How To Get Into Game Development: 10 Proven Ways to Break Into the Game Industry
Does the video game industry seem like a black box, with no way to break inside? All you need is a foot in the door, but how do you get it to open in the first place?
You can get into game development. All you need is a solid strategy.
But it’s time to stop searching for “the right way,” because there’s no one “right way.” Instead, there are many ways to get your first job at a game studio. To discover the best strategies, it takes an understanding of how the current batch of professional game developers started out.
Here are 10 strategies you can use to break into your first job at a video game studio, along with examples of pro developers that have done it. It worked for them, and it can work for you.
1. Post your work on discussion boards
If you’re an aspiring game developer, you might spend a lot of time lurking around discussion boards and soaking up as much knowledge as you can. But you know who else reads those discussion boards? Professional game developers do.
That’s why it’s a perfect way to get your work seen by game studios, which can help you build industry connections and could even lead to a job offer.
Caleb Parrish is a Game Art Director, but he didn’t start out that way – he was an unemployed artist trying to land his first game job, and spent his time posting his work on discussion forums. Caleb explained, “Early on, I would post a lot of the work I was doing on forums like CGchat.com (now GameArtisans.org) or Polycount.org. Eventually I got good enough that someone noticed and offered me a job.”
Stop lurking, and start posting. Engage with the other participants on the boards, many of which are professional game developers looking to hire somebody new. You might just end up with your first job in games.
2. Start a gaming blog
If you’re gunning for a job writing about games or running a gaming community, the best way to get started might be to just… start.
Jason Van Beveren was working a typical corporate job when he realized that what he really wanted was a job in games. “I started writing an online gaming blog. I had hopes that I’d catch someone’s eye. I also wanted to know if I was any good at it. It only took a month before I was noticed by Parris Lilly, who asked me to run a gaming website he was co-managing.”
Just a few years later, Jason is now Head of Player Experience at a game studio. Where could you be in a few years, if you get started now?
3. Build your own indie games
I’m constantly asked the question, “How can I get experience making games, when game studios won’t even hire me unless I have experience?” Well the answer is simple: Make a game, and then – voila! – now you have some experience.
Dan Posluns programmed little games for his Apple IIc and his TI-85 calculator, and kept making indie games until he was noticed by an established game studio. He told us, “I actually spent some time working on websites before being pursued and ultimately recruited by a game company. They had noticed my homebrew Gameboy Advance work online, and got in touch to offer me a job interview.”
There are more, better, free game dev tools available now than ever before. Dan created his first indie games on a calculator! With everything that’s available for you to download and start creating video games today, you’re officially out of excuses.
4. Get an entry-level job as a Game Tester
Of all the jobs in the game industry, the job of Game Tester is the easiest to get. Why? Partly because most testing jobs don’t require a college degree or other specialized training, so anybody can apply. But also because many game testers eventually move into other jobs on the game team, so there’s always room for new testers to fill in the vacancies.
Merric Shank started out as a game tester: “A few years and a few companies later, I was still in QA. But I made sure that my boss knew I was interested in learning more about production and that I was eager for more responsibility. After a while, I was given the opportunity to help out on a game – and after a successful trial run I was promoted to Associate Producer.”
Kelly Toyama, now a Senior Game Designer, also started out as a game tester – but he didn’t let that job title stop him from contributing to design on his game team, and that caught the eye of his bosses. He says, “I started in QA but design has always been my passion. Game design is a funny thing: Just because you have the title doesn’t mean you can do it, and not having the title shouldn’t stop you.”
The game industry is full of programmers, artists, designers and others that started out as entry-level video game testers. The thing is, once you have your foot in the door, it’s easy to learn more about game development and how a game studio works from the inside out. You make connections, you learn, and you grow. From there, the opportunities are yours to take ’em or leave ’em.
5. Get an internship at a video game studio
If you have a skill that can be used in game development such as programming, art, or sound design, you might be able to get a job at a game studio even if you’ve never built an actual game. Not every studio has an “official” game developer internship program, but most are open to the idea of a part-time, temporary, inexpensive (or free) worker that could help them finish their game.
Jaclyn Shumate got her start as a game audio intern. She says, “I was curious about audio engineering so I signed up for some classes… and I fell in love with it. I looked around for internships at game company startups, which seemed like the most interesting avenue to explore for me, and was fortunate enough to find one. That was eight years ago. I’ve been happily employed in many different roles in game audio ever since.”
You want a job in games, and game studios want inexpensive workers. Get in touch with a game studio near your home and find out if they have an internship – it might just be a perfect match.
6. Get a video-game related college degree
Mandi Burley got a Bachelor’s Degree in Game Art & Design, and was recruited directly out of school to work at a game studio. She went on to ship several major titles as a Designer and Lead Designer.
But she says simply having a degree isn’t enough: “Crafting an experience requires critically looking at your own work and improving it. You have to step into the role of a new player over and over again, even as you yourself become very familiar with the level you’re building.”
7. Get a traditional college degree
If you browse the job postings from various game studios, you’ll notice that many of them say “Bachelor’s Degree required” – but they don’t specify which Bachelor’s Degree. In most cases, it doesn’t have to be a game-related degree, as long as you’ve learned skills that can be applied to game development.
Brandon Fogerty got his Master’s Degree in Computer Science, and worked as a programmer at non-game software companies until he landed his first job making video games. The key is to always be growing: “Technology is always changing and improving. I believe engineers should always be learning, and willing to push themselves outside of their technical sphere.”
Nathaniel Hubbell is now a Video Game Special Effects Artist, but he started with a traditional art degree focusing on animation for film. He transitioned to a game job by leveraging his professional network: “I went to school for animation, making several of my own short films. Through some connections I found a job in the game industry. There I started off doing character animation, but because I also had a general background in 3D art I often helped out with the effects as well. After a while, my supervisors approached me about doing effects full-time.”
If you’re skeptical, take a look at all the different degrees that could get you a job in game design. Game Designer education requirements are as diverse as game designers themselves.
8. Get a job at a gaming studio in a non-gamedev position
It takes a variety of jobs to operate a successful game studio, and many of those jobs aren’t directly involved with making the game. Even if you’ve never made a video game, you could still apply for jobs at game studios in non-development roles such as information technology, tools development, or other support staff.
Brian Gish was working as a database engineer when he landed his first job at a game studio in a non-gamedev role. “I had just been laid off from my first job out of college at a database/computer backup reporting software company. A recruiter contacted me about a testing tools contract position at Microsoft Gaming Studio working on Fable 2. I had always wanted to work in the games industry so it was a dream come true! Since I had my foot in the door at that point, I was able to get a job at Sony Online Entertainment as a tools programmer after my contract ended.”
Frank Rogan was on a path to become a website designer, and one of his jobs took him to a game studio to design their website. Once his foot was in the door, he started helping out with game design – and the rest is history. “I realized I was the game designer that was really wrangling the work of the other game designers, and they call that person a Producer.”
Smaller game studios don’t have as much support staff, so focus on the larger studios and game publishers if you want to pursue this strategy. The bigger the studio, the more support jobs there will be for you to target.
9. Participate in game jams
I’ve heard anecdotes about people getting job offers after making something cool in a game jam but, personally, I’ve only met one person so far who successfully followed this path.
I’m including it here because I do think it’s possible – it does make sense. After you do a game jam you’ll have something for your portfolio, you’ll have developed some skill working with a team under pressure, and you will have expanded your professional network by meeting new people – many of whom might be professional game developers that could help you get a job someday. I think it’s worth checking out, if game jams are your jam.
Look for in-person game jams near you, or try joining (or starting!) one of the many virtual game jams like the ones on itch.io.
10. Make in-game apps
If working for a game company isn’t for you, there’s another way to earn a living in games on your own: build gaming apps that enhance popular multiplayer games.
Making gaming apps requires some programming ability, but it’s possible to make pretty amazing apps for games like League of Legends or Hearthstone, using just JavaScript and HTML. If players find your app useful, you can earn anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars each month from in-app advertising and subscriptions.
Amit Tsur is a developer who single-handedly created the app Dota Plus, a successful Dota 2 app. So far, Dota Plus has nearly half a million downloads, and has earned Amit enough money to quit his job and do game app development full time.
Another example is Matt Hawkins, who built in-game apps for games like Apex Legends and Fortnite. He started by building just a single app, HaloTracker. It became so popular that he turned it into a full-time job and hired additional developers to build even more apps.
11. Be persistent, and don’t give up
Is “persistence” a strategy? Like most anything worthwhile in life, developing your skills and getting a job in the video game industry isn’t going to be easy. You might feel like you’re banging your head against the wall – you might get discouraged. We’ve all been there.
But nobody has felt it more than Tony Ravo. Today, Tony is a Lead Animator at a major game studio. But his first game job didn’t come easily – it came after many months and many rejections. Tony’s advice is this: “Those who get the jobs in the industry are those that keep working on their reel and keep applying even after those first rounds of rejection. I still have my Disney rejection letter, but I learned I needed to improve my life drawing skills so I worked on that. Each rejection I received motivated me to work harder until I was eventually able to get my foot in the door.”
It doesn’t feel great to have your job application turned down. But just remember that you have to fail before you can succeed – each rejection brings you another step closer to landing your first game job.
Read my new book!
Making games for a living is an incredibly rewarding career, but it’s hard to break in unless you have insider knowledge. This book levels the playing field.
Any advice for someone coming from an outside industry, i.e. Bachelor’s in Business/Marketing with 5 years experience in the sports and recreation industry?
Hi Ryan, I do have some suggestions. With a BA in Marketing, you could work in the marketing department of any big game publisher (EA, Zynga, Microsoft, etc.) or at a company that sells gamedev middleware (like Unity, Unreal, or Amazon). Those large publishers also have business development teams, which could be a fit for you. Or, depending on your area of expertise, you could take a look at being a Product Manager on a live online game, especially in a mobile studio, or possibly a Game Producer. Lots of options!
Hey Ryan! I am similar to you, I got a business degree and decided I wanted to make games. I took a few programming course on Coursera, then I bought [link removed], which really helped me.
Hi Dan, please don’t spam my site with links to your book. If your book is good, I’d be happy to help you promote it in a more upfront manner, please get in touch using the Contact form if you’re interested. Thanks.
Hi,,i am Ganesh, i am fresher in game development field i am not getting the right path or direction to start my career in game development please tell me how can i start??
Hi Ganesh, the above article has several examples of ways you could break into the game industry. If you need more specifics, check out the other articles on this website that have advice for each of the specific game dev roles.
Hello, Jason. I graduated school two/three years ago and fear I cant get back to getting a job in game design due to depression. I got a horrid mishmash of a half-job/half-freelance e-learning job but its not my passion and I have gotten to my breaking point. I teach kids and feel that I cant post anything form my current (and only) job which really discourage me to think that I am not qualified for any job in the industry or any chance to get into the industry. Any advice on where to start for someone who’s been out of the loop for so long, such as where should I look for intern work, how do I go about getting it.
Hi Heather, two/three years isn’t long to be out of school or out of the industry. I realize it probably feels like a lot to you, but I don’t think it will be a problem. As long as you have some applicable skills, you’ll be able to find a job.
I have some advice on finding internships on this game internships FAQ. While you’re searching for a new job, also consider working on your portfolio because it will give you confidence and could help you get hired faster.
It can be hard to feel confident or successful in your career while also dealing with depression, so please be sure to seek professional support to help you work through it. ♥
Thank you for the detailed article and examples, I really appreciate it. I am finishing my master’s of Engineering in Computer Engineering program in December this year, and I hold a B.Sc in Computer Engineering as well. I’ve always had passion for games and it is my dream to be able to join the industry and make games. I am graduating with almost no working experience (except for a 3 months internship as an assistant web developer/programmer). I tried to look fo postings in the game industry but it seems everyone is asking for years of experience and/or requirements that I am not familiar with. I have also applied to other jobs and I’m actually about to sign an offer tomorrow as a Java developer in a well-known bank (2 years contract) after I do few months of intensive training tailored for that job.
Do you think this will have a bad effect on pursuing my goal? I’m concerned about getting forever stuck in the financial industry (which I’m not really interested in) as I will have my first 2 years of experience there. Do you think I can try to build my own games just to remain relevant during those 2 years and then apply?
I don’t want to turn this offer down because it wasn’t easy to find
Please advise me what you think
I really appreciate your time, and sorry for the long comment
Hi Omar, I don’t think you need to worry about “getting stuck” in the financial industry, you will be gaining programming experience that will help you in future programming jobs. Also, it’s good to have a steady paycheck. 🙂 In the meantime, you can build small games in your spare time, and/or take online game programming courses — anything to get experience and build your game programming portfolio. Then start applying for entry-level game programming jobs again when you have ~6 months remaining in your contract.
Good day! Is it possible to have a place in the gaming industry when all my teens I’ve been studying to be in the healthcare industry. I have an associates degree and it does not have any connection to gaming. For these past months, I’ve been fearing that I took a path that I don’t have the confidence to be in. Peoples lives in your hands is something that scares me especially when I was exposed to the field. I just dont think I can do it. I’m sad I realized it late. But yeah anyway, any advice to someone who literally doesn’t have a background in gaming (other than playing games)?
Hi Mana, you might be glad to know that many people in the game industry have degrees from unrelated fields of study. The game industry is mostly a meritocracy, so if you can do the work you can get hired. You might like this interview with a person I know who started later in his career. You can also follow the links in the article above, many of those people also broke into games later in life.
1. Post your work on discussion boards
Did that, keeps getting buried and overshadowed by work from far more talented individuals. my work is neither terrible or brilliant, just average because I have not been able to refine it while working on real projects
2. Start a gaming blog
Had one on my website, posted every week on either my own projects or on recent game releases and the quality of their art (mostly positive). No one visited or commented and I gave up after just over a year.
3. Build your own indie games
Joined three separate teams and all three projects were cancelled because the programmers could never actually get a playable game working for my art assets. plus they were never clear on concept so my work was constantly without any real direction and many assets had to be constantly remade.
4. Get an entry-level job as a Game Tester
This is mainly the focus of my problem as I have worked for two QA houses for less than a year. The AAA industry has widely adopted the policy of only employing temps. Temps are severely restricted in their position, their contracts are subject to cancellation without notice or cause, they are not eligible for benefits despite putting in full-time and overtime, they are not able to transfer to other departments (completely removing the prospect of QA being your first step into the industry), they cannot take part in most major company events in order to meet and network with the developers or take advantage of any in house training courses to improve their skills, and most QA houses are now offsite, completely detached from the developers and their facilities.
5. Get an internship at a video game studio
My college offered these, but the application process was no different than looking for an actual job. you didn’t get the internship because you were a student and to learn and get the experience (as it should be), they only gave it to you if you showed talent that they could use for their games and essentially get free labor out of you.
6. Get a video-game related college degree
My college (AICAOC) promoted itself as prestigious and had a wide range of industry connections. instead they lied about their job placement, couldn’t even dig up actual game developers to come to the portfolio show (300 business cards and 100 copies of my resume and not a single one was taken by anyone who came), and never provided a single job lead after graduation. Also have never got any interviews so whether or not I have issues personality or attitude wise never even came up.
7. Get a traditional college degree
I spent all my money on the video-game related college and am in debilitating debt for the next 20 years so I’m more concerned with paying bills than new tuition.
8. Get a job at a gaming studio in a non-gamedev position
Unless you double majored in marketing, accounting, or an other business field, this is not remotely possible.
9. Participate in game jams
Actually took part in two of them and fad quite a lot of fun, but no one else working on these were interested in collaborating on a full indie project afterwards.
10. Be persistent, and don’t give up
Three years later without getting a single solid position and have no alternative career paths to explore? What could I give it up for?
Hi Tony, it’s great to see you’ve tried many approaches. We know there are tens of thousands of people working in the game industry, so I think we can reasonably assume it’s not impossible to get in. I don’t know your specific situation, but the general advice I give to people struggling to get hired is to focus on improving your core art skills, and work on making your online portfolio as strong as possible. There’s a lot of great art portfolio advice here.
Hello, I’m currently studying for Bachelor in Game Development. I might need to do internship as part of my studies.
Just wondering, my skills involved in drawing, using Photoshop and Illustrations for digital arts. And I’ve started learning Maya, Z-brush, Unreal and Unity almost half a year.
What’s the right question to ask? I was unsure what to ask as artist as I’ve never done internship or been in gaming industry.
I have account in LinkedIn but I don’t have a lot connection that don’t involved in gaming. I’ve got one I know as a game developer but I haven’t been able to get hold of a reply.
So chances are many might not response back.
Hi Celina, have you tried joining any online game artist communities such as artstation.com or cgsociety.org? I think you’ll meet many game artists willing to give advice and make connections.
Hello Celine, how are you in May 3, 2020? I’m not a developer or something. I’m just a guy wants to asked you about your degree and where did you study? If you’re still there can I add you up in a social media account? Thanks for bearing with me.
Hi! This website has been helpful, but I feel like I am a bit of an outlier here.
I am about to finish my undergraduate career in communication (I study interpersonal com & organizational com) with a minor in philosophy which would set me up for something like HR, but I have always loved videogames and wanted to work in the gaming industry. I tried computer science freshman year, but quickly gave up. I have grown since then and am willing to try harder and go back to that, but I wanted to know if you think I could do anything with the degree I am obtaining?
Concurrently, I have written a couple short stories due to my interest in unique plots and characters. I plan on starting a blog soon and may use that small platform to get feedback and actually produce something instead of only consuming.
So, I guess to synthesize this; do you think there would be a place for an individual like me (with your limited knowledge of myself) in the gaming industry? If so, where do you think I should start?
Any help/evaluations you can give are welcome. Thanks!
Hi Kelvin, first of all, if you’re still interested in HR, then you could apply for HR jobs at game companies. But otherwise, I’d recommend looking into game design based on your communications background and interest in writing/storytelling. Check out this article on the education background of game designers, I think you’ll find it helpful.
I’m trying to break into the industry myself after dedicating about a decade to another field. I have a bachelors and masters in theology, and have worked in sales / customer service while slowly earning an MS in Computer Science. In addition, I have a lot of experience managing very large online communities, which I do as a hobby that I would love to turn into a life long career if I were lucky enough to o so..
Ideally, I’d like to get started working in the industry now. Since I’ve had experience in all of the above, I think I’m a good fit for QA Testing, Customer Service, and even Community Management.
However, given the unique nature of my background so far, I wonder how I should go about presenting myself in job applications to the various game studios in my area. I sort of want to apply to all three types of positions and see what happens, but I imagine that coming off to hiring managers as quite unusual!
If you have any thoughts on that, I’d appreciate it!
Hi Michael, there are many people in the game industry who have a variety of interests and skills. But when you’re applying for a job, it’s almost always best to be clear about which specific job you want. Don’t apply for multiple job families at a single company, instead just pick which job you want at that company, and write your resume to focus on that skill set. If you’re applying for a community manager job, focus on community management/support stuff in your resume and application. Otherwise the hiring managers might think “this guy doesn’t know what he wants to do” and that can be a red flag.
Here’s an idea for you: Based on your background in customer service and community management, and based on getting a CS degree, I think you should look into engineering support roles at companies that make software for game developers (Unity, Unreal, Amazon, etc.). They have jobs like Field Support Engineer and Developer Support Engineer that are basically programmers that support other programmers. Could be a fit for you.
Hello Jason just like others i graduated in college with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering but when i was still in college i dint really focuses in programming but i am more in hardware and my programming skills are very poor that`s why im having some discouragement on getting inside a game industry. But i really wanted to become a game developer or a game designer ever since i was a kid i love playing video games thats why i became curious on how does a game was created thats why i really it was my dream to become one. Right now im working at a manufacturing company here in Japan as a part timer and no chance on getting to be permanent in here. Can you give me some advice on how can i achieve my dream job?
Hi there, this article has many ideas for you on how you could get a start in the game industry, so I recommend reading through it and see if any of these ideas might suit you. If you’re interested in game design, you don’t need to be a good programmer, although your programming experience will be helpful.
Hello, and thank you for being so responsive in these comments. I suppose I will ask you about my own circumstance. My last job was an associate systems engineer, in which i worked on our proprietary software for use in ground satellite systems all over the world. It involved some coding etc., but not a great deal. I’ve mostly worked with GUI’s, a great deal of procedure development (meeting requirements with steps that our software uses), etc.
Could this put me ahead of the curve in some area of the video gaming industry that I’m aware of?
I’m about to apply as a Level Designer to a big-name company as my first application. As a hobby, I’ve enjoyed making levels for games, largely 2D games as of late. I’ve prepared a portfolio that largely relies on maps I’ve made using the map creator in an android game I’ve played for years, which explains the thinking behind these maps.
Any insight you might have into my situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in any case!
Hi Dave, Level Designer is generally in the “game design” job family, so programming isn’t usually required but it can definitely be helpful. For example, if you get a job designing levels using a game engine, you might use a scripting language (such as C# or Python) on the job. So it sounds to me like you’re on the right track. I wish you the best in your job search!
Hello my name is ankith and im currently pursuing my bachelors in electronics and communication engineering. I am very interested in creating games. I would like to find out what degree should i pursue next i have no clue how to go about it. Could you please explain me the possibilities and all. Thank you
Hi Ankith, most game programmers get a computer science degree or similar, but any degree program that teaches you how to code would be good. You should also try to learn game programming specifically, by making small games in your spare time. You might try one of these free tools to get started: Free Tools to Make Your First Game.
hi I’m a 27 year old civil engineer and I have been in logistics industry for over 4 years but I recently decided to pursue my passion which is somewhere in gaming industry but I have no idea where to begin I mean I’m planning on moving to France but I don’t know if there are any schools there that are for me or what course should I apply to.
I would really appreciate it if you share your view on this with me help me get a little perspective.
Hi Armin, there are a few different strategies, I discuss them in this article/podcast about changing careers to the game industry. If you aren’t sure which job family might work for you, then start with this article about the different kinds of game jobs. Once you decide which job to pursue, you can dig deeper to learn what skills to develop before applying for jobs.
how much salary you earn?
how much experience need to become a game developer?
Hi Abhijeet, your salary will depend on which game career you pursue, and your years of experience. You can find all that information in the article series about game developer salary.
Hey Jason,
I’ll try to condense this so as to not write a novel. I “graduated” with a bachelors in game Design back in 2010 from a school that was bought, changed names, and then all campuses closed. They lost accreditation Not long after I left the school and in recent years I’ve heard complaints from other students at other campuses that teachers filed a grade, admin changed it higher to make students feel like they are doing better than they actually are and get more loans to fund the schools
I say this because i basically killed myself doing 20 units a semester for three years while working two jobs to graduate, just missing honors, all to now have the feeling that “how much did I really learn?” Fast forward to now….
I’ve applied hundreds of times since 2011 at companies here in the northern Cali Bay Area with literally one QA “callback” for what was said to be an entry level job only to be turned down because I have no experience.
I’m trying to reignite the passion I had to learn unreal or unity again but at the same time, I just don’t know what to go through anymore because, let’s face it, confidence is a bit shattered (understatement) I’d be perfectly willing for QA while honing my skills even though I know the hours and pay are not nearly as good as I have it now but I can’t get near the door to see it’s opened enough for me to get a toe in….
Suggestions?
Hi Jeff, I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the game school, that sounds frustrating and heartbreaking. Fortunately, the game industry doesn’t generally look at your education credentials as much as they care about your online portfolio. So I’d recommend that you focus on making a great game design portfolio, it will help a lot with your job search. And when you do get an interview, you don’t need talk about about your school or explain your situation — keep the conversation focused on your portfolio, your skills, and your future career as a game designer. Be positive, even if you feel some “impostor syndrome” — we’ve all been there. You can do this!
What’s your take on getting into the industry with outside the field degrees.
I am interested in studying history but love the industry. With a degree like this I am assuming my best bet would be QA or journalism.
If I studied, psychology I would be looking at working for the companies support staff team I suppose or something in customer services
Then if I studied law would be looking into the legal or consultancy team.
These are my top interest of degree I am in the UK but just wondered about your take on things.
Thank you
Hi Tyler, most people in the game industry didn’t get a game-specific degree, so you’ll be in good company. You’re thinking along the right path, but you should also consider looking at it from the other direction: Start by identifying a type of job in the game industry that sounds interesting to you, then research to find out what kind of degree would get you there. For example, game designers come from diverse educational backgrounds.
Thank you Jason,
The dream would be to become a video games writer
Hi I would like to be in the gaming industry.
Hi Zachary, the ideas listed in the article above should get you started in the right direction!
Hey Jason,
For twenty years, I’ve not only loved playing video games, but the entire production behind it –the art, creativity, direction –I love each individual aspect of building a game.
Would you have any advice to offer me? I currently work in the real estate field, but my true passion would be to be a part of a gaming development team. I’m twenty-five, very detail-oriented, and while I do not have a gaming-specific degree, I was wondering perhaps the best way to get my foot in the door. I say these because literally the only experience I have is loving games and the industry itself. What are some of the special stand-out skills?
Thank you!
Yassi
Hi Yassi, I wrote the above article for people who are in your exact situation, so that’s my best advice for you. To work in games, you need to have some skills that are useful to a gamedev team, and there are many ways you can develop the skills. If you’re starting from zero and want to fast-track, I would recommend working through some online courses/tutorials.
It has been my dream to work in the Video game industry ever since I started playing video games. I finally graduated last summer with my Associates degree in video game design and a bachelors degree in Applied arts & science with a minor in entrepreneurship from two schools, but with little experience on what it is like to work for a developer beyond what I have read, watch, listened, and studied. I can not say my work resume while I was in school is helpful since none of my past jobs were industry related. But it is hard enough to not be living near any developer studio’s but just as equally hard as to finding an opening to even try to begin a lifelong career. I am still trying to apply to any entry level openings whether it is an internship, QA tester, and even what you called non-dev roles through many job boards like Linkedin and Indeed to the studio’s career websites. Is there more that I can do that can help me, am I lacking in something(which is my biggest worry now) that is holding me back, or is it #10 I need to follow for now?
Hi Zachary, it’s hard to know for sure why companies aren’t responding to your job applications, but chances are it’s due to a problem with your resume. Be sure to include any game projects you worked on during your Associate’s degree, and consider making an online portfolio with any code or demos you’ve created. If you haven’t created much yet, then now is a good time to start making some small demos to show your skills to employers.
Take a look at this article on resume examples, to see if you can get some ideas that will help with your own resume: http://www.gameindustrycareerguide.com/video-game-resume-example/
Also keep in mind, with the COVID-19 issues that are happening worldwide, I expect most employers are on a hiring freeze for the next couple of months. So definitely use this time to improve your resume and online portfolio, so you’ll come out stronger when companies start hiring again later this year.
Hi Jason. I’m Sam. As a kid I’ve always loved to become a game developer once, and now as a teenager, I really wanna become a game developer. But I don’t know if I’m being so optimistic that I think that one day I will become a famous developer. Am I being too optimistic or I can make it?
Any advice for me?
Btw, I made a really icky game myself but I don’t know wether it’s good to post it or not
I play video games a lot so maybe I can attend a game testing program. What do you think? Can I become a famous developer one day????
Hi Sam, if you have a passion for game development and you can learn the skills you need to do the job, then you can have a successful career. As far as becoming “famous,” who knows! If you end up being very talented and very lucky, maybe you could become famous. But becoming famous probably shouldn’t be your goal. Shoot for becoming great at your job, and making games that players will love. If you can achieve that, I think you’ll consider yourself a big success.
Hi Jason,
I appreciate the advice you gave in this article. Just wondering, I am getting my MA degree in Media, Culture, and Communication, which is very theory-heavy. I have been a big gamer my all life so recently I decided to explore opportunities in the video games industry. Besides applying to some communications/PR position at big companies, the work of which I don’t like much, how viable is it for me to do something that can land me a job other than the relatively poorly paid QA tester within a year before my graduation?
Hi Danny, something to keep in mind is, you may have several different jobs over your career. So if you do take a job now at a game studio doing communications/PR, that doesn’t necessarily “lock” you into the career — but it does get your foot in the door, so you can meet people and explore options for other jobs like game design (or maybe other careers you don’t even know about yet). Another track you might look into is Community Manager, some info about that career here: Video Game Community Manager.
I enjoyed reading your guide website!
I’m currently stepping into college taking BSCS and am just a little nervous.
These people gave me hope that I could make it to the game industry, or at least in video game designing. I’m really interested in 2D or 3D arts. I can already do 2D arts digitally, I’m still learning 3D and have Blender installed already.
Hello Har, a bachelor’s degree in computer science will definitely be helpful for the game industry, but usually for a job as Game Programmer or Game Designer. If you are interested in doing art, then getting an art-related degree would be more typical.
Hi Jason,
I am currently in my final year of university studying film and TV production but would like to use that degree to work my way into the games industry and eventually potentially become a Narrative Designer. Any advice on what job to start at when it comes to not wanting to do art or programming but instead the story directing of the games? Thanks!
Hi Harrison, on most game teams, the narrative design is either done by the Game Designers, or by the Game Designers together with a Writer and/or a Creative Director.
Thanks for sharing such awesome information with us
There’s actually another key route into the sector now that hasn’t been mentioned here. The Level 7 Game Programmer apprenticeship teaches Game Programmers / Developers to create dependable and efficient software. Individuals gain expertise in a range of areas including gameplay mechanics, asset pipelines, and custom technologies. Apprentices are trained and mentored at no cost to themselves and they are in work so get paid to do something they love. For studios, an apprenticeship is now a viable way to plug talent gaps. https://kaplan.co.uk/apprenticeships/programmes/data-technology/game-programmer-level-7
Thank You! Your above article is very helpful for me to get an idea about Game Development.