Breaking Into the Game Industry: Advice for a Successful Career from Those Who Have Done It

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Question 1 Why Are You Doing This? What’s this Book About, and Why Are You Writing It?......Page 14
Question 2 How Should I Choose a School?......Page 16
Question 3 What Percentage of My School Work Will Help Me Get a Job?......Page 24
Question 4 Lots of Stuff I Learn in School Seems Like It Has Nothing to Do with Actually Making Games for a Living. What Classes Did You Take that Were the Most Useful on the Job?......Page 26
Question 5 How Much Weight Do Studios Put on GPAs?......Page 28
Question 6 How Much Weight Do Studios Put on the Major or College Attended?......Page 30
Question 7 Why Should I Care About Video Game History?......Page 32
Question 8 Is a Graduate Degree (Such as an MFA or Ph.D.) Useful for Getting a Job in the Game Industry?......Page 36
Question 9 I Want to be a Programmer in the Game Industry. People Are Suggesting I Shouldn’t Bother with More Complex Languages like C or C++ and Focus Instead on Languages Like ActionScript (Flash). Is that a Valid Path?......Page 40
Question 10 Is Getting an Undergraduate Degree a Waste of Time if I Want a Job in the Game Industry?......Page 44
Question 11 Is It Important to Play Games as a Student?......Page 48
Question 12 If You Could Add Something to a Student with Great Vision, What Would It Be?......Page 50
Question 13 I Want to be a Game Designer. Do I Need to Learn Programming or Computer Science?......Page 52
Question 14 Is It Better to be a Specialist or Generalist, in the Short Term or Long Term?......Page 54
Question 15 Is There Another Way to Get Up to Speed on Game Development, Other than Making Games?......Page 56
Question 16 What’s the Best Subject to Make a Game About?......Page 58
Question 17 Where Do You Get Your Ideas?......Page 60
Question 18 How Do I Get My Games to Be More Fun and Not Just Tasks?......Page 62
Question 19 How Do I Make Contacts in the Game Industry?......Page 64
Question 20 It Costs How Much to Go to GDC? How Will I Ever Afford That?......Page 66
Question 21 Should I Get My Own Business Cards? What Should Be on Them? What Do I Do with Them?......Page 70
Question 22 When Should I Start Networking?......Page 74
Question 23 How Do I Get Game Developers’ Business Cards?......Page 76
Question 24 When Should I Follow Up After Getting Someone’s Business Card?......Page 78
Question 25 Is There Anything I Shouldn’t Do When Following Up?......Page 80
Question 26 Should I Ask Developers to Review My Portfolio?......Page 82
Question 27 I Heard that a Lot of People in the Game Industry Use Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, and So on). Why?......Page 84
Question 28 What Else Shouldn’t I Do When Communicating with Developers?......Page 88
Question 29 If I Change My Last Name (such as for Marriage) in Mid-Career, Does that Affect My Career by Messing with the Credits of Previously Shipped Games?......Page 90
Question 30 What Should the Front Page of My Portfolio Look Like?......Page 92
Question 31 As an Artist, What Are Some General Portfolio Guidelines I Need to Follow?......Page 94
Question 32 What Do Character Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 108
Question 33 What Do Environment Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 114
Question 34 What Do Modelers Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 118
Question 35 What Do Texture Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 120
Question 36 What Do Concept Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 122
Question 37 What Do Game Designers Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 124
Question 38 What Do Game Writers Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 132
Question 39 What Do Level Designers Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 136
Question 40 What Do Programmers Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 140
Question 41 What Should a Producer/Project Manager (or Someone Aspiring to Be One) Have in Their Portfolio?......Page 144
Question 42 What Do Sound Designers Need to Show in Their Portfolios?......Page 148
Question 43 Are There People Who Don’t Need Portfolios?......Page 154
Question 44 How Many Images/Games Should I Have in My Portfolio?......Page 156
Question 45 When Should I Start Working on My Portfolio?......Page 158
Question 46 Have You Seen Any Stupid Portfolio Tricks?......Page 160
Question 47 How Do I Get My Work Out There So Someone Can See It?......Page 162
Question 48 Wait, Doesn’t Everyone Say that It’s Impossible to Be Hired as a Game Designer or Game Writer Straight Out of College, or as Your First Job in the Industry?......Page 164
Question 49 How Much Help Will Reading About Game Development Be in Obtaining a Job in the Game Industry?......Page 168
Question 50 How Much Experience Should I Have Before I Start Looking for a Job as a Game Designer?......Page 170
Question 51 I Talked to a Woman and She Was Really Excited Because She Heard I Was a [Insert Desired Position Here]. She Wanted to Talk with Me and See My Portfolio. That’s Great, Right?......Page 174
Question 52 What’s the Best Approach for Getting an Internship?......Page 176
Question 53 Where Should I Look for Jobs?......Page 178
Question 54 Should I Just Show Up Unannounced at a Game Company?......Page 180
Question 55 Does the Current State of the Economy Have an Effect on Game Development or Hiring?......Page 182
Question 56 How Do I Write a Good Cover Letter that Connects with HR and Developers?......Page 184
Question 57 How Do I Write a Good Résumé that Connects with HR and Developers?......Page 186
Question 58 They’re Giving Me an Art/Design/Programming Test. What Is It and Why Are They Doing This?......Page 190
Question 59 The Design/Programming/Art Test Asks Me to Come Up with Some Game/Code/Art Ideas. I Don’t Want Them to Steal My Ideas! What Should I Do?......Page 194
Question 60 Should I Try to Take a Coding Test Before I Am Solid in the Language?......Page 196
Question 61 How Early Should I Show Up for an Interview?......Page 198
Question 62 How Should I Dress for an Interview?......Page 200
Question 63 What Happens in an Interview? How Do I Handle It?......Page 202
Question 64 They Just Offered Me a Salary! How Do I Know if It’s Good? Should I Negotiate?......Page 208
Question 65 Do Interviewees Ever Say Dumb Things?......Page 214
Question 66 Do People Still Expect Me to Follow Up After an Interview?......Page 216
Question 67 What Should I Do Before I Accept a Job Offer?......Page 218
Question 68 They Want Me to Sign a Non-Compete. What’s That?......Page 222
Question 69 They Want Me to Sign an NDA. What’s That?......Page 224
Question 70 How Do I Find a Place to Live if I’m Hired in a New City?......Page 226
Question 71 Is There Such a Thing as Taking a New Job Too Early?......Page 228
Question 72 How Will I Feel My First Day on the Job?......Page 230
Question 73 Once I Have a Job, Any Key Pointers?......Page 232
Question 74 What Do Entry-Level Employees Typically Do in Their First Few Months?......Page 234
Question 75 If I Enter in the Middle of a Project, What’s the Best Way to Get Up to Speed?......Page 236
Question 76 If I Join a Game Company, Will They Make My Game Idea?......Page 238
Question 77 How Is Performance Measured for Raises, Bonuses, and Promotions?......Page 240
Question 78 What Is It Like to Work on a Big Licensed Title?......Page 242
Question 79 What Is It Like to Work at a Small Studio on a Series of Small Projects?......Page 244
Question 80 What Is the Scariest Thing About Being a Game Designer?......Page 246
Question 81 What’s the Worst Thing You’ve Seen in a Game Development Meeting?......Page 248
Question 82 Will I Really Work 70 Hours a Week?......Page 250
Question 83 What Should I Do if I Hate My Job? (Or: How to Exit a Company Gracefully)......Page 252
Question 84 What Should I Do if I Hate Someone I Work With?......Page 256
Question 85 What Should I Do if I Disagree with Someone?......Page 258
Question 86 What Is the “Game Industry”?......Page 264
Question 87 Is There a Way to Get a Feel for the Industry Before Even Getting There?......Page 266
Question 88 Is the Game Industry a Good Place to Meet Someone to Date?......Page 268
Question 89 What Does a Game Developer Do?......Page 270
Question 90 What Does a Lead Do?......Page 272
Question 91 Who Is the Most Evil Person on a Game Development Team?......Page 274
Question 92 Have You Seen Someone Make It in the Industry with a Physical or Mental Disability?......Page 276
Question 93 How Much Money Will I Make Working in the Game Industry?......Page 278
Question 94 Do Small Studios Typically Have Health, Dental, and Savings Plans?......Page 280
Question 95 Which Programming Language Is Used the Most?......Page 282
Question 96 What Is It Like to Be a Woman in the Game Industry?......Page 284
Question 97 What Is It Like to Be a Minority in the Game Industry? Is Diversity Important?......Page 286
Question 98 What Is It Like Working as an LGBT in the Game Industry?......Page 288
Question 99 I Want to Send My Idea to a Game Company. How Do I Do This?......Page 292
Question 100 Is There Such a Thing as a Stupid Question?......Page 294
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Z......Page 304