You don't magically end up working for a game design company. I take it you can go to a college and take computer programming, graphics, animation classes. But that doesn't seem like enough. Are there special schools? Which part of the company has the best potential of offering a salary?
I live in Saint Louis MO, age 23 with no degree, i do have college credits, and I was seriously thinking of moving to chicago (i thought i might have more options up there)
I do like reading the breaking ins, very informative. I appreciate any and all input.
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Well outside of the obvious (education). Most developers hire people based off what they can do. Browse around, and self teach yourself basic programming languages. Otherwise, download some basic game making programs and make some games. From what I've heard, the people who get hired are the ones that bring a bunch of their games with them. Show off what you can do. In essence, sell yourself to the company.
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Learning stuff about a programming language is a good start. Basics are important and there are similarities between many languages. [url]http://learnpythonthehardway.org/[/url] You should also look at some available gaming-related jobs and then look up more about the ones that interest you to get a feel for what work you might be doing.
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Edited by Hylebos: 5/30/2013 8:30:10 PMMost importantly, start making Games. Share those games with other people and see what they think. Figure out why they think that way. Learn to anticipate their reactions depending on what you do with the game. Discuss Games all the time. Figure out what makes a game good, and what makes a game bad. Soon, you will develop a sense for game design.
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A degree always helps, try and find experience elsewhere. If you are an animator, try and join a 3D modelling team/company and gain experience that way.
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IMO? Get a degree in another field, get a professional job, then support yourself with that job while trying to work on your own game on the side. Once you've got enough money to last several years or longer, you can dedicate yourself full-time to finishing your game, potentially even bringing in outside help. Once you've got a game to ship, you'll have a much better chance getting a job in the industry.
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There's always only so much school can teach you. The best learning you can ever get is on-the-job
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Coming from someone who's done it (see link) you don't need any degree in any game related subject. Just go out and do it. You don't 'break into' the game industry because there's no-one saying that you can or cannot be a part of it. Once you've got actual experience you start to weave your way into AAA companies if you so desire.
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Try looking up Full Sail University. There's also a college in Arizona that exists solely for making video games.
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Oh and as for a college you could go to, there's always DigiPen...which is very well known throughout the gaming industry. I'm sure if you went to college there, it would be A LOT easier finding a job in the gaming industry...but I believe it's like 30K a year...so yaaaa. If you wanna messing around though, download UDK.
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Edited by TopWargamer: 5/30/2013 6:07:25 PMIf you really want to get recognized by a big company and work for them, build a pretty decent game. That's the best résumé to get into any video game company.
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>Design games >??? >PROFIT!