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Author: Jason W. Bay

Jason W. Bay is a three-decade game industry professional, credited on dozens of video games since 1995. He's held diverse roles in the game industry including Tester, Game Designer, Technical Director, Product Manager, and Director of Studio Operations, and has been a featured speaker at international game developer conferences. He's currently a Senior Product Manager at Amazon Game Studios in Seattle, WA.

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With dozens of game careers to choose from, which job is right for you?

There are dozens of careers to choose from in the video game industry. But which one is right for you? Which job is the best fit your own unique interests and personality?

To find out if you’d make a good game artist, designer, programmer, or tester, there’s no better way than to find someone who’s already doing the job, and ask them to tell you all about it. Unfortunately, if you’re like most people, you probably don’t know any professional game developers who you could ask.

That’s why I did it for you! I interviewed over 30 professional game developers to find out all about their daily jobs. I asked them what they do, how they got started, and what they like (and don’t like) about their jobs making games. And, most importantly, I asked for their very best advice on how a new person (someone like YOU) can get started in the career.

So read these interviews with professional game developers to find out what each job is, what it takes to succeed, and how you can start preparing for your own game career today.Read more »

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By Posted in Careers 23 Comments

If you love video games, it’s natural to be interested in video game careers. But if you’ve done even a little bit of research, you’ve probably noticed there are dozens of different job types in the video game industry. That can make your career research a bit overwhelming.

I have good news for you: Even though there are dozens of different game jobs, most of them fall into just six high-level job “families.” Simplify your research by reading about the job families below, then follow the links to dive deeper into the areas that seem to catch your interest. Learn about the top video game careers, explore what they do, and discover which ones you should consider for your future career.
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QA Testers find game bugs, then hand them over to the dev team to be fixed.

Of all the jobs in the game industry, Video Game Tester inspires the most excitement, curiosity, and passion. Maybe it’s the appeal of “getting paid to play games” (spoiler alert: testers don’t just play games all day). Or maybe it’s the dream of trading your soul-crushing job for a new career you’ll truly love.

Being a QA tester isn’t a top-paying job, but it’s not a bad way to earn a living. And it’s a common starting point for newbies to break into the game industry — in fact, I started my own career as a game tester, and used it as a foundation to build a successful (and, frankly, highly-paid) career making games.

But there’s a lot of bad information out there, including scammy websites that prey on the passion of young people. It’s hard to know what’s true, and what’s hype. That’s why I compiled this in-depth Q&A, based on my own career as a game tester, plus advice and insights from many other testers I’ve worked with over the years.

After reading it, if you still have questions about a career testing games, just ask me in the comments section below.

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This article is part of the Video Game Developer Salary series. See the annual pay for all video game jobs here.

Video Game Programmer Stereotype
Don’t worry, you don’t need a bow-tie to write kicka** code.

Contents:

  1. Game Programmer salary: Overview
  2. Game Programmer salary: Factors
  3. Search for Game Programming jobs
  4. Game Programmer salary: Details
  5. Other factors that affect Programmer salary
  6. Demand for Game Programmers
  7. Should I become a Game Programmer?

When young people dream of making video games, they usually think of becoming a game designer. Learning how to be a video game programmer isn’t usually on their radar, because most people don’t really understand what a game developer does. In fact, game programming can seem like a black art that’s too technical (and nerdy?) for the average person to understand.

But the truth is that anyone can learn to be a game programmer. And there’s something else you might not know about game programming: Video game programmers have, on average, the highest salaries of any development job in the game industry.

Now do I have your attention…?

How much do video game programmers make? And how much could you make as a game programmer?

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eBook: How to make games that don't suck
Don’t you wish it was this easy?

It’s easy to dream up an idea for a new game. Nearly everyone seems to have at least one great game design they’d love to bring into the world, given the chance.

But game design isn’t a single skill set. To become a good game designer, you’ll need to build a variety of skills such as cinematic storytelling, interaction design, level design, game engines, and more. Not to mention, learning all about the business of the video game industry.

That’s why I asked some of today’s top game designers for their must-read books for learning game design. Jenova Chen (Journey, Flower), Hal Milton (Marvel: Avengers Alliance) and Kelly Toyama (Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines) are industry titans, and you’ll find their all-time best books for learning game design below. At first, some may not seem to be about game design at all. That’s because the game design skill set is bigger than just learning game engines. Trust the experts: dig in and find out why.Read more »

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If you’re an aspiring video game designer, you already know a ton about games. And if you’re anything like the ones I know, you probably spend more time playing games than you’d like to admit to your parents, or your friends… or maybe even yourself.

But if you’re preparing for a video game design career, you need to do more than just play games and read design books. Just knowing how to build games isn’t enough. You’ve got to know how to build experiences.

I spoke with some of this decade’s top game designers to get their unfiltered advice on how you can prepare yourself for a game design education. Follow their advice, and one day you just might follow in their footsteps.Read more »

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By Posted in Applying, Resume, Tools 49 Comments

This article is part of our Video Game Job Hunt Guide. Read the full guide to learn how to write a strong resume, build a winning portfolio, ace your job interviews and more.

Old typewriter
I typed my gaming resume on this clacker. J/K.

When I applied for my first game studio job back in 2001, I knew that a good resume was important. Naturally I searched the Internet, hoping to find good advice and resume samples that worked. There wasn’t much out there back then. But what little I did find was conflicting and contradictory. Not helpful.

Functional or chronological? Combination or targeted? Formal or creative? MS Word or PDF? It shouldn’t have been so hard to get a straight answer.

That was a long time ago. Today, there’s 100 times more advice out there and it’s 1,000 times more conflicting and contradictory. Still not helpful!Read more »

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This article is part of our Video Game Job Hunt Guide. Read the full guide to learn how to write a strong resume, build a winning portfolio, ace your job interviews and more.

Graduation hat in a grassy field
Do you need the hat and tassel, or is talent enough?

Art student Jessica Parker wrote in to ask: “How important is a degree vs a portfolio when applying for an art position? I’ve heard very polarizing opinions on that front.”

I’ve heard this discussed many times between artists as they plan out their careers in the game industry. It’s important because school is time-intensive and expensive, so the idea that you could skip the education and get a job just by building a kick-ass portfolio is an attractive option.

But the answer is more complicated than it might appear. As it turns out, “degree vs. portfolio” is a trick question – with an even trickier answer.Read more »

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By Posted in Culture, Interviewing 13 Comments

This article is part of our Video Game Job Hunt Guide. Read the full guide to learn how to write a strong resume, build a winning portfolio, ace your job interviews and more.

Woman interviewer dressed in black
Even if the interviewers are dressed olde Victorian, still plan on wearing something more casual.

Game studios are like a lot of other tech companies: Casual. But when you add game culture into the mix, things can get weird.

I used to work with an amazing programmer who wore the same ripped-up shorts and ancient t-shirts most every day. And with an amazing artist who sometimes came to work wearing a miniskirt and cat ears. So, let’s just say, the game industry is a little bit… different.Read more »

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