This may be a little late, but with GDC coming up I’ve been thinking about updating some of the stickies over at the IGDA Breaking In forum, as well as finding new and interesting fodder for blog posts, so I’m putting an open call out to my readers (or anyone else really) for questions related to being a newbie or breaking in to the game industry.
So, what are your most burning questions?
The more blogs and GameCareerGuide features and forums you read, it all starts to repeat itself. The obvious advice (work well on a team, be well rounded, have a degree in something, relevant experience) can be the same for any occupation. While you are askin’ us newbies though, I will try and step over the obvious and often discussed topics and ask some questions that are burning me personally.
Some developers cite 60 hour, 6 day a week schedules like they are trying to drive people away from the industry. They speak as if this is acceptable and that only those with true passion for the work can hack it. Am I ignorant in thinking that someone - passionate or otherwise - could not possibly sustain quality output under these conditions? Is this an accurate snapshot of the industry?
As a future student in CS, I am trying to look beyond the obvious reasons for being in the games industry (love games, creative motivations, working with fun talented people) and at things that might be as important (job security, family/personal availability). Can you love games and design, and still balance a family and a mortgage?
How does it start for most developers? Specifically people today. Obviously we have not been making games for our Commodore since we were 8. Do most come from other disciplines with experience in related fields? Are most newbies (to the industry) today fresh out of college, eager to show their talents?
There’s more, but I thinks thats enough for now and appreciate the opportunity to ask questions in an open forum with some experience behind it.
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