Help!!! Please!!!!

"The Board Game Designers Forum That's Not Even A Little Bit for Computer, Console, or Video Games"

Problem is, I do think we discuss those here too :-).

XXOOCC

Problem is, I do think we discuss those here too :-).

XXOOCC

Lets see ... that would be: BGDFTNEALBCCVG.com ... someone register that before anyone else gets it!!! lol

Actually, I worked in the computer game industry for about 3 years before I wised up and got out (ok, I was forced out of my job, but I coulda got another one...). I was a programmer, not a designer, but I did participate in the design for our final game enough that I got designer credit (among others) :)

I'll try to address each of your questions below, though bear in mind that I am a bit jaded on the computer game industry:

1) Describe the career in details and the major responsibilities associated with this job.

At my company, the designer sat around and thought up ideas with little to no regard what was technically possible. Then the programmers reigned him in as much as possible. Everything from the overall point of the game, to missions, to cool features to what the UI would look like are part of what the designer does.

2)What are the qualifications for this career? What education is required? Are internships available? Any special training or certifications?

the computer game industry is not as standardized as other computer fields, though within the last 5 years, several computer game design schools have poped up. Whether a 'degree' from one of those schools would help, I cant say. Our game designer was Erick Wujcik - we hired him specifically because of his background in RPGs (the focus of our computer games). A lot of it is who you know, a lot of designers also start out in the playtesting department for the larger game companies (sony, etc). For the smaller studios, you have to pretty much be a name, or a friend of a name to get in.

3) What is the expected salary? Entry level? Pay scale? Patterns of salary increase?

for programmers it's Small (I meant that capital S). Smaller than for peers in other fields of computer software. And the software engineers are typically the highest paid guys, not counting big industry names. Sallaries are tiiiinnnnyyyyyyyyy.

4)Describe the work environment. Will you be in an office? On the road? Working with a team? Working independently? Who will you report to?

Allmost allways in a team, in an office. There's no reason to be on the road, and since its a team project (pretty much has to be these days) there is no working independantly. Also, depending on your specific job (UI designer, etc.) you might have to interface pretty closely with one or more programmers. You will report to your boss, of course :) (who is usually the lead designer)

5)What opportunities are there for advancement in this field?

That really depends (like most of my answers, actually) on the company. In a small one (like where I used to work) 'advancement' wasn't really a good word for it ... more like "more work added on, same pay". There are politics, as in most companies, but in computer game companies, it's much more childish (another reason I'm not in it anymore).

6)Identify the most positive and negative aspects of this job. You should be able to find a lot of information on this topic. What do professionals in this field find most rewarding? What are they required to sacrifice in order to be successful?

Negative: hands down: long hours, little thanks. For the last three months before our game went gold, I worked every day. weekends, holidays. sometimes all night. that was a huge sacrifice for me, and at the end of it, the people who did hardly nothing got just as much as I did - a "thank you". I will never, ever work that many hours again in my life, no matter what you pay me, unless I'm the boss. By the time we shipped the game, I was so burned out that I just didn't care about anything. It took me more than a month to get back to normal.

Positive: usually fun atmosphere, big long break after the game shipped. We got a month paid leave after the game shipped, which I definately needed. Also, I was lucky enough to go to several shows (E3, CGDC) which are allways a blast.

7)Is there a specific geographic location where this job is in demand? Will you be required to move and/or travel?

California and Seattle. Maybe Chicago. If you don't live there, your chances go way down. There are other studios scattered around (mine was in Cincinnati, OH), but they are few and far between. If you take a job, you will definately have to move to wherever they are. Travel will be to tradeshows (2 big ones each year, E3 and CGDC) but not for the first few years probly, since you will be the low man on the totem pole.

8)What are the prospects of finding this job in the future?

Everyone and his brother wants a job in the computer game industry when they are just starting out (at least it seems that way). Your chances of getting one aren't good, because there is a lot of competition. Also, you have a better chance of getting an Art job than a Programmer job, and a better chance of a programmer job than a designer job.

At least for the programming jobs, they mostly all are in the habbit of giving trick based programming quizes. These are pretty much useless, but I think they do it because it was done to them.

For any job in the game industry, demos are the key to getting in. You need to have a good demo so you will be noticed. For artists, its a portfolio, for programmers, an actual game demo that they wrote, for designers, ???

Unless you already have a name in the industry, I think most companies would rather promote from within for design talent, because they are getting a known quantity.

Hope that helps ...