Ethan
For Video Game Designer, what things would I need to do and accomplish to make myself as appealing as possible for hire at a professional company?
I, while having enough dedication and intelligence to go into other fields primarily medical, have always been interested in story telling, character creation and development, and interactive experiences just to name a few. As an avid gamer, reader, and watcher of movies, I really enjoy cohesive visions that involve all the different aspects of communicating a story to the audience. This industry however seems so difficult to get into and I don't know what to do or where to start so that I could break into it. I know that I would be an asset to any creative team having written pieces of fiction ever since I was young in addition to having studying gaming in my free time when I'm not busy with life or playing one. I want to best I can be and to work on a project is my greatest dream. Nothing would make me happier.
#Gaming #Designer #videogamedesigner #videogames #creativity #storytelling #art #technology
3 answers
Steve A.
Steve’s Answer
Start with finding a college that offers a degree specifically in this area. For example, the University of California, Irvine has a Computer Game Design degree, check it out at:
https://www.ics.uci.edu/ugrad/degrees/degree_cgs.php
They are also located in Southern California, where many video game companies have their HQ, so you have good prospects there for internships and jobs.
Good luck!
Ted Curran, M.Ed.
Ted’s Answer
There is nothing more valuable than a portfolio of work that you have actually completed that shows that you're able to do some part of the job you want.
If you want to work on professional AAA video games, those are made by hundreds of people working together, each on one very small part of the finished product. There's one person making sketch artworks, another making 3D models, another doing animation, another building landscapes, another writing dialogue, creating game dynamics, etc. etc. etc.
Which part are you interested in? What skills do you have now that you can use to create something interesting to show off?
I am a big fan of [Twine](https://tedcurran.net/2018/10/use-twine-for-branching-learning-scenarios/), the open source interactive fiction writing platform that allows you to create "choose your own adventure" games simply, for free, on your desktop. If you can make a compelling experience with simple tools like that, you can build up from there to making bigger and better games.
My company Autodesk is a major player in the world of game design, and [we make all our software free for students](https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/featured) for at least one year, so you can build skills in industry-standard game design software.
But even if you just keep creating, posting work to your blog or Instagram account, that can quickly turn into a personal portfolio of work that you can include on job applications so potential employers can see for themselves what you can really do.
Bonnie Allen
Bonnie’s Answer
Get busy developing games at Udacity and earn a Nanodegree at the same time
Bonnie recommends the following next steps: