life anything like the book Microserfs? For some strange reason I can really relate to most of those characters, despite not being in anything close to that industry.

[OutOfTheCube]

I was looking at LittleBigPlanet as a type of editor I could use to showcase my abilities. Honestly, I don't think I could design a really great FPS level, cimply because the genre doesn't interest me a whole lot. LBP is much more my style.

[Hack&Lube]

I have a useless liberal arts degree... I want to start all over again, what is a good route to take? I've always been more interested in art and design...but bad at math and programming.

I know people working at Bioware, etc. they did the usual comp sci. + art courses etc. To get there.

I'm very lost career wise.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I have a useless liberal arts degree... I want to start all over again, what is a good route to take? I've always been more interested in art and design...but bad at math and programming.

I know people working at Bioware, etc. they did the usual comp sci. + art courses etc. To get there.

I'm very lost career wise.

Check out my posts of the first page, there's some good suggestions on how to become a designer there. Bioware is a tough nut to crack for a beginner in the industry, you might have more luck joining a smaller studio somewhere like Vancouver. Not impossible though, but you'll really have to stand out.

[Rifleman]

Thanks SouloftheFlame for taking the time to answer questions from us unwashed masses.

My question has to do with the cost of creating a game. For myself, I plan on growing my graphic art/website business until I can start using the profits to start investing in creating a game. This may not be the most traditional way to do it, but my game ideas have a better chance of being implemented if I own the company.

To create a simple Nintendo DS game, how much money should the company be prepared to invest? What about a Playstation 3 title?

I've heard developers say starting out making games with Adobe Flash is the best way to showcase your creative talents, but that was more to do with a company buying your idea and running with it.

There are tons of Flash games out there, barely any of which make money.

My plan is to start out small, creating little $5 games you see in discount bins in Wal*Mart, then over time, using the resources and engines created for those games to make bigger and more ambitious games.

[Rifleman]

Oh, and for the Leisure Suit Larry fans out there wishing for a new game, your dreams have been realized:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisure...ox_Office_Bust

Merry Christmas!

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by Rifleman

Oh, and for the Leisure Suit Larry fans out there wishing for a new game, your dreams have been realized:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisure...ox_Office_Bust

Get the eff outta here! Nice find.

[Joborule]

I'm in my first year at UofC to attain a Computer Science degree towards video game designing. I hear a lot that excel is a big requirement for many games. How exactly this the case? I could understand for coding like character attributes, but how does this apply with AI amongst other things (if at all)?

[Rathji]

Joborule,
Come by and say Hi to me in the Comp Sci lab if you dare. I am the 30 something, balding, overweight guy, sitting in a hoodie in the laptop section most of my days. (ok there are 2 of us really, but the other guy has a bit more hair!) Would be awesome to meet more CP peeps


As for the spreadsheeets, I can't think of any reason that you would want to use one, short of importing a series of results from a batch of unit tests in order to graph or something. I am sure there may be an actual reason beyond that, but I can't think of it.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Rifleman

Thanks SouloftheFlame for taking the time to answer questions from us unwashed masses.

My question has to do with the cost of creating a game. For myself, I plan on growing my graphic art/website business until I can start using the profits to start investing in creating a game. This may not be the most traditional way to do it, but my game ideas have a better chance of being implemented if I own the company.

To create a simple Nintendo DS game, how much money should the company be prepared to invest? What about a Playstation 3 title?

I've heard developers say starting out making games with Adobe Flash is the best way to showcase your creative talents, but that was more to do with a company buying your idea and running with it.

There are tons of Flash games out there, barely any of which make money.

My plan is to start out small, creating little $5 games you see in discount bins in Wal*Mart, then over time, using the resources and engines created for those games to make bigger and more ambitious games.

DS games can be made on the cheap... former Flash games have been ported over to it and been succesful.

PS3 though... start looking into seven figures.