Best way to get into the gaming industry

However, a lot of that time will likely be spent carrying out really repetitive tasks and a whole lot more paperwork than you might think.

After all, your job will often be to sift through a game and identify and sometimes fix every mishap you find, big or infuriatingly small. But don't abandon your dreams of working in video game QA or a related job just yet. Let's look at some of the things game testing has to offer. QA is by no means just a stepping stone that leads to to other more "glamorous" jobs. It's true that it is a great way of breaking into the gaming scene if you don't have a more clear-cut way in through, say, animation or level design, as you generally don't need any formal qualifications besides a high school education to apply for an entry-level QA job.

But even within QA itself, you can progress to become a super skilled, highly-coveted asset that any studio would be lucky to have, if you're good at what you do. In this article, "QA" has been used perhaps too simplistically to refer to what is actually a really broad range of jobs. So, if you're inclined towards the technical debugging stuff, functional testing is for you.

If you have a thing for hardware, there's compatibility testing that focuses on ensuring the game functions optimally on different versions of the same platform, for example. If you're more fascinated by the humans who will be receiving the game and their experience of it, maybe usability testing is more your cup of tea. There is so much more to game testing than most people might realize. Like with any job, it's bound to have its pros and cons, but regardless, video game QA is undoubtedly one of the most important and worthwhile sectors in the industry, and it's gaining increasingly more recognition as such.

A few months later, he started writing game reviews. This is similar to writing online pokies games reviews similar to the ones in this pokiesaus. Game developers and publishers will often use a contest to seek out new talent. Mao, a law school dropout, later remarked that it was his skills in English, communication and art that led to his career.

Eventually, he was hired by Ubisoft to work as a tester for games. This was not as enjoyable as he thought it would be, however. It was also a tedious endeavor, as Jones often found himself performing mundane tasks such as fetching pizza and converting files. But this was a simple way for Jones to advance into production, where he briefly worked as an assistant producer for Konami. He went to school for marketing and retail and eventually was approached by someone from Sony, where he worked as a secretary and a tester.

Today he is a product manager for Namco, working in advertising and public relations. Lauren Svenson, who works as a publicist for EA, spoke about the strong relationships between journalists and public relations workers. She also mentioned that a job as a publicist is ideal for good writers, aspiring journalists, and socially adept people.

Her biggest piece of advice regarded summer internships, which she stated are always worthwhile, no matter how banal the work may seem. Regardless of how well the internships pay, or even if they pay at all, interning for a game company is always a worthwhile investment. Sandee Ferrara, the Senior Channel Marketer for Capcom, stressed the importance of knowing people and making connections. Her position as a channel marketer means that she is a liaison between retailers and marketing teams.

A lot of companies are looking for candidates with a solid educational background and passion. People that already have years experience in the industry can probably get by without a degree, as long as they have worked on notable titles. In the independent world there are a lot of people who are self-taught, learning by doing.

This works great for people who are driven and good at self teaching. What unites all game developers is a passion for making games, and this is pretty much the number one requirement. Books, tutorials, lots of practice. When I hire developers, experience, attitude and portfolio are far more important than what - or if - you chose to study as a teenager. LB: I think that being able to show what you can do is the most important, and experience and passion are a way of getting there, and school is just one way of getting that experience.

There are a lot of things to consider when making that choice. Is the trade-off for tuition worth it? The answer will be different for everyone. Treat everyone equally and with respect. If you see that people are not giving you the same courtesy, look for other opportunities until you find a place that is right for you. Most importantly though remember that we are making games for people and not gender stereotypes.

SF: Never give up, and never doubt yourself because of your gender. Gender is mostly a cultural thing. Allison S: My experience with working in AAA development was that my co-workers were far more welcoming than the gaming community at large.

I experienced far more discrimination and harassment during my time in college then I did while working in AAA. My other advice would be try to find and create a network of support from both other women and men. Reach out to other women who make games and are interested in making games.

Some places to start might be some of the groups organised around women in games — for example IGDA Women in Games special interest group , Dames making Games or Women in games International. I have been extremely fortunate to work at an amazing studio and have never faced any horror stories personally, but that stuff is out there and very real. You never see those! I know that most times people are exclaiming that because they are generally excited to see that women are in technology and love that an example of diversity is right in front of them - but in reality it makes me feel like an exotic zoo animal.

This is a wonderful industry full of wonderful people, but be prepared to feel uncomfortable with yourself and with others. AA: Juice It or Lose It is one of the best talks ever, showing how adding all kinds of audio-visual responses to your game can make it come alive.

JS: The GDC vault has a really good selection of sessions from all areas of game development and a good portion of these are free. It is also worth looking outside of video games, how do industrial designers work? And so on. I would also recommend picking up the accompanying deck of cards, A Deck of Lenses. PT: I have to toot my own horn and plug my own YouTube vid about making your first game. Read books, watch documentaries, go skydive. Do things. Live life. Creativity depends on your breadth of knowledge and experiences.

AJGS: You need to play everything you can. You may hate games like Candy Crush Saga but you will learn both good and bad lessons from playing them. Play Mario 64 if for nothing else than the control system — that game in my opinion is the perfect feel for controlling a character. JS: I think it is important to play games that fall out of your comfort zone.

It is easy to get caught up into that little bubble of games that match your tastes and opinions. To grow as a game creator it is important to be able to appreciate, respect and understand games of all types and genres. I do not know the answer to this! RB: I always recommend a few classic console games for study:. It exemplifies the power of the A button, when combined with creative minds and feedback-obsessed programmers.

They achieve this by redefining stage layouts to be half-a-screen sections and hot-swappable rather than a full screen map, and then triggering a refresh of one side when the player collects a fruit from the other.

Geometry Wars 2 would be a good substitute in the same category for similar reasons. It adds many elements to the more traditional Mario formula, such as hovering, shooting, targeting, and of course, targeting-and-shooting-whilst-hovering, but all in such a well presented and balanced way as to make it seem no more complicated than the games it builds on.

And has some amazing boss battles. Just understanding how the communities work around that sort of game is very interesting. But really, truly, what you should be doing is seriously playing the games you love. How to get into the games industry — an insiders' guide. Game jams are a great way to gain development experience and make contacts. How about if you want to get into the art side rather than coding?

If someone is looking to set up a small studio themselves - what advice would you give them? How do you know who to work with, and what skills does everyone need?