5/25/99

"The vacuum created by the arrival of freedom and the possibilities it seems to offer it's got nothing to do with you if one can grasp it..." -yes, more David Bowie This week's topic is about how to get a job in game design. I'm not going to offer the idea that you follow my path, mainly because it's not feasible for just about everyone (given that there are a limited number of design slots at TSR and other pen & paper companies, and given that they rarely open, it's not really the best way to go if you want to get into computer game design quickly). So what DO you need to get into the exciting, high-rolling, fast-paced world of computer game design, where the champagne flows like rivers and models await your every whim? How do you break the wall between you, the common plebian, and the computer game designer who drives a prohibitively expensive car just because he can afford to wreck it EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK? Don't ask me. I can tell you how to get into a company like Interplay, though. These are the qualifications to get a job from outside the company. EDUCATION Oddly, your education probably matters least when compared to all the rest of this. This is not to say education is not important, because a good education will teach you the other skills you'll need, hone your mind, and help other people take you seriously. You CAN get a job as a computer game designer with only a high-school education, but the doors open a lot more quickly if you've got a college degree behind you - and chances are very good that, unless you have all the other ingredients here in abundance and can demonstrate them at will, no employer will look at you without a college education. Your degree doesn't really matter, though. Our designers have degrees in history, English, philosophy, psychology, what-have-you. It's probably better for designers to have liberal-arts/humanities degrees, because they expose you to a broad range of the human condition, and a game that reveals something of the human condition is a memorable game. CREATIVITY Utterly crucial. If you don't have the desire to create something memorable and new or the urge to expand your horizons to create the next cool thing, then why are you even reading this? Get a job as an accountant or something. Read a lot, and then read some more. Watch movies. Listen to music. Start putting pieces together that haven't been put together before, or rearrange elements that have been previously assembled. If you can't be creative, or at least do something interesting with old material, you probably ought to consider a different career. SKILLS Writing skills are critical if you want to get into the creative end of game design. Communication skills are also a must, since you'll have to express your desires clearly to the artists, programmers, and scriptors you work with. Knowing your way around the computer software your team uses is important, and it's not a bad idea to pick up at least a little of the jargon the other team members use. FOCUS, DEDICATION, AND LOVE Another ultra-important element. Without love for what you're doing, the job quickly becomes a chore, and you certainly don't want to be the sort of person who abandons the project halfway through because you're sick of it. You need to understand that computer games require intensive effort, especially at the later stages, and that you'll be working late hours to make sure it's done. You need to learn to weather the cruelty of bad reviews and hold fast to your vision, and you need to believe in what you're doing. If you don't believe in it, why would you be doing it? Game design is not an eight-hour-a-day job. It's more of a life commitment. These are things you need to get a job in creative game design. How you combine them into getting a job is left as an exercise in creativity for you. Think about it for a while; if you're right for the job, you'll figure out a way. There is no set path, you see, and it's a good idea to show innovation to prospective employers right from the start (I don't recommend stalking, though). You can do it from inside the company, too. Here's how: Get a job in QA or Customer Service - those are great entry-level spots, and they expose you to people in Development. Learn the job from the inside. Volunteer to help out on projects. Show your willingness to work late hours and dedicate yourself to whatever it is you're working on. Be visible and be intelligent. A sense of humor works well, too, as does the ability to show you can work well with a team - interpersonal relations are a MUST, because when the project gets into full steam and everyone gets a little edgier, you want to be able to communicate effectively with the people you're working with - far better to have a team that laughs together than screams at each other. Eventually, if you dedicate yourself and show your love for games long enough, you may draw attention from Development and be asked to help in a bigger way on upcoming projects, and if you work out there, you're pretty much in. Both ways, as you can see, require time, effort, and dedication to a goal. It's not easy, this life on the edge, but it's well worth it. Mostly. Until the day you snap. (that should keep my coworkers on their toes) -Colin

Planescape: Torment & Design: © 1998 Interplay Productions. All Rights Reserved. © 1998 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Planescape, the Planescape logo, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Torment, the AD&D logo, and the TSR logo are trademarks of TSR, Inc. and are used by Interplay under license. TSR, Inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Interplay, the Interplay logo, Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Productions. Exclusively licensed and distributed by Interplay Productions. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.