“So You Want To Make Video Games…”

Sponsored by the Career Development Center

Press Start to Continue

Special Thanks /404040Jerri Dwyer

Angela Williams

J. Freer

Chris Allen

Also:

Beckye Clark, Gassan Soukaev,and all those in the industry who answered my questions

Welcome

Quentin Rezin

B. A. in Computer ScienceGame Developer’s Conference ’04, ’06Gamer since Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

Favorite games: Legacy of Kain, Jak II, Oni, Septerra Core

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What You Will Learn

How to get a job in the game industry

What a typical day in the industry is like

Where to go for a graduate degree

What you can do right now

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Major Locations

Los Angeles, CA

San Francisco, CA

Seattle, WA

Austin, TX

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Studio Structure

10~100 employees

Everyone works in teams

Generally a casual work environment

Sometimes a strict hierarchy, sometimes not

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Programming

Design

Production

ManagementArt

TestingSoundManagement

Production

Design

Programming

Art

Testing

Small Studio

Large Studio

Publisher vs. Developer

Developer: a company that makes software under contract for a publisher. 1st / 3rd party

Producer: creates the physical products, handles marketing and customer service

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Initial idea

Choose developer

Create design document

Budget & schedule

Create prototypes

Greenlight and production

Game Designer

Level designer, feature designer, AI

scripter, interface designer, writer

Writes design documents

Skills and courses: written and oral communication, creative writing, art, history, sciences, literature, music

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Programmer

Engine programmer, tool programmer,

AI programmer, technical artist

Writes code

Skills and courses: C, C++, Assembly, Java, trigonometry, calculus, physics

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Game Artist

Concept artist, character modeler or animator, texture or background artist

Creates art assets

Skills and courses: digital painting, sketching, graphic design, 3D modeling or animation

Maya, 3D Studio Max, Photoshop, Flash

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Sound Designer

Sound designer, sound engineer, composer

Creates sound and music assets

Generally work on multiple projects

Skills and courses: self – educatedlearn about MIDI, sampling / compression, Sound Forge, sequencers (i.e. Cakewalk),

physics, math, formal logic, scripting

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Producer

HR director, production coordinator, associate producer, marketer

Creates schedules and milestones

Works closely with marketers

Skills and courses: written and oral communication, computer basics, mathematics, foreign languages

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Quality Assurance

QA Tester

Creates test plan, manages bug database

Looks for crashes, typos, and other bugs

Skills and courses: mad gaming skillz, written communication, computer basics, follow directions, remain focused

Compatibility testing, customer service

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Common Career Paths

QA Tester – Designer

Associate Producer – Designer

Technical artist – Graphic or concept artist

Tools programmer – Engine or AI programmer

Focus on one or two complementary skills

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Salaries

Game designers are generally paid less than programmers. The average salary of a male designer is $53k

Females comprise 9% of the design force. The average salary for female designers is $48k

No overtime – only testers get overtime

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Salaries (entry vs. lead) /402626

44

79

54

115

42

64

45

66

79

53

118

33

61

Designer Programmer Artist Animator Producer Tester*

Thousands of dollars per year

Game Developer’s 4th Annual Salary Survey, 2005 Based on 2,091 responses

A Typical Day

Each employee is assigned to a particular project and will have numerous tasks in support of that. A 9- or 10-hour day is not uncommon

Meetings are held as necessary, with one full-company meeting per month. A typical day is 8 hours and is flexible, as long as the employee is present during “core” hours

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Interview responses

Common Misconceptions

First and foremost it is a business

Only 1 in 20 games breaks even, so companies rarely take a chance

“It's hard and it's fun and it's rewarding and it's a pain…” -Feargus Urquhart

Some industry vets hardly have time for playing games outside of work

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Interview responses

Misconceptions

NOBODY just sits around and plays games all days – not even testers

Crunch periods can last anywhere from two to six months: 80~140 hour weeks140 / 7 = 20 hours per day

Quality-of-life reforms

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Cap’n “Crunch”Interview responses

Misconceptions

It’s been estimated that 1/3rd of entry-level developers burn out before they finish their first game

Companies collapse every year

Don’t let this scare you – just be sure you love making games if you want a career in this industry

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Interview responses

Getting In

The Catch-22

Overcoming the Catch-22

4-year degree or grad schoolInternshipsPreparationPersistence

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Graduate Programs /402020The Guildhall at SMUiD Tech Camps International Academy of Design & TechnologyITT Tech John Hopkins University Keiser College Miami International University of Art and DesignMinnesota School of Business / Globe CollegePlatt College Pratt Institute San Francisco State University Sanford-Brown CollegeThe School of Communication ArtsUniversity of Advancing TechnologyUniversity of Southern California Vancouver Institute for Media Arts Westwood College Campus Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)

Academy of Art UniversityAl Collins College

Art Center College of Design The Art Institute of California

The Art Institute of Phoenix The Art Institute Online

Art Institutes International Brooks College

Brown CollegeCalifornia Institute of the Arts

Carnegie MellonBoston University

Collins College DeVry University

DigiPen Institute of Technology Digital Media Arts College

Ex'pression College for Digital Arts Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy

The Game Institute

“Game Design” Schools /401919DigiPen Full Sail2-year Associate4-year Bachelor

Macintosh/SNES

Strict admission$ 26,000+

1-year Associate2-year Bachelor

Windows/Linux

Cutting-edge tech$32,000+24/7 class structure

Selected Classes /401818DigiPen Full SailGeometry / AlgebraCalculus 1-2High-Level ProgrammingData StructuresOperating SystemsComputer GraphicsComputer NetworksProject 1-2

Physics and MathC++Networks and OSsDigital TechniquesRules of the Game3D ModelingArtificial Intelligence

Questions To Ask Schools

Who sponsors the program?

How long has the program existed?

Placement rate?

Hardware/software?

Languages?

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Internships

Microsoft, Redmond, WA / San Francisco, CA

Electronic Arts, Redwood City, CA / Orlando, FL / Chicago, IL

Buena Vista Games, Glendale, CA

Many smaller companies

Check websites

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Preparation

Play games. Know your favorites and talk about them

Beta test or write reviews

Build levels in UnrealEd / Half-Life 2

Role-play, read, write, draw

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Preparation

Get a four-year degree

If you can afford a game degree, it can help

Create game assets on your own

Put successful experiments in your portfolio

Artists: find ways to use your skills to earn some money

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www.sloperama.com

Conferences

Game Developers Conference (GDC), March www.gdconf.com

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Maywww.e3expo.com

Austin Game Conference, Septemberwww.gameconference.com/

www.womensgameconference.com/

www.otronicon.org/

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GDC Tips

Research

Prepare

Talk

Listen

Get names and take notes

Follow up

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Résumés

First thing: what job you’re applying for

Put the best stuff at the top

Make sure everything’s relevant to the job

Leave out negative experiences unless you overcame adversity

Write a NEW cover letter for each application

If you have samples, post them online

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Portfolios

½ inch, 3-ring binder, sheet protectors

Put the most striking material up front

Just the best material (20 pages max)

Put the material online

Name, address, phone # on the cover

Make a booklet to leave with interviewers

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www.sloperama.com

Interviews

Dress appropriately

Prepare an introduction

Keep the job description in mind

Highlight your relevant skills

SHOW ENTHUSIASM

Have questions ready

Ask about responsibilities, vacation / sick days

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Advice From The Industry

Be willing to work super hard to prove your worth

Be willing to be on a team in any capacity

Remember that a lot of entry-level positions are not advertised, since there are a lot of people trying to get them

Before the interview, ask what appropriate dress is

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Interview responses

Advice From The Industry

You can't afford to relax and let your guard down once you get a job. You have to both excel at your job and practice new skills in your spare time to continue building your portfolio

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www.planetquake.com

www.sloperama.com

You can’t get a job via email

If you’re sending a resume by mail, don’t include samples unless you’ve contacted the recipient in advance and asked first

Educate yourself about the company

First and foremost, everyone wants hard-working, capable communicators

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www.sloperama.com

After the interview: Send the thank-you letter within 24 hours of the

interview. Show your follow-up skills

Write to an individual. If you met multiple individuals, get their business cards so you have proper spellings and job titles

Restate why you are a good candidate

Spell check it

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The IGDA is working to improve the quality of life

Works against government censorship / regulation

Developed a curriculum for game schools

Provides GDC scholarships to 25 college students

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)AI, casual games, preservation, indies, mobile, online, sex in games, student, women, writers

www.igda.org

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Useful Sites

www.gamejobs.com

www.gamerecruiter.com

www.gamasutra.com – development and jobs

www.igja.org – game journalists

www.sloperama.com – advice

www.bluesnews.com – public betas

www.fileplanet.com – public betas

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Questions /400202

One Last Thing /400101 May 5th, 12-4pm

UofA Game Development ClubAnnual Game Fair

Ozark Hall, Room 215(CAST Lab)

www.uagdc.webhop.org

GAME OVERThank you for playing!

QJREZIN@UARK.EDUWWW.GEOCITIES.COM/QJREZIN

Winners don’t do drugs