First of all: Congratulations and welcome aboard, matey. You’re a brave guy. One can spend many words of how you’ll enter the games industry. But I think there are two main arguments you should think of.
I don’t want to go that much into detail for now. But I see a lot of ascending young students from different departments around me. More and more I’m asked to introduce some of these new talents to the games industry. So I thought it might be helpful to write some hints for you young sailors how to navigate your course to the save harbor of “Gamedevia”.
Why all those nautical terms? Well I think it’s a good comparison of my way to the games industry.
Yes, maybe I’m not in the captain’s position, to hold my pointing finger high in the air and tell you about the „Do’s & Dont’s“ while you’re making your first steps into the industry, but perhaps I can prevent you from hazards, that could be avoid.
While walking the wiggly plank to the upper deck, you can see two mighty masts. For me, these masts represent the two most important steps you need to follow – at least to get an idea what could help you on your way to become the “Dev of your dreams”.
There’s a golden plate attached to it. “Do something!” has been chiseled in it.
Yeah, that’s basically it. Let’s assume you’re a hobbyist. You’ve just completed your first Mod, or your RPG Maker Game. Great, that’s the spirit!
And after you drafted your “Hello World”-something – complete it, so you have something to show around. In this industry you’re judged by your portfolio. Everyone can show their next unfinished asset. But it’s your goal to say “Hey man, I’ve got this idea, look how I did it and how awesome it is.”
Your next logical step would be to test your skills in a small challenge. Maybe you already know that you’re good at coding, or like to create great artworks. Most important: Your skill doesn’t matter at this point! You’re a beginner – so take it easy.
So what do I mean by „challenge“? Use your craft during Game Jams. This sharpens your profile and gives you a very important skill: To know how to interact with other developers. Not kidding. An artist and a coder use entirely different languages.
Probably the easiest way is to join a Game Jam. And there are plenty of it. Every (early) year there’s the Global Game Jam. Ask Google about other local Game Jams around or online (One Game A Month, Ludum Dare).
You carry on and see another plate. “Meet People!” it reads.
We learned about the importance of Game Jams. Let’s talk about MeetUps, Conferences etc. This is the moment where these rules show best, that they are non-linear.
I bet SOMEWHERE in your area is a Game Dev Meet Up. Check out meetups.com or Facebook. A great opportunity to get in touch with your neighborhood devs. You’ll be surprised what those guys have done yet. Perhaps one of them have already released a Game on Steam? Or works for a bigger games company?
Getting connected with people is so tremendously important, that you cannot avoid, or your way to success will be the rockiest road you ever walked. Networking is the key to everything within the Games Industry. Look out for Conferences nearby. Gameconfguide.com is a great database for that purpose. Oh, and if you found a nice conference, be sure to take your business cards with you. 😉
I think the key to your success in the gaming industry is:
- Being proactive
- open minded
- and curious to all directions
Basically this counts for almost every job, but in this young industry with blurry or even open frontiers it’s always good to have a look on your compass on your road through the shear endless ocean of game development.