Getting into the Video Games Industry

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Hey all,

If any of you are interested in getting into video games and have questions on how to do that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. Either on PM or in this thread. Also, if anyone has any questions about making video games, I'll do my best to answer those too.




A little background info...
I've been a game designer for 7 years now, and am currently with one of the largest development studios in the world. I am originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and am currently based in Brisbane Australia. I've worked on 7 titles, ranging from MMORPG to Next Gen Action adventure, to party games.

[Rathji]

I am currently in the middle of a computer science degree at U of C, that will most probably end up with a games concentration. I really don't want to end up as a code monkey on a major project for the rest of my life though, and would rather keep to the small scale end of things once I get some experience. Focusing on online applications for Serious Games or other 'browser based' type games that are out there.

What is your impressions of the feild in relation to Serious Gaming and how do you view it as a expanding feild when compared against more main stream or console type gaming?

(Just in case the term Serious Gaming is misleading or confusing, I am refering to gaming that is used in a business role, training, recruitment, education etc.)

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I am currently in the middle of a computer science degree at U of C, that will most probably end up with a games concentration. I really don't want to end up as a code monkey on a major project though, and would rather keep to the small scale end of things. Focusing on online applications for Serious Games or other 'browser based' type games that are out there.

What is your impressions of the feild in relation to Serious Gaming and how do you view it as a expanding feild when compared against more main stream or console type gaming?

(Just in case the term Serious Gaming is misleading or confusing, I am refering to gaming that is used in a business role, training, recruitment, education etc.)

Well, obviously they are very different fields. It all depends on the business model. If you make a Serious Game it is likely to be quite specific, (your target audience is an individual business, specific career role, or the like). Therefore it lacks the mass appeal and user base that console games have. Of course, unlike console games you presumably don't need teams of dozens if not hundreds of people working on it, so you can turn a profit with the relatively small number of sales you can expect.

I'm not sure what the competition is like in the Serious Gaming field. I suggest trying to find a good existing team to join that you can gain experience with before venturing out on your own. However, if you have the funding and you know who your target market is, and you have a project you know you can sell to that market, then that option could be open to you as well. Good Luck!

[SportsJunky]

Can you bring back Leisure Suit Larry?

Thanks

[JerzeeGirl]

A quick question - my little brother (just turned 18) has only one passion in life & if you guessed I was going to say video games, you'd be right. I think he'd enjoy a career in the field but isn't sure where to start/how to break in. Do you have any suggestions as to the best way to get started? I assume a comp sci degree is required somehow but am not sure really.....
Thanks!!!!

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Can you bring back Leisure Suit Larry?

Thanks

X2

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by JerzeeGirl

A quick question - my little brother (just turned 18) has only one passion in life & if you guessed I was going to say video games, you'd be right. I think he'd enjoy a career in the field but isn't sure where to start/how to break in. Do you have any suggestions as to the best way to get started? I assume a comp sci degree is required somehow but am not sure really.....
Thanks!!!!

When I was looking to get into the gaming industry (late 90's, early 2000's), one thing that all the gaming studios i was looking at wanted, was a comp sci degree. Lacking a comp sci degree, they would ask for examples of stuff that you had worked on, on your own.

There are also a few gaming specific schools out there:
Digipen (is that still around?), full sail, art institute of toronto(?), but I am not sure how well received those are in the gaming industry.

I guess another way to at least get your foot in the door is to work as a game tester, then work your way up from there.

There is also the "gaming community" route. ie: company releases a game, and an SDK for the game that you create your own mods for. I know of a few people (not personally) that have done this (guys who create Counter Strike for Half Life being one) and gone onto careers in the gaming industry.

That's all I can help with unfortunately, I am sure SoTF may be able to come up with some more.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by arsenal

When I was looking to get into the gaming industry (late 90's, early 2000's), one thing that all the gaming studios i was looking at wanted, was a comp sci degree. Lacking a comp sci degree, they would ask for examples of stuff that you had worked on, on your own.

There are also a few gaming specific schools out there:
Digipen (is that still around?), full sail, art institute of toronto(?), but I am not sure how well received those are in the gaming industry.

I guess another way to at least get your foot in the door is to work as a game tester, then work your way up from there.

There is also the "gaming community" route. ie: company releases a game, and an SDK for the game that you create your own mods for. I know of a few people (not personally) that have done this (guys who create Counter Strike for Half Life being one) and gone onto careers in the gaming industry.

That's all I can help with unfortunately, I am sure SoTF may be able to come up with some more.

Creating a mod is a good way (I did graphic mods for NHL games even when I was still in highschool) or he could also see if he can find a online independant game developer. I'm working on a WW2 FPS Sim project for Frantic Games which is based out of Ireland. We've even had some of our team members get jobs from studios around North America because of their work. Depending on the company they're sometimes willing to take an up and comer under their wing and let him grow with the project like they did with me.

I have a couple game ideas in my head myself but knowing what our head guy has gone through financially I'm a little cautious to pursue it.

[OutOfTheCube]

Here's a tough one for you:

I am actually VERY interested in getting into the game industry. Here's the problem: I hate math/coding stuff (and I'm bad at it too), and I can't draw to save my life. However, I'm extremely creative and I KNOW what makes a great game, and I think I could design industry shifting games if given the chance. I just can't make them. So how does one go about getting into the industry with that situation?

[IntenseFan]

Does anyone know of a decent game software company that is based in Calgary? The only decent Alberta company I am aware of is Bioware, and they are based in Edmonton.

It seems to me that all the Calgary software cos. are obsessed with oil and gas data equipment and data management programs. Obvisouly this is in tune with the reality of the Calgary market, but it sure isn't that much fun.

[octothorp]

How common is telecommuting in the video game industry? I've come across a couple job postings that I would be interested in and be a good fit for, but I'm not in a position to relocate from Calgary. I regret not getting into the industry a decade ago when I had more flexibility in my life. My primary interest would be in dialogue and story writing.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by JerzeeGirl

A quick question - my little brother (just turned 18) has only one passion in life & if you guessed I was going to say video games, you'd be right. I think he'd enjoy a career in the field but isn't sure where to start/how to break in. Do you have any suggestions as to the best way to get started? I assume a comp sci degree is required somehow but am not sure really.....
Thanks!!!!

What does your brother like doing? What would he want to do in making games?

The general jobs are:

Programmers (working with code and in most cases a lot of math)

Designers (Creative people, hard workers, but who have to be very quick learners and must know a wide variety of software, and be very good at communicating ideas)

Artists (Like to draw or 3d model)

QA (Game testers, guys who don't mind playing the same sequence over and over, looking for bugs, even though it is absolutely NOT fun )

Let me know where you think he might fit and we'll pick up from there.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by arsenal

I guess another way to at least get your foot in the door is to work as a game tester, then work your way up from there.

There is also the "gaming community" route. ie: company releases a game, and an SDK for the game that you create your own mods for. I know of a few people (not personally) that have done this (guys who create Counter Strike for Half Life being one) and gone onto careers in the gaming industry.

That's all I can help with unfortunately, I am sure SoTF may be able to come up with some more.

Really good answer Arsenal.

In my experience,

For designers and QA guys, these (ones I quoted) are the most common methods I have encountered (I got in via the game community route myself). I've never actually worked with a designer who had a game design degree, and I personally don't hold much stock in them. I think it's more a case of you either have talent or you don't. However, for some people it may be a good option though it's not something you NEED.

Programmers usually need a comp sci degree but I've worked with guys who were simply so talented they taught themselves and skipped school (one who wasn't even a highschool grad, in fact).

Artists generally also have diplomas, but with them it comes down to how good your demo reel is. So, again, natural talent will always win out over schooling (Always the case in game development, across all fields).

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Can you bring back Leisure Suit Larry?

Thanks

X 3

[JerzeeGirl]

Originally Posted by SoulOfTheFlame

What does your brother like doing? What would he want to do in making games?

The general jobs are:

Programmers (working with code and in most cases a lot of math)

QA (Game testers, guys who don't mind playing the same sequence over and over, looking for bugs, even though it is absolutely NOT fun )

Let me know where you think he might fit and we'll pick up from there.

He'd most likely be into QA or Programming as a second choice....he is good at math but never really applied himself to it in high school.

And I'm sure game testing wouldn't be any fun at all....it's all for the good of the product as opposed to personal enjoyment....suuuuurrrrre.....

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by octothorp

How common is telecommuting in the video game industry? I've come across a couple job postings that I would be interested in and be a good fit for, but I'm not in a position to relocate from Calgary. I regret not getting into the industry a decade ago when I had more flexibility in my life. My primary interest would be in dialogue and story writing.

I was a game writer on a couple of projects myself. I think telecommuting is a pretty common thing for game writers, but it'll be difficult getting your foot in the door. When it comes to remote work, big studios like to go with experienced people in the business.

You could probably find work on smaller projects, but beware there's a lot of crooks out there on the internet that like to prey on creative people and take their work without paying them. Such people are usually based in other countries which makes if very hard to sue them for what you're owed.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by JerzeeGirl

He'd most likely be into QA or Programming as a second choice....he is good at math but never really applied himself to it in high school.

And I'm sure game testing wouldn't be any fun at all....it's all for the good of the product as opposed to personal enjoyment....suuuuurrrrre.....

Read my response to arsenal's post for programmer information.

As far as QA, Location is very import. If you don't live in a place where they make games, it's very difficult to get into games in any field. So, if your brother doesn't live in a place with games studios, he's probably going to have to move if he wants want to work in a games studio.

If that's not an option (and he doesn't wanna do a comp sci degree), I highly recommend he start with learning a simple programming language, such as LUA, Python, or Ruby, (there are loads of resources online for doing this) and then expirmenting with making his own stuff, before joining a volunteer online project. With a good online project or two on his resume real companies would begin to start looking at him.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Here's a tough one for you:

I am actually VERY interested in getting into the game industry. Here's the problem: I hate math/coding stuff (and I'm bad at it too), and I can't draw to save my life. However, I'm extremely creative and I KNOW what makes a great game, and I think I could design industry shifting games if given the chance. I just can't make them. So how does one go about getting into the industry with that situation?

Hey, guess what? You're me 7 years ago!


You don't need to know how to code to be a designer. It's really common misconception. But you do need to know... something. The days of the Document designer are ending. You can't simply write ideas anymore and get other people to make a game from them.

These days, it's all about learning editor software, and visual scripting (very little math, don't worry). If you're really committed to getting into the industry I suggest you do the following:

1. Pick up a copy of Unreal Tournament 3, and make sure it comes with the Unreal Editor 3.0. Failing that, grab a copy of Neverwinter Nights 2, or Half Life and begin learning to use their level editors.

It's very technical stuff, and can be quite daunting at first. But once you get the hang of one, learning another editor is easy, and there's loads of online tutorials that can teach you how to do this stuff.

2. Once you've got a handle on things, and have made a few of your own little levels or mods, try and join an online volunteer project. You'll be working with volunteer coders and artists who also want to make games, so it can be great experience.

3. Wanna make games? Prove it. Make a board game. You don't need anyone else for that. It's a lot harder than you might think. Once you complete a board game, get some friends to come over and test play it with you. Take their negative feedback and improve your game. Find out what makes it fun.


Finally, it's great to have ambition, but it's pretty tough to come right in and make an industry shifting game. Pay your dues for a few years, prove yourself, and then you can start pitching your own concepts. No one takes people seriously when they're first starting out.

[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?

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by SoulOfTheFlame

I was a game writer on a couple of projects myself. I think telecommuting is a pretty common thing for game writers, but it'll be difficult getting your foot in the door. When it comes to remote work, big studios like to go with experienced people in the business.

You could probably find work on smaller projects, but beware there's a lot of crooks out there on the internet that like to prey on creative people and take their work without paying them. Such people are usually based in other countries which makes if very hard to sue them for what you're owed.

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.