Post by leunas on Dec 18, 2006 17:27:19 GMT -5
Video-gaming's big business these days, if the financial reports on bigwigs like Ubisoft and Blizzard developers are a clue. And for the guys who'd like a slice of the pie, business magazine Forbes just laid out some interesting info for the gamer who thinks he/she has what it takes to make headway in game dev.
It's a short how-to guide on what one has to do to get into game development, and for the benefit of the guys who prefer a summary, here's a brief:
Seek an internship: EA's executive producer on the Madden NFL franchise, Dale Jackson, reiterates on this one. His department hires interns from Georgia Tech, University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon on an annual basis to let the students work on real title. And for prospective fans, the turnout's promising: Jackson says that at least half of the guys who intern end up becoming full-time employees at EA. The bad news? Most companies don't have an internship program, which leads us to option two...
Make mods: Synonymous with homebrews, hacks, Addons...you get the idea. By consistently working on freelance projects like these, aspiring game developers are letting companies know that they're serious about their commitment. Plus, it makes for a good portfolio. As Coray Seifert, associate producer for studio Kaos says, "If we see someone who makes games in their spare time for fun, then we know they will be dedicated employees."
Be a playtester: MMORPG gamers are definitely familiar with this. Beta testers are the unofficial crash-test-dummies guinea pigs of big-laden prototypes, and as such, expect plenty of headaches and frustrating moments as you pore through hours of game time trying to iron out the errors. If it's any consolation, guys like Dennis Allard Crow, associate producer of Kaos started out by play-testing for Activision.
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