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[happy_doughnut]

I think there are a couple of people here that want to work in the entertainment industry, and more specifically, the videogame industry. Are you one of them? Would you consider a job in this field?

I for one would love this. In fact, even though I know it's not possible (), I've always wanted to work for a game company. Since I'm not an "artisit," I would probably stay away from designing and since the whole computer coding business seems boring to me, I'd keep away from that too. That said... it has always been like a dream for me to work for a prominent game industry, namely Atlus, and write story lines for their overly magnificent RPGs. I would inclusively like to work as a journalist writing previews and reviews on games for a good gaming magazine or web site. Since, I guess, writing is my "strong" point and I just wuv games, then I think these things would be right up my alley.
The bad thing is that, as absurd as it may sound, I don't even know how you get into writing actual things for games or what the people that do this are called (them being the ones that write story lines for games... who are they??).

Does anyone know? I know there are people that are more into the functions of industries here than me, so if you have any idea, please tell me! I simply thought they were "game writers."

So, yeah what do you guys think about these kinds of jobs?

[Dactrius]

Getting into the gaming industry is hard for one reason only. You have a lot of talented competition. I'm not saying this to put you off, but you do need to realise just how tough it is to break into the industry. Currently it's the biggest-grossing industry in the world, so naturally a lot of people want a piece of the pie.

If you want to work for a game development company, you need to show them what you can do. It seems from your description that you prefer to shy away from art and coding which are the two main fields when it comes to making a game. So if it's writing background stories and plots you're after, you should start by writing sample work and sending it to companies that interest you. Even if they don't have openings available, if you're good enough they may consider you for the future or pass on your work to other companies.

Getting into writing reviews and previews is actually quite simple. I do it myself for a gaming website. Ideally you want to start volountarily, doing reviews in your spare time for free. This way people get to see your work and you can build a portfolio of reference work for when you apply for another job. Typically the website should pass on your reviews to the relevent companies that made the game too, so your work will get around.

My advice to you or anyone thinking of doing something similar is sending examples of what you can do to the relevent people. That is the fastest and most efficient way of getting somewhere. You should always be prepared for rejection, but never let that stop you. If you keep trying, companies will eventually pick up on your determination, you just need a lot of patience.

If you need any specific details or questions answered, then feel free to ask or PM me, I'll help in any way I can. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[kupoartist]

To be honest, and as far as I know, writers don't get in on the whole game design thing. The only example of that kind I can think of, is Marc Laidlaw. He wrote a few obscure Sci-Fi novels and was approached by Valve Software who needed to make a decent storyline for Half-Life (having a story in an FPS back then was a major selling point). I'd say that's an isolated case though, because games ideas are often brainstormed and only a handful of games actually have rich storylines when you think about it. Whats more, I imagine that it's kind of essential for a storyline designer to have some kind of secondary function on a dev team - Storyline is sort of an initial thing. If the game takes 5 years to make (a la' Half-Life 2) the storyline guy is going to be sitting around a lot.

Hmm... Come to think of it, I don't think you get a "Storyline Guy" anyway. You get lead designers and such - someone, who like a Movie director, oversees every part of the development of a game, bossing around everyone so that the game meets their vision.

Also, Journalism and writing game storylines probably don't mix because of NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements). Developers usually want good control over how the press covers their games, so having someone from the outside is kind of a no-no. Still, Games journalism is probably a far easier way into the industry. Have you ever talked to Harry about it?

So yeah, that's you lot really. If you're not a designer or a coder, there really aren't a lot of positions to fill, and they're mostly "big" jobs that would be very hard to get into to. As Epic Game's Cliff B puts it (https://www.cliffyb.com/rants/how-to-get-hired.shtml)
"Few people are ever just hired as Game Designers. They usually work, bite and claw their way to that position."

As for me personally, if I had a job in the industry, i'd want to be a journo or a Level Designer. I've got some really neat ideas for levels, but it's really hard to learn all the design tools and i'll probably never make it... that said though, anyone who is thinking about the gaming industry is best advised to become involved in the Mod community surrounding PC games. Some of the best mods result in the teams behind them getting hired.

[happy_doughnut]

Thanks for the answers, guys.

I do know that breaking into the industry is difficult, and to tell the truth, for me it's more of a fantasy than a reality. I mean, I would very much like to write stories, or just reviews or previews (being part of a magazine team... that's what I mean by journalist ), but I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen.

In any case, I guess you can say that I'm more inclined to the latter one: to just write up stuff about a newly released game or a game that is yet to be released. I know that the best way is to start is as a freelancer/volunteer, so I think I'm going to write a few, just to see how things go. But, I do have to admit, that someone told me that is a very low paying job . Is it? Eek!

For now, I'm trying to focus on the more basic stuffs at school.

But now that I think of it... maybe I can be a writer-photo-taker. Yep. Then I can uhm... uhm, well, I think I just want to get into E3.

[Berserker]

Why don't you start a thread here on this forum called "Reader reviews" and you(and others) can post you work there this way you can get opinions on your work and learn from eachother.

Off-topic : Kup why is it that every post you make ends up involving Half-life you're truely obsessed aren't you??
It's time for you that they release HL2 cause your condition is getting worse j/k

[kupoartist]

Originally Posted by beserker

Off-topic : Kup why is it that every post you make ends up involving Half-life you're truely obsessed aren't you??
It's time for you that they release HL2 cause your condition is getting worse j/k

lol! Sorry, it's just that I know a lot more about certain developers and developing staff for certain games than I do for others. I've been reading interviews with Valve and Epic programmers since their first games were released (1998), so it's kind of to be expected that my examples come from those two.... In this case at least, it's excusable.

So then, as I haven't explicitly mentioned it in this post: Half-Life 2. ^^

[Dactrius]

Originally Posted by happy_doughnut

But, I do have to admit, that someone told me that is a very low paying job . Is it? Eek!

Game reviewing professionally isn't necessarily low paying, but it is hard to get regularly paid as a freelance reviewer. But that said, it's even harder to get a regular position for a magazine unless you're really good.

I must admit I write game reviews because gaming and writing are my passions, I do it for the satisfaction, not for money.

[squirms_619]

I've always loved games too and that's why i'm making an effort to be a part of the industry as well. I'm in 12TH grade now so I've been trying to find programs in college that would help me to reach this goal and I've just recently come acrossed a program called Multi-Media Technology.
This program has many things to it like 3d animation, computer graphics, digital animation, web design and many other things but the point is I had talked to a person at one of the colleges I was looking into and the man told me that he thought this was the program I would have to take. So if this helps in anyway than i'm glade but if this just confuses you than sry Well I hope that helps anyway.

[Takua_Ikashi]

Originally Posted by happy_doughnut

I think there are a couple of people here that want to work in the entertainment industry, and more specifically, the videogame industry. Are you one of them? Would you consider a job in this field?

I for one would love this. In fact, even though I know it's not possible (), I've always wanted to work for a game company. Since I'm not an "artisit," I would probably stay away from designing and since the whole computer coding business seems boring to me, I'd keep away from that too. That said... it has always been like a dream for me to work for a prominent game industry, namely Atlus, and write story lines for their overly magnificent RPGs. I would inclusively like to work as a journalist writing previews and reviews on games for a good gaming magazine or web site. Since, I guess, writing is my "strong" point and I just wuv games, then I think these things would be right up my alley.
The bad thing is that, as absurd as it may sound, I don't even know how you get into writing actual things for games or what the people that do this are called (them being the ones that write story lines for games... who are they??).

Does anyone know? I know there are people that are more into the functions of industries here than me, so if you have any idea, please tell me! I simply thought they were "game writers."

So, yeah what do you guys think about these kinds of jobs?

I share your enthusiasm for the gaming industry, however it is not an easy job to get into. You can just walk into 7-11 get an application and have a job. But you can't walk into Nintendo of America (or any big company) and just pick up an application real kwik... as far as who to tlak to or where to go... I'm stumped too...

[merylsilverburg]

How scary, I just finished writing a paper about careers in the game industry.

Well, I don't know who you should see for these, but the references I used for my paper were these two books:

Game Plan by Alan Gershenfeld, Mark Loparco, and Cecilia Barajas
ISBN code: 0-312-27504-8

Get in the Game! by Marc Mencher
ISBN code: 0-7357-1307-3

These both are very detailed about what a person needs to do to get into the game industry; from being a level designer to a programmer, these books have tons of information.

[RobHardo]

The Full Sail college in orlando, florida, now has a bachelors degree in game design.

[Gadzoox]

At the Ottawa International Animation Festival this year EA Games was there looking to hire artists (animators/designers). They wanted at least 5 years experience though, and since I'm not even out of college I didn't bother mingling with them. A couple of my friends got invited to their party though, and got them to look at their portfolios and get opinions, so that was pretty cool!

Also, at the animators picnic I met an animator from Naughty Dog games, and I hung out with him for most of the day, so that was pretty exciting! ;D

That's the closest I've ever been to anything to do with the behind the scenes for gaming companies. AS for wanting to work for them, if I got offered a ob (hah!) I'd certainly take it, but I probably wont seek it out; not until I get into the animation industry or comic books for a while first at least.

[goodman]

Speaking of EA games, i found an interesting article that will put a little different twist on what peoples impressions of working in the gaming industry is like. Its from the wife of a person who works for EA, check it out, you will see a very different side of the gaming industry.......

https://www.livejournal.com/users/ea_spouse/

[Chara]

Yea, I always wanted to get into the gaming industry but, by the looks of it, it seems I will start out desigining computers for millitary use. Now, it would be damn cool if I was one of the engineers, working on Intel, Nvidia, or AMD... but I would have to probably make quite a name for myself before I even consider working for big name companies such as those.

As for actually getting into designing games... eh, I dont know how the hell that will happen. Would be pretty cool if that does happen.

Also from personal, and secondhand experience I know working on anything dealing with PCs requre long hours... and I am talking like 20 hour workdays, depending on what it is. You really need to love your job to work in this industry. I can imagine most people quit.

But hey, the cash payout is real good.

A friend of mine knows an editor for the gaming mag, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Johnny Liu. I know Johnny Liu first worked for the gaming site, Game-Revolution and then got snatched up by EGM.