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Home » Library » Features » The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Degrees and Careers
The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Degrees and Careers
Bradley Schenck, the designer for "The Labryinth" and former art director for The Dreamers Guild, began his gaming career as a self-taught writer and artist who painted signs and drew comics through to the early 1990s. He then began to provide freelance work for computer game companies, and eventually founded a gaming company. He then went on to work on several major games such as Taldren's "Star Trek" series, "Ceaser's Palace '95," and "Close Combat: First to Flight." He walked away from gaming design recently to develop some work that personally interests him. As Schenck puts it, "[A]lthough game development companies like to believe that they’re on a mission, well, it’s a business — one in which the money decides what you’ll do, and often, how you’ll do it."
As Schenck's comment illustrates, the gaming industry has changed drastically
over the past decade to meet market demands. The training required for a person
who wants to enter the gaming industry has changed as well. Some industry experts
feel that a programming degree and enthusiasm is all that is necessary. Others
feel that a well-rounded traditional education with electives is more appropriate.
Very seldom will someone like Schenck — a freelance artist — break into the
gaming industry without a very impressive portfolio, an intense knowledge about
how the gaming industry works, and a foothold in the business developed through
extensive
networking.
If you want to enter the gaming industry in the near future you might discover that a college degree is in your favor in many cases. But, no matter if you decide to go the college route or not, there are some attributes and talents that gaming employers and colleges look for. Those basics, listed below, are followed by a brief rundown of various positions within the gaming industry, a list that might help you to narrow your goals to fit your personality and skills. Finally, some resources to help you find the best gaming education around will help you to pursue your career goals.
The Basics
Schenck's experience, although not college-oriented, provides some clues as to some talents and skills that you might want to develop to participate in the gaming industry. A wide range of abilities, from writing to artistic skills to programming and 3-D modeling, shows that the person who attempts to break into this industry must know more than how to play games and win. At the same time, a strong skill in one area will help you to define your goals, because you'll be part of a team when you build that game.
Here's a breakdown of what you might be expected to know before you even apply to a college for a degree in game and simulation programming, let alone in an application to a game company:
- Know your Games: An understanding of video games, including a history of developments over the past decade, will help you to understand what to expect in the future. If you're a gamer with years of experience, then you have this essential under your belt already. If you haven't played many games, spend as much of your spare time as possible to learn to play as many games in a wide number of gaming styles.
- Participate in forums and start a gamer blog. You can also learn a lot about the gaming industry through gamer Web sites or blogs and even more if you start one. If you're an experienced gamer, you probably are passionate about this industry, and that's one attribute that commercial game developers want in an employee. Try to write in complete sentences and use correct grammar as you communicate in forums and blogs, as this writing experience will help you if you plan to go to the top of the game development ladder.
- Volunteer to host games or to become a beta tester. Some companies might even pay you for the hosting, but don't expect to get rich. It's all for the experience. If you offer your services for beta testing, report your experiences in complete sentences and with correct grammar just like you did in the previous step. Stay on top of Blue's News to hear about new beta offers.
- Learn about Game Components: If you know how to build mods, you have an advantage over someone who doesn't know how to build levels or worlds. Quake (ID Software) offered an opportunity for gamers to alter sounds, graphics, or scripting that resulted in new versions of that game as well as the opportunity to create bots, or surrogate players for multiplayer modes. An ability to build mods is crucial for success in the gaming world, because your participation in Mod Development Teams, forums, and clans is a preview into working in a corporate team. This "leave your ego at the door" policy and a team-player mentality are two more attributes that commercial game developers look for in an employee. Note: Part of learning mods is understanding game licensing. Study ID Software's Technology Licensing to learn how one company views modifications on existing software, especially if you plan to build games with a 3-D engine, a licensed engine for game development, or any real-time 3-D application.
- Try your hand at Game Engine Development: You might want to take mods one step further by building a game engine. You're in luck here, as the Genesis3D is an open source game development software that is free to download and use. Genesis3D supports a community that you could tap for help in your gaming construction, but you might want to note that this site may expire soon due to lack of interest. Instead, take advantage of the Genesis3D links to other sites where gamers are actively building game engines (like World of Genesis) or to sites that offer tutorials.
- Attend trade shows: Dress neatly and speak with intelligence when you talk with game company representatives at trade shows. Be enthusiastic, but also be sincere. On the other hand, don't talk at all unless you've actually played the game in questions or a previous version of that newly released game. Also attend board game trade shows, comic book shows, toy shows, and any other trade show that might create an impact on the industry. In other words, train yourself to be the "first to know."
- Learn Your Strengths: One way to learn your strengths is to try all the above and more. Learn how to draw. Use as many software development programs as possible to understand how they work. Build a portfolio and a Web site that showcases your abilities. Read books. Read online magazines like Game Developer or Game Informer. Read Sloperama's Game Biz Advice and don't skip any articles.
- Make a Demo: Make a well-crafted and "pretty" demo. Vince at Articulate Babble states that "[job] candidates with demos always go to the top of my stack," because people with demos show a passion for the industry.
- Become an intern: Paying dues in this industry is no different than any other industry, and you want to get into that game industry door any way possible. An internship — even if it's a job where you answer phones — is one way to get there (and provides a place to leave your demo). Even if that internship doesn't turn into a "real" job down the road, you have a line item to plaster onto your resume, according to Zen of Design's Damion Schubert.
The Career Choices
I don't want to be too negative about the gaming industry; but, after some experience in this field as a freelance scriptwriter and after talking with other gaming employees, I know that this field is hard to break into and easy to dislike if you harbor fantasies about how this industry works today. On the other hand, once you get inside the game industry, you can meet some great people who are creative, intelligent, and who love games — undoubtedly attributes and interests that are similar to yours. Plus, you have a number of ways to enter this industry, and not all of them are devoid of personal influences on how a game is developed.
Computer programmers provide the profile most commonly associated with making games, representing approximately 50% [PDF] of the game development population. Equally important are the digital artists, game designers, producers, musicians, and many others who collaborate in the making of a game and who provide maintenance and support for everything from computers to testing the games. In addition, any job will probably entail experience with several types of games from the highly graphic Myst to puzzle games like Tetris. Finally, you might notice from the job descriptions below that some people might wear more than one hat. That situation would depend upon the size of the company:
- Game Developer: According to Psychochild, "[M]aking games is not the same as playing games." You, as a game developer or Project Manager, will usually work on games that are not your ideas, especially if you work for a large company. It's easy to burn out after dealing with bosses' ideals, marketing folks' objections, and programmers who cannot figure out how to make that original idea work. And, it all falls back onto the your shoulders when it doesn't work. On the other hand, you can work for a fledging company or start up one of your own and learn first-hand about the long hours and dedication involved with this position. It's not all bad: game developers are often the ones who make the most amount of money — next to the producer and publisher, of course. You also have the most responsibility, as you take charge of the complete game process from concept to final product. You also need to have more than a passing knowledge about all the jobs listed below, and a high skill level in one or more of the following positions (most likely programming).
- Art Director: Also included in this category is the Creative Director, because a person may hold both titles. The art director is usually a designer who knows how to write system design documents as well as have great skills in both 2-D and 3-D renderings. The system design documents, which are usually accomplished in close accord with the game developer, tell other designers and programmers what they need to do to accomplish the game design. Brandon Reinhart has written an extensive article about the system design doc that should be required reading for anyone who wants to work in this field. The art and/or the creative director is usually responsible for directing the art department, both at 2-D and 3-D levels.
- Concept Artist: If you like to draw or paint with traditional tools and if you've discovered that you have an affinity with computer paint and drawing programs, you might pursue a job as a concept artist. This job entails working closely with a game art director and scriptwriter to help programmers and 3-D artists visualize a game's concept. You would build structures, textures, and backgrounds in game worlds that are somewhat flat, but that provide precise guidelines for 3-D artists to follow. Save up your pennies for Photoshop (you might want to wait for Photshop CS3 edition to premiere after the beta version has been thoroughly tested this year), because this software is the standard for this industry. This job could lead to a position as a creative director or art director. This type of artist may also be the levels artist.
- Levels Artist: The levels artist (may also be the 3-D artist) creates, organizes, and implements layouts and walkthroughs for all levels in a game (such as puzzles, enemy placement, etc.). This artist must also know how to analyze and debug levels as necessary. Strong organizational and problem-solving skills are plusses, as well as an ability to take and apply direction and criticism. Get a grip on modeling programs like 3-D Studio Max, Maya, and SoftImage, as these software programs are standards in gaming businesses.
- 3-D Artist: A 3-D artist could also be a levels artist, but this artist adds characters, buildings, landscapes, and objects that make up a 3-D world at various levels. This artist would need to learn or know the same software as the levels artist, and work closely with the animation artist. (Alternatively, this artist may also be the animator.) One way to get a foothold into this part of the gaming industry is to become an active member of the CG Society (a site that also lists jobs).
- Animator: This is a specific skill that requires patience and an ability to withstand criticism. This artist would work closely with all job descriptions listed here to develop a world within certain parameters for levels, scripts, and sound. Macromedia Flash, Alias/Wavefront, 3D Studio Max and Lightwave 3D are the programs to know in this situation. This artist may also be the 3-D artist and/or the levels artist.
- Scriptwriter: If you're a gamer who can write and who has experience with theatre, you could work your way into a game business with scriptwriting skills. Maurice Suckling, for instance, represents a writer who scripts stories for crime, adventure, action, and sports game worlds. He often directs the voices for these stories, so he works with actors who lend their voices to computer games. While this job might sound luxurious, he warns, "[Y]ou...have vast swathes of people looking over your shoulder and chipping in — producers, designers, animators, programmers, artists — there are a lot of people to try and keep happy." He also states that a scriptwriter spends time with clients, and this means that the writer must have a clear head and an ability to handle a variety of people. The advantage to this job is that you could work for a number of companies in succession as a freelancer. But expect to sign non-disclosure agreements and also expect to be turned down for jobs as a freelancer if you choose to work for companies that are fierce competitors.
- Programmer: It seems that gaming companies always need programmers, but this field is also highly populated. So, if you plan to go this route, you must be very good at what you do. On the other hand, this is also a very wide field, as you could find jobs from traditional programming to designing databases or software to creating artificial intelligence. You can also break into this part of the game industry as a computer maintenance and repair technician.
- Other Positions: Musicians can find work sometimes as freelancers, like Justin at Edgen Music, a company that produces music for games and films. (He's also a digital artist.) Usually most game companies will keep an audio tech on board for fitting that music or sounds to games. Editors for scripts are sometimes needed at larger companies, and all businesses need an accountant, business manager, and legal aid. Researchers are needed to provide background materials for the game and also for marketing. Testers, or "quality assurance" teams are also essential. Sometimes these jobs are sourced out, but larger companies may provide these jobs on site.
One great way to learn about job descriptions is to hunt for jobs in the gaming industry. Several good sources include Gamustra, Blizzard, and job postings on craigslist or on job search engines like Monster. Of course, the best descriptions for jobs can be found at a gaming company's job opportunities page.
Educational Possibilities
A solid educational background in game programming or design will help open doors to a variety of game development careers. Listed below in alphabetical order are some of the top English-speaking degree programs worldwide:
- Academy of Interactive Entertainment: With campuses located in Canberra and in Melbourne, the AIE continues to contribute to the development of the games and interactive industries in Australia. AIE offers vocational training in computer game development (animation and programming) and 3D animation for screen. Entry to the 3D art stream of study is by portfolio and interview while programming students sit a test in C++ before interview. AIE graduates can complete a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Information Technology degree at the University of Canberra after completing courses at AIE.
- DigiPen: This school is located in Redmond near Seattle, Washington, and it's authorized to offer computer science, computer engineering, and fine arts degree programs related to the field of digital interactive entertainment technology. The school is dedicated to computer science instruction as it applies to real-time interactive simulation programming (R.T.I.S.), computer engineering and 3D computer animation. The highest degree offered is a Master of Science in computer science.
- Full Sail Real World Education: In January 2003, Electronic Gaming Monthly named Full Sail one of the "top five game-degree programs in the world," alongside DigiPen, University of Advancing Technology, The Art Institutes, and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Located in Winter Park, Florida, this school is gaining notoriety among gaming companies for well-rounded grads for entry levels. You can achieve several different degrees here, game development being one of them. Obtain a bachelor's degree within 21 months.
- Guildhall at Southern Methodist University: The biggest names in game development partnered with SMU to build The Guildhall and its 18-month digital games education program. Graeme Devine, Levelord, Tom Hall, Paul Jaquays, John Romero, and more helped to write the curriculum, and students work in teams to build three complete games for their portfolios. The professional certificate program in digital game development is an intense, 21-month (seven-term), professional development program for digital game developers. The Master of Interactive Technology degree in digital game development melds theory and practice and is composed of game-related coursework, transdiciplinary team game production, and directed individual work in the student's chosen area of specialization. Students are expected to complete a thesis, project-in-lieu-of-thesis, or graduate exhibition. You can specialize in art creation, levels design, or software development.
- Media Design School, New Zealand: Located in Auckland, the Media Design School provides specialist undergraduate and graduate qualifications in 3D animation, graphic design, digital media, visual effects, creative advertising and video game development. The Game Development division is a two-year, level 7 graduate qualification that is generally completed in a compressed 18-month timeframe with graduates teaming up over the last six months to develop their own team game. Game art applicants are generally drawn from the school's 3D animation, digital media or visual effects and motion graphics diplomas, or from the diploma of interactive gaming for the game programming stream. Entry to the graduate qualification streams is also open to game programmer applicants who can demonstrate a high-level of C++ and math (programming stream) or art and design (arts stream) through another relevant qualification or industry experience. Graduate qualification students are expected to be able to work independently resolving issues and also contribute effectively to team projects.
- Westwood College: Westwood offers a Bachelor of Science degree in game software development at their campuses in Denver, Los Angeles, and Chicago. This degree program can also be completed online. In addition to their game software development degree, Westwood also offers a game art and design degree for those who are more artistically inclined.
You can find many more schools located around the world at Breaking In, but the list doesn't contain descriptions so you'll have to do some hunting to discover the schools that may carry the courses that you want. Another list, provided by gamedev.net, lists over 50 schools along with descriptions. This list can help you to sort out some possibilities.
You'll find a few big-name universities that are toying with the serious side of video games on these lists. And, you might find other schools that disguise "video game studies" as "interactive media" or as "digital arts." These names hide the even more serious studies in computer science, art, and sociology. So if you decide on a school that offers more than games as a focus, you might end up with a diverse education that would appeal to a baby-boomer boss (especially if you take some business courses). But, the more closely that game companies team with colleges, the more relevant your academic experience could become.
When you go to these school sites, look closely at what the college expects from you for your application. Some colleges expect demos and engine building experience even for certificate programs. Other colleges that offer master's degrees expect much more, including a working knowledge of C++ or other programs for entry. But the college degree may be worth your time and investment, as designers can make $50,000 or more within a year after graduation, and much more if they are part of a team that produces a hot game.
Conclusion
Perhaps the ultimate guide to video game degrees and careers is to inform you that you can burn out in this industry just like any other industry. This is especially true in gaming, where many companies that are here today are gone tomorrow. The larger and more stable companies aren't devoid from this stress as they attempt to produce the next hit video game constantly. But, if you enjoy games and if you understand that this industry is a business and not a game, then you might find your niche even without a college degree.
Once the gaming bug bites you, it can be hard to let go. Even Shenck, a pro who's left the gaming industry behind, currently works on projects that utilize everything that he's learned throughout his gaming career. Which goes to prove that you can find your niche — even as a lone eagle — if you're passionate about working on games.
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