How To Make Your Way In The Gaming Industry

How to start from any experience level and earn more money for car parts while doing something you love!

10 Apr 2015

How To Make Your Way In The Gaming Industry

There’s nothing better than getting paid to do something that you’re passionate about. I am grateful to have worked as a mechanic, a game artist and a writer because I truly enjoy what those jobs entail. No, I do not have a game related college degree. No, I didn’t get the hook up from a mate who handed me a job on a silver platter. I started small and worked on several low budget and no-budget projects before I made my passion into a career. We have a community here on CT that is full of talented artists and avid gamers who could harness their skills for a career in the gaming industry.

Do You Really Want To Make Games?

The truth is, people who work with games are simultaneously the most fun-loving and hard working people you will ever meet. They will go into ‘super stress mode’ and will work non stop during certain stages of development, then counter that with periods of play time and relaxation. If you’re going to dive into this environment you have to be ready to meet the demands. The big one is scheduling. Every task assigned has a deadline, from artistry to physics to marketing. If one area is delayed, it can cause delays throughout the entire studio. That’s why when crunch time comes, you won’t find the same friendly people working around you. Everyone will be working like maniacs to finish their duties on time.

‘Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’
Confucius

Being able to listen to your team, lead, take criticism and adjust your work is crucial. I can’t count how many hundreds of hours I’ve put into creating assets that were tossed out or drastically changed before making it into the final game. If you can’t handle the fact that someone else doesn’t always love your work on the first try, then the gaming industry is definitely not for you. It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.

Know What Role You Want

When most people hear ‘game development’, they think of coding. It takes many different roles to create a game, and you should research the role you want before pursuing it. Here are just a few positions that the studios need:

Programmer
Team Lead
Modeler
Level Designer
2D/3D Artist
Texturist
Environment Artist
Animator
Video Editor
Game Tester
Voice Actor
Sound Designer
Music Composer
Community Manager
Marketer/Social Media Manager
PR/Advertising Manager
Web Designer

There can be dozens more, depending on the demands of the game, and each position may be comprised of several people. With larger studios, there are also positions in Human Resources, Accounting, Billing and more. In these positions, the work is not directly related to making games, but you can still say you work for a gaming studio and enjoy all the perks.

Education

If you are about to go to university or are in the first year of college, you may consider a degree that is related to the position you want. It doesn’t need to be gaming specific, but it should coincide with the job duties. If you already have a degree in an unrelated field or if you have no degree, then you will need to use a combination of education and experience to get the job. That doesn’t mean you should drop everything and go back to school. Take online courses in your free time. Sites like Udemy, which has over 25,000 courses, offer free and low cost classes that you can take on your own time. Dedicating just a few hours a week to learning how to animate, build a game or 3D model will definitely get you on the right track. Taking courses to brush up your skills is for everyone, even for those who have prior gaming education and experience. There is always room for improvement.

Experience

This is the hard part, and it is true with just about every career. Where can you gain experience when nobody will hire you without it? Simply put: start small. Unless you get lucky, you’re going to have to work your way to the top. Start by building a portfolio to showcase your work, then go after a gig with a small studio. Try one of these ways to build experience:

Grab some of your mates and build your own game. It doesn’t have to be big or complicated. Just show that you have what it takes to hold up your fair share of the work.
Join an online game building site like OneGameAMonth or World of Mass Developement (Project CARS) to get credit for contributing to a finished project.
Search for unpaid gigs or gigs that offer royalties.
If you’re an artist, start making your own mock game artwork with plenty of variety.

For free game development tools, check out this list from Lisa Brown, designer at Insomniac Games.

Presenting Yourself

You get one shot at a first impression, so make it count. Present a well polished portfolio, your CV and a cover letter. Your portfolio should showcase your talents and versatility. Your CV should be well organised and your cover letter should explain why you are the absolute best fit for the position. So many people leave out a cover letter, but it can explain so much more to the employer.