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Uri Marchand - CEO and co-founder of Overwolf

In an industry as big as video games, there are many different ways to earn a living. That’s because each time a game company decides to make a new game, it creates hundreds — often thousands — of new jobs.

The most well-known are jobs in game development, employed directly by game companies. But there are many other jobs that I call “gaming ecosystem” jobs. They aren’t created by a game company — instead, they are powered by the community of passionate gamers. Ecosystem jobs include game journalists, streamers, e-sports athletes, commentators, modders, community builders, and others who earn a living advocating and supporting the game and its players.

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Virtual Reality (an immersive, computer-simulated experience) comes in handy for many practical purposes like training, education, and physical therapy. But let’s be honest: Without a doubt, what gets people most excited is virtual reality video games.

That’s because playing games in virtual reality (VR) is absolutely amazing. It’s hard to explain why, but if you’ve tried it even once, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you haven’t tried it yet, just go to YouTube and watch a few videos of people playing a VR game. Their knees get weak when they walk near a VR cliff. They can’t help but scream when a VR zombie takes them by surprise. And they literally fall off the chair when a VR roller coaster takes an unexpected hairpin turn.

The reality may be “virtual,” but the emotions and adrenaline sparked by a great VR game are very, very real.

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Lauryl Zenobi is a UX Researcher and author of a new book, "I Want a UX Job!"

Have you ever leaned hard to push a door open, only to discover too late that it’s actually a “pull” door? (And then glanced around embarrassed to see who noticed?) It wasn’t your fault. Some doors just don’t make it obvious whether to push or pull. My least favorite doors are even worse: they actually have a pull handle but still require a push!

Who designs all these confusing doors? Is it some kind of sick prank? Do the designers laugh diabolically as they imagine how dorky I’ll look pulling the push doors and pushing the pull doors?

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By Posted in Careers, Culture 11 Comments

The video game industry may be “male dominated,” but women have been making games for decades, and their contributions have easily rivaled the most famous male game developers.

Whether through game design, programming, writing, or producing, these 17 women game developers have fundamentally shaped the way you play games today. We owe them all a big round of applause—and a big round of thanks—for the outsized impact they’ve made on our lives, and continue making, through video games.

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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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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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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 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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For game developers, job burnout can be a real risk.

So you’ve been working extra hours lately — a lot of extra hours, actually — trying hard to finish and launch your new game. You’re living the dream, building a game you love, working with a team of people you adore… so why do you feel so anxious? Why are you having trouble sleeping at night? Why do you feel so irritable with your friends, your family, and yourself?

This feeling has a name: it’s called burnout. To some, burnout is the game industry’s dirty little secret. Driven by a deep passion to create the best game under seemingly-impossible deadlines, the hours can get long and, for some developers, burnout can become a real risk.

Fortunately, burnout is easy to spot if you know how to read the signs. And once you spot it, there are simple steps to pull out of the nosedive and get back to a happy place before you rage-quit. In this article, professional job coach Edward Mellett teaches you how to spot burnout, and offers advice on how to get things back under control. Read more »

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