nova18 said:
Since joining this forum (last week lol), I have noticed that it is a lot more intellectual when compared to other forums that I have had the displeasure of joining. I also noticed that as a whole, we all seem to be passionate about our pasttime.
My question is; how many of you are considering a career in the Games Industry, and is anyone a part of it? If so, what advice can you give? What skills do you need? And how do you go about getting into the industry?
The industry is pretty broad and can fit you whether you are artistic or technical. Simply loving games isn't enough. You need skills.
If you're artistic, don't automatically shoot for concept art. Most companies will employ 1 or 2 concept artists and about 10-20 technical artists. Also, you need to be FAST. You aren't given 4-6 hours to make one nice looking piece. You need to create a ton of artwork in a short period of time that still passes the bar in quality.
If you're a 3D modeler, same thing goes. You have to be able to work under incredible time constraints and be able to make changes on the fly. Maya is very commonly used, so get a lot of experience working with it. And don't bother with making NURBS because there are only a handful of engines in the world that utilize them, and 99% chance that the one you use will not. Also, try your best to make the models as low poly count as possible. For a character, try to use from 1000-3000 polygons. For static objects, it will be a fraction of that.
If you're a programmer, write efficient code. If you write an algorithm that uses 100 lines, try to write it in 50. Use loops only when absolutely necessary. You will be called upon to come up with solutions to strange problems from the interview on. Practice writing these problems in C++, if you can complete these in under 3 hours then you're ready for an interview:
http://the-name-less-blog.blogspot.com/2005/12/cc-puzzles.html
If you're a designer, start pumping out maps and mods for existing games and publish them online. Get feedback on them and continue to practice. Also, I highly recommend the book Game Development and Production. It is a must read if you want to be in the industry.
(ISBN: 1556229518)
But no matter which area you want to go in, create a portfolio. Start up a website and publish your work on it. Create samples, demos, show off your skills. If you can effectively demonstrate that you can finish several tasks, then your chances of getting hired increase by an order of magnitude. Even if they are not that flashy, a person with a few finished pieces has a world of advantage over someone with just a resume.
Oh and lastly, if you want to be a game tester, be ready for lots of documentation. You need to be able to fill out hundreds of detailed bug reports that are crucial for developers to utilize. If you live near an EA campus, they hire all the time. They may be the devil, but it certainly is something to put on your resume should you want to move on to the real development.
I hope this helps.
(And yes, I am a game developer)
Edit: I apologize if anyone who works for EA is offended by my remark. I know that it is improving a lot, but I still have my opinions about certain internal policies I would like to see improved.
