Friday, February 3, 2012
I'm 24 years old and I really hate my job. I have decided that s change is in order. My dream job would be to make and direct video games but I haven't a clue where to start. I have a good knowledge of computers and have made and directed my on 'fan trailers'.
I have no GCSE's but am pretty bright and can turn a hand at anything I do.
So what qualifications would I need?
Thanks.|||Depends on what part of the video game industry you want to get into. There's many.
Could be anything from voice acting, writing, design, programming, level building. model building, texture art, marketing, play testing, etc. etc. etc.
The qualifications needed for any of them are very different. But in general, if you want a job working with some big company like Blizzard or Bethesda, they are going to want a lot from you. Most qualifications, minus programming skills for programming related jobs, are not strict must haves, but bonuses.
But in general, you're going to want at least 5-10 years of experience doing what you're applying to do, and a portfolio full of example work you can show that sets you above the keen competition you'll have for that job.
Honestly, the prospects of getting a job with any of the big companies are bleak, unless you have 20 years as one of the top guys in your field in the video game industry.
But, there are exceptions. Companies like Valve for example, are always looking for fresh young talent, but they are gonna want to see examples, so if you start working with mod kits to make community content, and it ends up topping the charts and being community favorite masterpiece stuff, that's the kinda thing that can get you noticed.
Otherwise, your best bet is to find some other people to work on an indie game with, hone your skills, and work your way up. Start putting out good indie games, and you might be able to start up your own company. From there, you can either invest further in that, or start trying to get hired with one of the bigger companies.
Simply put, thousands upon thousands of people have that 'dream job' of making video games for a living. A fraction of them are actually aware of the work it takes, and the skills they need... And a fraction of -those- are actually capable of satisfying the people at those companies enough during their interview to actually land a job with them.
But, there's plenty of smaller jobs in the industry, which is a great way to get your foot in the door. Things like playtesting at min wage for example, can be a great part time job while you learn programming or, if you're an artist, hone your art skills.
But yeah, don't suffer any illusions.. If you're talking about directing, lead design, or anything like that, then you're gonna want a decade+ of experience doing those things, with shining success stories to show for it... A couple youtube vids aren't going to cut it. That's why most people start out making unheard of indie games, and most of them flounder, because people really only buy the best of the best designed games on a large enough scale to warrant the time and money it takes to make them.
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