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Author: Jason W. Bay

Jason W. Bay is a three-decade game industry professional, credited on dozens of video games since 1995. He's held diverse roles in the game industry including Tester, Game Designer, Technical Director, Product Manager, and Director of Studio Operations, and has been a featured speaker at international game developer conferences. He's currently a Senior Product Manager at Amazon Game Studios in Seattle, WA.

By Posted in Resume No Comments

Today, I’m doing a video “teardown” of 3 actual resumes from job-seekers in the video game industry. All of the resumes are pretty good, but they make some super-common mistakes that I see all the time. With just a little more work, these can become the sort of eye-catching resumes that are impossible for recruiters and hiring managers to overlook.

Most of these mistakes are extremely common—in fact, I’d be willing to bet that your own resume contains at least 3 of these mistakes right now! Watch the video to learn what they are, and how you can fix them before you apply for your next job.

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By Posted in Applying, Careers 2 Comments

About Epic Games

Headquarters: Cary, North Carolina, USA
Company type: Developer, publisher, game engine vendor
Number of employees: 1,000+
Most famous products: Fortnite, Unreal, Gears of War, Infinity Blade, Unreal Engine

Epic Games was founded in 1991 by Tim Sweeney, who still runs the company decades later as CEO. Originally, Epic was solely a developer of PC and console games. But today, they operate game studios internationally, and develop and sell what is arguably the most popular game engine in the world: Unreal Engine.

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By Posted in Schools No Comments

A website for Destinations Career Academy loaded on an Apple laptop
Is an online high school right for you?

If you’re a high school student interested in becoming a game designer, it can be hard to know where to start. Sure, there are lots of options for learning game design if you’re in college… but for high schoolers, there haven’t been many options to “formally” learn game design, until recently.

One of your options for learning game design in high school, is an online program called Destinations Career Academy (DCA). It’s an online high school that’s tuition-free and fully-accredited, available in 19 states (US only). DCA also has some private schooling options, and runs free online game design summer camps.

Today, I spoke with an outreach manager from DCA to learn more about what it is, who it’s for, and what their education programs can do for high schoolers interested in game design. Read more »

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By Posted in Culture 6 Comments

[Graphic] Periodic Table of Video Games, by Jason W. Bay, GameIndustryCareerGuide.com
You need this on your wall right now! (Click to see it big)
BUY NOW
Have you ever had an awesome idea rattling loudly around inside your head for months, or even years, but for some reason you can’t bring yourself to start? I’ve had this idea for years to make a poster of all the best games ever made. It would be organized like a periodic table of elements, grouped by genre, with each game’s release date instead of atomic weight.

It would be an incredible (and incredibly geeky!) conversation piece. My friends and I could debate about which games made the cut and how they were organized into which genres, and get excited about which games were our favorites from childhood (or, ahem, college). It would spark so many great memories–I couldn’t think of a better way to explain my life-long love of games with the people around me.

Well guess what? This year, I finally started making it… and today, I finally finished it! Gimme a high-five! Read more »

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By Posted in Careers No Comments

How do history’s best game designers overcome creative setbacks?

Like any artistic process, game design is hard. Sometimes, really hard. And if bringing a completely new game into the world isn’t daunting enough, many designers struggle with the daily setbacks that go hand-in-hand with all forms of creative risk-taking.

So when you see the accomplishments of the game industry’s top game designers — people like Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear), Richard Garriott (Ultima), Will Wright (The Sims), and other greats — it’s easy to imagine them as game design “gods” who created their masterworks with a supernatural confidence that could only arise from natural-born talent.

But here’s the truth: Everyone doing meaningful creative work will, eventually, crash headlong into seemingly-impossible challenges. The struggle to overcome them can be long and painful, and sometimes leads to discouragement or even bouts of depression. Read more »

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By Posted in Applying, Careers 27 Comments
Which game companies make hit games AND treat employees well?

Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry, and the largest companies are home to thousands of employees. If you’re looking for work as a game developer, you might be planning to start by applying at the companies that make your favorite games.

But when it comes to your job search, making hit games isn’t all you should care about. Are those companies great places to work? Do they treat their employees well? Do they care about their impact on the environment and on the World? Will they still be around in 10 years, or are they on a downward slope to mass layoffs and bankruptcy?
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By Posted in Networking 2 Comments

Jason W. Bay at the GDC Expo in San Francisco, CA
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is my personal favorite industry event each year.

In the early days of video games — back in the 1970s — the game industry wasn’t really an “industry” at all. It was just a few companies with a few employees, and everybody seemed to know everybody else. But the popularity of games quickly grew, first through the “arcade boom,” and then driven by the rise of home computers and game consoles.

Now, video games are a $100 billion industry that employs tens of thousands of workers in diverse fields like art, programming, design, production, and audio. With all those people and all that technology, it’s far more difficult for game developers to keep up with each other — let alone keep up with the latest industry developments.

That’s why, each year, various industry groups host special events to bring game developers together from across the world. Some events are general-purpose for any and all game developers, while others focus on specific sub-fields within game development. What they have in common is that each offers a chance for attendees to collaborate, network, hunt for jobs, and share knowledge — all while having fun with their peers and celebrating an amazing industry. Read more »

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By Posted in Careers No Comments

Are you driving your own career, or are you just a passenger?

Can you imagine spending each day working alongside a team of super-talented game designers and artists, creating a new video game destined to be loved by millions of passionate fans?

What about waking up on Monday morning and being glad the weekend is over — because you absolutely love your job?

If your dream job is making games, you’re not alone. Every month, 40,000 eager readers visit this site to learn about the game industry and hear advice on how to turn the dream into a reality. Read more »

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By Posted in Interviewing No Comments

This article is part of our Video Game Job Hunt Guide. Read the full guide to learn how to write a strong resume, build a winning portfolio, ace your job interviews and more.

Man waiting for a phone interview
Do you know the 10 Dos and Don’ts of phone interviewing?

The phone interview could be your first and best chance to make a good impression on a future employer. But phone interviews are alarmingly short — often just 30 minutes — so if you make a mistake, there’s no time to recover.

Use these phone interview Dos and Don’ts to nail your phone interview and convince any employer that you’d be perfect for the job.Read more »

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By Posted in Careers, Schools No Comments

Portrait of Branden Brushett, 3D video game artist
“Do not give up. Working in the game industry is worth the struggle.”

Branden Brushett is a professional 3D artist in the video game industry, with credits on hit games like Minecraft, MetalStorm, and Paradise Bay. But it took more than an art education to break into the game industry. After art school, Branden’s journey had only just begun. Success as a game artist demanded serious effort, countless hours, and literally chasing his dream across the country.

We’re speaking with Branden today to learn why you should (or shouldn’t!) get an art degree, how to choose and apply to art schools, and how you might be able to score a free education and follow a non-standard path into the game industry. Read more »

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