Need Advice From Wise Jedi Dudes

[Sylohn]

I read a thread earlier about someone that has a job in the game industry and I started thinkin. So I checked for some gaming schools and found one called Full Sail, they have some game development course. I'm thinkin of moving from "insert third world country with crappy internet connection here" to the states and making games for a living(not alone, like working for a company like say raven). Do you think there are enough job openings in the game industry?

[Darkling19]

finding jobs in the gamesbizz is hard, just taking a course or being a good mapper/skinner doesn't cut it, i think your best bet would be to seriously start to learn on your own, learn stuff like c++, 3d max, imagesoft do some modding and mapping for your favourite games and more importantly when you start to crank out good stuff send it around to game companies.

 

some of the people that worked on unreal tournament were just great mappers that were invited onto the project.

 

the point is don't bet your future on a gamesjob, just start learning like hell and get good at it then see if you can get your foot in the door.

 

http://www.gamasutra.com

check that site, read some of the postmortem articles, it's a good source of info.

[StormHammer]

Welcome to the forums.

 

Well, if you want to break into the gaming industry, I think it's easier said than done. It's the old catch-22...they look for someone with experience, and you can't get experience without being in the industry.

 

I've heard good and bad things about Game courses, including comments for some who are already making their own games (on other forums). A game course could last up to 4 years...and in that time the whole industry will have moved forward. You may get a good grounding in the basics...but you'll most likely have to relearn some of the stuff the industry is currently using - unless your training provider can afford to keep up with current trends. Going by my own experience of education systems, education establishments are usually lagging behind in terms of technology and up-to-date software.

 

Advice that I've seen includes trying to get into the MOD scene as a level designer, skinner, or what-have-you, using current game engines and tools, and produce some quality work that gets noticed. Some game companies do offer employment to people in the mod scene who make an impact. It makes sense to hire someone who is familiar with your game development tools.

 

Alternatively, I've also seen some people recommending just going into a standard Computer Science degree course, so that you get a firm grounding in computers and programming, and you can either then choose to go into the game industry (a lot of game developers have gone via this route) and code your own engine or what-have-you from the ground up, or you might switch tack and go into another industry, thereby covering all bases.

 

Of course...it depends on what aspect of the industry you are really interested in. Game development these days equates to team-work, which means you can't really produce an entire game on your own unless you're very good at the whole range of skills required. So I think you need to sit back, assess your current skills, and what you enjoy doing, and then equate that with a particular job or area of the game industry - it's no good trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

 

Hope that helps.

 

BTW...I'm not in the game industry.