Since I must spend the snow storm at work (while worrying about driving home with the manual car that I learned how to use two days ago), I have been spending my time jumping between War and Peace and researching ways to get a job in the game industry (I have a pretty boring job). Specific information is scarce, but to be honest I really don’t know what I’m looking for anyway, so it all just seems large and abstract. I’m writing all of this down for my own benefit in effort to keep my thoughts in order. Some of them might seem mundane or repetitive, but is helpful for categorizing my job search.
Things I need to know about my resume:
1. Presentation Matters.
2. Website IS more important than the contents of the resume, though rules of professionalism still apply.
3. First page should be my sales pitch.
4. Cater resume specifically to the job I am applying for and company.
More on this subject along with some pointers on layout: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JamesSteele/20090618/1889/Landing_That_Game_Industry_Job__Part_1.php
How to Get a Job in the Game Industry (Firaxis had some great resources on this):
1. http://www.firaxis.com/jobs/career.php
2. http://gamedeveloper.texterity.com/gamedeveloper/2008careerguide/#pg1
3. http://www.gamecareerguide.com/news/
4. http://archives.igda.org/breakingin/
Companies I Would Love to Work At (list likely to grow the more I think about it):
1. Firaxis – makers of the Sid Meiers games (close-by; in Maryland); Internships
2. Big Huge Games – makers of Rise of Nations, Catan (close-by; in Maryland)
3. Petroglyph
4. EA Mythic (close-by; in Fairfax)
5. EA BioWare
6. EA Visceral Games
7. Epic (North Carolina)
8. EA in Florida
9. EA in Montreal
10. Valve (Seattle – bleh)
11. Blizzard
12. Activision
13. Atari (east coast)
14. Bethesda (Maryland)
Projects In the Works Now:
1. XNA Sidescroller
2. Left 4 Dead 2 Level – still in concept design stage
3. 3D Art Project using Wii hack (http://johnnylee.net/projects/)
4. List Organizer (java programming)
After-Burner Projects:
4. Websites
Other related resources to consider:
1. http://www.conceptart.org/
2. http://www.game-artist.net/forums/
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_companies
The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I would prefer to stay on the East Coast. Unless I could get a job in San Diego, I don’t know that I would be too agreeable to the Great West. So this makes me want to focus more on my website exploits or other skills. The best thing, I think to do at this point, is email some people and annoy the crap out of them with stupid questions about helping me get a job in the game industry, to draw draw draw draw, and to work on my projects and get them out of the way.
I also should find an internship; unfortunately nobody has those positions open and most companies don’t even have an internship program, though everyone does advise you to find an internship! It seems I should direct my efforts towards QA (Quality Assurance) positions. However, I’m worried that advancement could take years from there and the job (in and of itself) would not help me with other skills to work anywhere else. I’m probably thinking too much. I want a hamburger.
