Since I get asked this a lot, I figured I would give you my insight on how to get into the game industry.

Remember even if you do all of these things, it is still very hard to get in. The game industry is very small industry. It is a very competitive environment where you have to prove your talent and your understanding of how an entertainment production environment works in any job interview. Most importantly, you need to show that you can work in a team with other creative people under pressure packed deadlines.

My story is that I knew the right people. I never planned on working in the game industry or at Electronic Arts. Things aligned in my career and a good friend got me an interview. From there I guess I said the right things in the interview to get hired as an Art Manager for the Superman Returns Video Game being made at EA Tiburon in Orlando, Florida. I ended up worked on 3 AAA titles on a variety of platforms at EA. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at EA and cherish the friends I’ve made through working there.

So here are my thoughts on what it takes to get into the game industry.

There are three main areas of game development that you can get into: artist, software engineer and producer. The first two are very straightforward. The production side is a bit harder to get into because there is a less clear way to go to school. For all three jobs it is very important to get a 4-year college degree, most of the video game companies will not hire without a degree but there are always exceptions.

For art, it is important to understand real time modeling, texturing, and animation. It is best to go to an art college (like Ringling or SCAD) or take a digital media or digital art major in any state college. You should also learn programs like Autodesk 3D Max or Autodesk Maya as well as becoming good in Adobe Photoshop. If funding is a challenge, then free programs like Blender and GIMP are alternatives. Again the ability to work within a team environment is key for art. As an artist you often work on each other’s artwork, the notion of ownership on a single asset does not really exist in a production team. Within the art jobs there are specific categories like environments, characters, texturing, animation, lighting, technical art, user interface design, sound and much more that one can focus on.

For software engineer, it is important to understand real time graphics programming. There are a variety of languages that the industry uses, for example C++. Each game engine uses different languages and tools, so having an all round knowledge of real time rendering is a must. Lots of colleges now have programming majors oriented around graphics and some specifically around video games (see UCF's FIEA major). Within the programming jobs there are specific categories like game play, networking, rendering, AI, and many more that one can focus on.

For production, this is the group who design the games, the levels, etc. This position is usually gained once you have experience in the industry. It is best to work as an artist or software engineer and then move into a producer role. Rarely does someone get hired with zero experience in this role. A level designer or producer can be responsible for level creation, interaction scripting and are often using the game engine itself to create the levels and design the flow of the game. They also are tasked with the balancing of the game play so that things are hard where they need to be. Much of this understanding comes from playing games and understanding how to get players to do things that you want them to.

All video games use real time game engines to display the game. There are many free ones to use like Unity3D, Unreal Development Kit, and CryEngine. It is very important to learn how to use one of these engines. Start now, get a group of friends interested and you can make a game. Any game, just learn it and do it. The most important thing that you can show a game company is something that you've already done. It shows initiative and self-motivation. They like that.

Now I will get into the details about working in the game industry. It is hard work and typically long hours. It is not all about playing games. The best games have the most details; details take time and thought to make them work. The best games also push the limits of previous games, which means constant innovation and technical troubles usually follow innovation. You have to be willing to work hard and dedicate yourself to what you are making. I don't want to scare any of you off, but it is important to understand the commitment that is required to make games. It is fun work but very long and hard work.

The biggest thing to understand is that while playing games is a fun, it is very different than making video games. If you like playing video games it does not mean that you will like making videos games. If you like being creative, working hard, collaborating with others to achieve a goal, then making video games is for you. The industry is always in a state of change, learning, and innovation. You have to be willing to accept change and challenges as each new technology arrives. The production environment can be stressful and challenging. Deadlines for games are often very short and hard to hit. Some people do not handle this type of stress well where others thrive in it.

I wish all of you the best in reaching your dreams of making video games. It is a wonderful feeling to release a game to the masses and get positive feedback on the creative venture that you just spent the majority of your past couple of years on. Good luck to you all.