Career Question

[Sapphire]

As some may know from my "Goals" topic, I plan to be graduating from college and going to work as a video game developer, ya know like a dude who works at Nintendo or some other game company and makes video games. But I'm a Jr. in high school this year and I'm going to be signing up for colleges, and I need help on figuring out what the stuff I'm trying to get into is. Like what I'm going to get a degree in college in. I feel like it's maybe animation? I know it defiantly has some computer crud in there, that I can handel, but I'm not to sure what else there is. And I REALLY don't wanna talk to my guidence counselor because she's really ugly and kinda mean (lawl). So help me dudes and dudets!

[Redeemer]

Animation, video game design (we have that exact course at our Uni, it specialises in video games), computer arts.

[Sapphire]

Animation, video game design (we have that exact course at our Uni, it specialises in video games), computer arts.

So i would just have to major in animation? Or computer arts? Or both?  :facepalm:

[Redeemer]

You need to find out what the college you want to go to offers first. If they don't do the course, you can't do it, can you?

[Sapphire]

You need to find out what the college you want to go to offers first. If they don't do the course, you can't do it, can you?

Well I guess not, but I'm not sure which colleges do that kinda thing. I don't even know what to look for once I find a college I wanna go to.  :oops:

[Redeemer]

Your school helps you through that. :)

[Steve]

It's a hard path to choose, not only do you need a ton of scholarships, but you need a lot of support from your parents (as in money) because videogame developing is something too hard to get into, because you either need : 1) lots of contacts, 2)SUPER angry epic skills or 3)Superb luck. Sabre would enlighten you further on this subject.

You are better just getting an IT degree on something and then specialize yourself on videogames or something, in that way, you won't be wasting your time or money if you don't get what your want. You will always have a different thing to choose from, since the IT field is huge.

Not to turn your dreams down, of course, just making sure you know all the goods and bads of this business

[Guest Scorpion03]

It's a hard path to choose, not only do you need a ton of scholarships, but you need a lot of support from your parents (as in money) because videogame developing is something too hard to get into, because you either need : 1) lots of contacts, 2)SUPER angry epic skills or 3)Superb luck. Sabre would enlighten you further on this subject.

You are better just getting an IT degree on something and then specialize yourself on videogames or something, in that way, you won't be wasting your time or money if you don't get what your want. You will always have a different thing to choose from, since the IT field is huge.

Not to turn your dreams down, of course, just making sure you know all the goods and bads of this business

I agree with this, unfortunately i know a couple of people, one who did animation, and one who did computer games development at the same uni I was in, and neither of them have managed to get into the industry, and trust me, they were good, the computer games development guy managed to create a really good learning AI program, and with the animator even got these AI to do some incredible things... Both came out with firsts, so its definateoly really HARD to do. That said if its seriously what u want i wish u all the luck.

[Sabre]

It's a hard path to choose, not only do you need a ton of scholarships, but you need a lot of support from your parents (as in money) because videogame developing is something too hard to get into, because you either need : 1) lots of contacts, 2)SUPER angry epic skills or 3)Superb luck. Sabre would enlighten you further on this subject.

You are better just getting an IT degree on something and then specialize yourself on videogames or something, in that way, you won't be wasting your time or money if you don't get what your want. You will always have a different thing to choose from, since the IT field is huge.

Not to turn your dreams down, of course, just making sure you know all the goods and bads of this business

Thanks Steve, but yes. That's pretty much the big hurdle. I've been through the hoops and known a few others who have. None made it. Contacts and luck are the main deciding factors. Knowing one guy who worked on Crackdown or some guy who empties the bins isn't enough. Sort of. One famous story is a guy who went on to make Time Splitters got the job because he was helping a friend move some boxes and they needed someone at that exact day he was there. That's rare though, and as I said, qualified people who are also connected didn't even get their foot in the door.

If you are detemined to get in, the most consistent (but far from garaunteed) way of 'getting in' is not pretty. You have to make something. From scratch.

The most famous are the tag! and nabacular drop guys who went on to make portal. While they had game design degrees, that's not why they were hired. They were hired when their little games became cult hits.

N, Natural Selection, DIPRIP, Alien Hominid, Nexuis, Killing Floor, these guys made entire games, and still didn't get in. They made their own companies. The N and Alien Homanid guys are doing alright. However, you need a team of people that you trust, and if you bugger it up you will lose alot on money.

Not only that, making a game is not the only part about running a games company. If you go indie, you need PR, Legal and Logistical help. The road to success via indie, while 'easiest' and 'consistant', the road does float on a ocean of blood, tears and broken dreams ...and wasted money.

[Dublinthefox]

Get into graphic design and maybe someday try some voice acting.

[Guest DRL]

Absolutely no idea.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

A chef.  Anything where I can work with my hands, and see the result of my finished work. 

[Nova]

A chef.  Anything where I can work with my hands, and see the result of my finished work.

Then Nom it down

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Video Game design is such a flooded career path atm, I know it sounds awesome but think about how many MILLIONS of other kids want to do the same thing?

Unless your an extremely smart student, I think you would have a bit of trouble finding work. ALSO, There has been TONS of reports of video game companies basically slave driving their employee's. Rockstar North for example (The people who made GTA IV) were working 70-80 hours a week! WITH NO OVER TIME!.... I think you would be better off doing somthing else but along the same lines... Maybe graphical design? Maybe even a project manager....

[Star Fox Runner]

I'm going into College this year to do the same thing, and I'm looking into a degree in Electronic Arts/Animation. (no not the game publishing company, that's the degree name at the university I am attending.)

I realize however that the chances of me making it into the game industry are slim, so I'm also deciding to get a minor in Film or Photography. Always good to have something to fall back on if things don't work out.

[Sabre]

Then Nom it down

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Video Game design is such a flooded career path atm, I know it sounds awesome but think about how many MILLIONS of other kids want to do the same thing?

Unless your an extremely smart student, I think you would have a bit of trouble finding work. ALSO, There has been TONS of reports of video game companies basically slave driving their employee's. Rockstar North for example (The people who made GTA IV) were working 70-80 hours a week! WITH NO OVER TIME!.... I think you would be better off doing somthing else but along the same lines... Maybe graphical design? Maybe even a project manager....

You don't do games for the money, you do it for the love. <3

[Dublinthefox]

I'm going into College this year to do the same thing, and I'm looking into a degree in Electronic Arts/Animation. (no not the game publishing company, that's the degree name at the university I am attending.)

I realize however that the chances of me making it into the game industry are slim, so I'm also deciding to get a minor in Film or Photography. Always good to have something to fall back on if things don't work out.

Exactly. Like you said "It's better to be a jack of all trades."

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Exactly. Like you said "It's better to be a jack of all trades."

Totally!

I'm gonna try to earn lotsa of little certificates, like guard card to be a security guard, earn a certificate to operate HAM radios (don't ask), earn a certificate after learning how to fix A/C's, Heaters, and how to do plumbing or electricity, and I wanna learn some basic culinary skills.

My dad is such an asshole.  He got so mad when I told him this, just because I don't want to earn a Bachelor's Degree.  My dad is such a narrow minded stupid elitist pig, he's going off on the whole "I have no son!" crap just because I'd rather be either a tradesman, a chef, or a "jack of all trades", and don't want to go to college.  He says that all non college grads are the "untouchables" bottom caste in America.  He says that "trade school" and "chef school" are "cheap shortcuts". 

I oughtta think about becoming a homeless drug addict just to get back at him.  If he forces me to go to college, I will drop out and become a homeless drug addict, just to get back at him.   Over educated people like my dad are jackasses.  He wants me to be a lawyer, like him.  No ****ing thanks.

I'm just gonna pay for my own trade school and chef's school, get a career as a tradesman or chef, move out, and flip him the finger, and never talk to him or the rest of my crappy family again.  Not even on holidays.  Hell, I'll even change my legal name and renounce them forever.

[Sapphire]

Okay so I finally figured out what the thing I wanna do is called, ~Animation~. And I noticed some of you got this topic kinda messed up, this is a career question not about what career I should do but what the job was called. And now that I found out it was called Animation, I rest my case. And something else too is that I'm not wanting to RUN a video game company, but simply work at one, like say, SEGA (Not really ) but work at SEGA and make the Sonic the Hedgehog Mod for the upcoming Sonic Colors. Something simple like that, well kinda :lol:

[CrypticQuery]

Okay so I finally figured out what the thing I wanna do is called, ~Animation~. And I noticed some of you got this topic kinda messed up, this is a career question not about what career I should do but what the job was called. And now that I found out it was called Animation, I rest my case. And something else too is that I'm not wanting to RUN a video game company, but simply work at one, like say, SEGA (Not really ) but work at SEGA and make the Sonic the Hedgehog Mod for the upcoming Sonic Colors. Something simple like that, well kinda

Animation is great, but TEDIOUS AS F*CK! Especially physical animation, like stopmotion .

[Sabre]

Animation is great, but TEDIOUS AS F*CK! Especially physical animation, like stopmotion .

Wrong, it's fun!

[CrypticQuery]

Wrong, it's fun!

Can't argue with that, ESPECIALLY when you see how great your final product turned out! (Or how terrible it turned out, depends on how much time you took with it )

[Sapphire]

It indeed looks very fun, espically this vid I saw on YouTube the other day a dude did with animation.

It's amazing!

[Sabre]

It indeed looks very fun, espically this vid I saw on YouTube the other day a dude did with animation.

It's amazing!

Cool. DLing now.

Language, Violence

[ThePointingMan]

Game design, You don't need schooling for that, game design is the one catagory that I'm pretty sure is completely ALL ABOUT GETTING CONNECTIONS! Also, you have to be charismatic and work hard at what you do, whether it be game design or not, and then maybe you'll work up to game design. My cousin started out as a game tester, after a while of doing that he just whent up till he was director of Production at Capcom USA, and now he's the founder of beefy media(I still don't know what that is ). He didn't even pass some IT technical institute course they got him to take... err maybe he got a really low grade that was passing I forget. My point in this story is NO SCHOOLING until after he had the jobs, then he whent for some schoolin and didn't pass, err something like that.

Also at my sisters school she tells me story's about the game design course. The people in that course are what everyone thinks of as the dreamers, and they probably all wont get jobs. So I'd say, don't just go strait into trying to be a game producer, do something smaller first, testing animating, coding, whatever, and when you do that work as hard as you can.

[TheRedFox8]

If you want to get into that kind of field, then I recommend DigiPen, which is literally next door to Nintendo of America. I toured there myself and it was awesome.

I wanted to do that for some time during high school but I ended up joining the Navy instead. I am going to work on the computer and electrical systems of aircraft instead of working on video games.

Hey, maybe you want to join the military to help pay for college, hm?