“So You Want To Make
Video Games…”
Sponsored by the Career Development Center
Press Start to Continue
40/40
Special Thanks
Jerri Dwyer
Angela Williams
J. Freer
Chris Allen
Also:
Beckye Clark, Gassan Soukaev,
and all those in the industry
who answered my questions
39/40
Welcome
Quentin Rezin
B. A. in Computer Science
Game Developer’s Conference ’04, ’06
Gamer since Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
Favorite games:
Legacy of Kain, Jak II, Oni, Septerra Core
What You Will Learn
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
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
36/40
Studio Structure
Management
Sound
Testing
Testing
Production
Management
Art
Design
Small
Studio
Art
Large
Studio
Production
Programming
 10~100
employees
 Everyone works in
teams
Design
Programming
 Generally a
casual work environment
 Sometimes
a strict hierarchy, sometimes not
35/40
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
Initial idea
Choose developer
Create design document
Budget & schedule
Create prototypes
Greenlight and production
34/40
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
33/40
Programmer
 Engine programmer, tool programmer,
AI programmer, technical artist
 Writes code
 Skills and
courses: C, C++, Assembly, Java,
trigonometry, calculus, physics
32/40
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
31/40
Sound Designer
 Sound
designer, sound engineer, composer
 Creates sound
and music assets
 Generally work
on multiple projects
 Skills and
courses: self – educated
learn about MIDI, sampling / compression,
Sound Forge, sequencers (i.e. Cakewalk),
physics, math, formal logic, scripting
30/40
Producer
 HR
director, production coordinator,
associate producer, marketer
 Creates schedules and
 Works closely with
 Skills and
milestones
marketers
courses: written and oral
communication, computer basics,
mathematics, foreign languages
29/40
Quality Assurance
 QA Tester
 Creates test plan, manages
 Looks for
bug database
crashes, typos, and other bugs
 Skills and
courses: mad gaming skillz, written
communication, computer basics, follow
directions, remain focused
 Compatibility testing, customer service
28/40
Common Career Paths
 QA Tester –
Designer
 Associate Producer
 Technical artist
– Graphic or concept artist
 Tools programmer
 Focus on
– Designer
– Engine or AI programmer
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)
Thousands of dollars per year
118
115
79
79
66
64
54
44
61
53
42
45
33
Designer Programmer Artist Animator
Game Developer’s 4th Annual Salary Survey, 2005
Producer
Tester*
Based on 2,091 responses
25/40
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 fullcompany meeting per month. A typical day is 8
hours and is flexible, as long as the employee is
present during “core” hours
Interview responses
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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
Interview responses
23/40
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 weeks
140 / 7 = 20 hours per day
 Quality-of-life reforms
Interview responses
Cap’n “Crunch”
22/40
Misconceptions
 It’s been
estimated that 1/3rd of entry-level
developers burn out before they finish
their first game
 Companies
 Don’t
collapse every year
let this scare you – just be sure you love
making games if you want a career in this
industry
Interview responses
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Getting In
 The Catch-22
 Overcoming the
Catch-22
4-year degree or grad school
Internships
Preparation
Persistence
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Graduate Programs
Academy of Art University
Al 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 College
California Institute of the Arts
Carnegie Mellon
Boston 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
The Guildhall at SMU
iD Tech Camps
International Academy of Design & Technology
ITT Tech
John Hopkins University
Keiser College
Miami International University of Art and Design
Minnesota School of Business / Globe College
Platt College
Pratt Institute
San Francisco State University
Sanford-Brown College
The School of Communication Arts
University of Advancing Technology
University of Southern California
Vancouver Institute for Media Arts
Westwood College Campus
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
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“Game Design” Schools
DigiPen
2-year Associate
4-year Bachelor
Full Sail
1-year Associate
2-year Bachelor
Macintosh/SNES
Windows/Linux
Strict admission
$ 26,000+
Cutting-edge tech
$32,000+
24/7 class structure
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Selected Classes
DigiPen
Geometry / Algebra
Calculus 1-2
High-Level
Programming
Data Structures
Operating Systems
Computer Graphics
Computer Networks
Project 1-2
Full Sail
Physics and Math
C++
Networks and OSs
Digital Techniques
Rules of the Game
3D Modeling
Artificial Intelligence
17/40
Questions To Ask Schools
 Who
sponsors the program?
 How
long has the program existed?
 Placement rate?
 Hardware/software?
 Languages?
16/40
Internships
 Microsoft, Redmond, WA / San Francisco, CA
 Electronic Arts, Redwood City, CA / Orlando, FL / Chicago, IL
 Buena
 Many
Vista Games, Glendale, CA
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
14/40
Preparation
 Get
 If
a four-year degree
you can afford a game degree, it can help
 Create
 Put
game assets on your own
successful experiments in your portfolio
 Artists: find ways to
use your skills to earn
some money
www.sloperama.com
13/40
Conferences
 Game
Developers Conference (GDC), March
www.gdconf.com
 Electronic Entertainment Expo
(E3), May
www.e3expo.com
 Austin Game Conference, September
www.gameconference.com/
 www.womensgameconference.com/
 www.otronicon.org/
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GDC Tips
 Research
 Prepare
 Talk
 Listen
 Get names
 Follow
up
and take notes
Résumés
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 First thing: what
 Put
job you’re applying for
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
10/40
Portfolios
½
inch, 3-ring binder, sheet protectors
 Put
the most striking material up front
 Just the best material
 Put
(20 pages max)
the material online
 Name,
 Make
address, phone # on the cover
a booklet to leave with interviewers
www.sloperama.com
09/40
Interviews
 Dress
appropriately
 Prepare
 Keep
an introduction
the job description in mind
 Highlight
your relevant skills
 SHOW ENTHUSIASM
 Have
questions ready
 Ask about
responsibilities, vacation / sick days
08/40
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
Interview responses
the interview, ask what appropriate dress is
Advice From The Industry
07/40
 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
www.planetquake.com
06/40
www.sloperama.com
 You
 If
can’t get a job via email
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
 First and
company
foremost, everyone wants hardworking, capable communicators
05/40
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
 Spell
you are a good candidate
check it
04/40
 The IGDA is
working to improve the quality of life
 Works against government censorship /
 Developed
regulation
a curriculum for game schools
 Provides GDC
 Special
scholarships to 25 college students
Interest Groups (SIGs)
AI, casual games, preservation, indies, mobile,
online, sex in games, student, women, writers
 www.igda.org
03/40
Useful Sites
 www.gamejobs.com
 www.gamerecruiter.com
 www.gamasutra.com
 www.igja.org
– development and jobs
– game journalists
 www.sloperama.com –
advice
 www.bluesnews.com –
public betas
 www.fileplanet.com –
public betas
02/40
Questions
01/40
One Last Thing
May 5th, 12-4pm
UofA Game Development Club
Annual Game Fair
Ozark Hall, Room 215
(CAST Lab)
www.uagdc.webhop.org
GAME OVER
Thank you for playing!
Winners don’t do drugs
QJREZIN@UARK.EDU
WWW.GEOCITIES.COM/QJREZIN