Want to work in the video game industry? Better read this first

I'm going to get my degree in Electrical Engineering Technology with a minor in OLS but plan on going back and getting a degree in Program Engineering and hopefully work for some videogame company (Nintendo is what I'm shooting for eventually).
 
Thanks for posting that link. I knew that the business wasn't all peachy, but the work hours sometimes reaching 100+? That's insaaane. :cold:
 
Videogames cease to be fun when you have to stare at tiny pieces of code all day... or work 16 hours a day & never have sex with your wife. Where's the fun in that? I'd have to be paid $200,000 a year to deal with that hell.



IMHO the best place to be is government or military contractor. You get paid the usual $60-70,000 a year, but only work 9-to-5. When "crunch time" comes, the government mandates that you HAVE to be paid - either as extra money or accumulated time off.

Plus since it's non-competitive, there's no need to fear Microsoft might beat you. Or customers might get pissed-off.

You have a guaranteed multi-year job with the Uncle Sam, so no need to rush. Move like a sloth. You can spend the morning actually doing work & the afternoon listening to music or emailing.

troy
 
That article is fairly accurate.

I have a friend who has worked in games for over 8 years now and it is only getting tougher with long work hours and pay that does not compensate for the time he puts in (in fact not even close!).

The best time to get into the industry is during or close to a platform launch, as the demand for warm bodies is high. Be aware that some developers and publishers are better than others to work for.

It can be a great place to work if you are young and single, but if you have a family, it will most likely be not ideal.
 
I write software in the automotive industry. I'm in the office 8-5, but I only do 3-4 hours work a day. Gets kinda boring. But at least we never have "crunch time". I've never worked more than 45 hours a week my whole career.
 
Im going to college for software engineering (mainly video games) but the good thing about it is Ill be able to program tons of software. Not just video games but also doing coding for mainly anything you can think of
 
[quote name='electrictroy']Videogames cease to be fun when you have to stare at tiny pieces of code all day... or work 16 hours a day & never have sex with your wife. Where's the fun in that? I'd have to be paid $200,000 a year to deal with that hell.[/QUOTE]
I don't really see much truth here, while working on a game can take a lot of your free time, it doesn't necessarily make videogames not fun. It could probably pertain to some people that would never work on games they're interested in. Though it would vary by person, it would probably take some bad shit to not find fun in videogames anymore while being a developer.
 
Like getting a PHD in psychology it's really something that you have to love to do (Yeah Psychologists don't get paid too much). If game programming or design is something you're passionate about there is no reason why you shouldn't go for it. However many people attempt to go in with the wrong idea that making a game is just like playing a game.

I have a coworker that made one game "tennis critters" or something and it was some small indie game which he sold online for download and he said he never wants to make games again haha.

Errr I probably should talk to my cousin from Canada, she used to work for Nintendo's Marketing department (which I assume isn't as crushing as a developer's job) but in the end she quit and went to walmart.com. So who knows D:!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top