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If you’re a gamer, then you already know the video game community has a big heart — especially when it comes to giving back and supporting those in need. Every year, gamers from all backgrounds come together for charity gaming events. We’re united by our love of gaming, and a desire to make a difference.

When gamers host and participate in charity gaming events, it doesn’t just highlight the entertainment value of video games — it showcases our collective power to bring people together for a greater good.

So if charity gaming sounds to you like a great way to have fun while giving back, check out these video game charity events that happen every year.

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By Posted in Culture, Tools 4 Comments
Dig Dug didn't make the list, but it's one of my personal favorites! (GDC 2011)

If you want to make video games for a living, it’s incredibly helpful to learn a bit of video game history. Which games made the biggest impact on the world, and why? Which iconic games changed the course of video game design forever?

Playing historically important games is not just for fun. It will also make you a better game developer. It will help you understand the evolution of games as an art form, and experience the kinds of features and mechanics that history’s best designers used to create engaging and successful games.

In other words, by studying the games that shaped the industry, you can learn from the successes (and mistakes!) of the past. Then you can bring that knowledge to the table when you’re designing of your own games.

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By Posted in Careers No Comments

Are you driving your own career, or are you just a passenger?

Can you imagine spending each day working alongside a team of super-talented game designers and artists, creating a new video game destined to be loved by millions of passionate fans?

What about waking up on Monday morning and being glad the weekend is over — because you absolutely love your job?

If your dream job is making games, you’re not alone. Every month, 40,000 eager readers visit this site to learn about the game industry and hear advice on how to turn the dream into a reality. Read more »

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By Posted in Careers, Tools No Comments

After four years of research and over a year of writing, editing, and re-writing, I’m thrilled to announce that my new book Start Your Video Game Career is finally complete, and available for purchase!

Start Your Video Game Career, by Jason W. Bay

Click here to buy Start Your Video Game Career now!

This book is a big deal for me personally, since it’s the most in-depth book I’ve ever written. More importantly, I think it will be a powerful tool for you, because it’s packed full of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration to help you start your own successful career in the video game industry. Read more »

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"I can't tell you how many times I get told no, it just makes me try harder every time someone says I can't do something. Find a way."
“It just makes me try harder every time someone says I can’t do something. Find a way.”

The following blog post was written by Kristofor Durrschmidt, co-founder, CEO and creative director of Crazy Viking Studios, an indie game development shop in the Seattle area.

Kris Durrschmidt: As a kid whose imagination exploded playing Atari 2600 and reading Conan the Barbarian comics, I never thought in a million years that I would be exactly where I am today, living this crazy dream where I get to make fun things that millions upon millions of people have played (and hopefully enjoyed).

It was not a direct path. These are jobs I have held, in chronological order, with life-long aspirations of working in Comic Books and/or Video Games. There is a reason I am sharing all this information, I will explain at the bottom. Read more »

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By Posted in Applying, Podcast 4 Comments

In this episode of Game Industry Career Guide Podcast, I answer a question from Taylor, who asks “I am incredibly committed to my craft and improving at it, yet I am under the impression that when I apply for jobs, along with my application there may be 30+ talented artists who have been in the industry before. Do hiring managers occasionally consider candidates that have potential, despite not having the experience? Or do they only seriously consider ones that have industry experience?”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How your entry-level salary fits into the game team’s hiring strategy
  • Why your passion and enthusiasm could be worth years of experience
  • The top 4 ways that a newbie can be even more valuable than a seasoned veteran

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By Posted in Careers 2 Comments

This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.

Profile photo of artist Darran Hurlbut, video game character modeler
“Be inspired, believe in yourself. There’s a lot to learn to impress yourself, and even more to impress others.”

Darran Hurlbut has been making art for as long as he can remember – but his first job as a Video Game Artist was purely accidental.

That was in 1995, and he’s never looked back. His decades-long career in games has included many roles including Concept Artist, Environment Artist, and Character Modeler. We’re speaking with him today about his primary job as a Video Game Character Modeler – how he got the job, what it takes to succeed, and how you could start your own career as a character modeler in video games.Read more »

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By Posted in Careers No Comments

gender_equality_in_video_games
Women in game development fight “a battle on two fronts.” How can you become part of the solution?

Last month, I opened an email sent to me by an aspiring video game developer named Esther. She was just starting on her degree in Game Art, but something was troubling her – she’d watched a documentary about women in the game industry, and many of them said their work was valued less than equivalent work done by male teammates.

So Esther had written to ask me about equality: “Have you ever seen a woman having more problems finding a job or being appreciated for her work? Have you ever noticed that a gender inequality exists in the game industry?” Read more »

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By Posted in Careers 3 Comments

A sad man wishes he could quit his job to make video games for a living.
Is every day a bad day at work? Maybe it’s time for a change.

Somewhere around the tender age of 18 or 20 years old, each of us is asked to make a decision that will impact us for decades to come. We’re made to answer the question, “What do you want to do with your life?”

I remember the year I was required to answer that question for myself. It was the year my university “strongly encouraged” me to declare a major, and I picked Biochemistry… even though I wasn’t sure what a biochemist did all day, or whether it would be a good fit for me. Knowing what I know about myself now, two decades later, I have no idea why I picked it. What the hell was I thinking?

I was expected to choose, and so I chose. Read more »

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