What to expect from the games industry, and what it expects of you
Posted in Tales from the grind-stone on March 7th, 2012 by MrCrankyThe folks from Edinburgh University Computing Society, who run the student TechMeetup, have asked me to give a brief talk on the games industry to one of their gatherings. As anyone who knows me will attest, I’m happy to waffle about the games industry at length, but I do have a few pet topics. Here are my discussion items for the talk, on which I’ll expand at the talk itself.
- Hard but rewarding work – need talent and passion.
- The feeling you get from seeing other people pick up the work you’ve made and get real entertainment from it is fantastic.
- Making games is a business, but not a hugely lucrative business. If you want to get rich, look elsewhere.
- Don’t expect a job for life, or gamble everything on one team.
- Employers vary in quality. Good teams make good games. Business can still kill good teams.
- Margins are much tighter, hiring people is a risk.
- Show your talent: make a demo, work on mods. An academic CV is unlikely to be enough.
- Passion should not equal crunch. Enjoying your work is not a licence for exploitation.