In the gaming industry what are some important qualities or qualifications do employers look for?

Hey Alexis! Its great to see you enthusiastic about being in the Video Games Industry! There would be a whole lot of things that your potential employers would look for, based on the position that you are applying for. The qualifications and qualities will be valuable if you are capable of demonstrating to your employers, how you plan on adding value to the job that you're applying for. While certain disciplines such as Art will automatically establish requirements of qualifications, it might do you well to demonstrate how your qualifications are going to help you perform your duties.

Experience also happens to be one of the most common aspects that employers look for in a potential candidate. It might serve you well to frequent industry relevant websites (I'll list below) and take part in the conversations there. Having a blog, publishing articles, preparing a portfolio of your works and virtually anything that helps the employer review and understand your capabilities, will be beneficial to your application. Employers will be in a position to review your work and make a calculated call on where you fit in the organization and at what level.

Here are some websites that I read every morning before starting my day at work:
www.gamasutra.com
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
http://www.ign.com/

Do take your time to go through the discipline relevant sections of some of these websites. Gamasutra for one has a wealth of information for Design, Art, Programming, Audio and more. Read what the mobile gaming space is up to. Get frequented with the latest news and come across as updated with the current topics in the industry. This can definitely make potential employers take you to be an individual, serious about being in the business of making video games.

I hope this helps, Alexis... All the very best! :)

I agree with Rajveer!

Employers definitely look for experience, and one way you can bolster your experience is by completing your own personal game projects. Make tons of games! Try Unity, UDK, Flash, or any other platforms you're interested in and get a feel for different workflows. Each game you work on will push you to learn new skills and techniques, as well as giving you more material for your portfolio. Make games by yourself and make games with your friends or colleagues. Organize your own team and compete in contests like IGF so you have a hard date to work towards. Participate in Ludum Dare, any number of other online game jams, or go to game jams locally and meet more people who make games. In short, keep pushing yourself to practice and hone your skills.

The other detail to be aware of is that different employers are always looking for different skills. Research positions at places you'd like to work. What game engine do they use? What other production software is needed for your desired role? If you know what the end goal is, you can sharpen your skill focus in the right direction.

On the topic of resumes, you'll need to tailor your resume uniquely to each place you apply to. If a company uses Unreal, put that at the top of your engine list. Keep your resume simple, as well. I first started out with my own design, only to find out that a standard design was deemed more readable and effective. Don't be afraid to seek advice and help on your resume. More eyes on it will always be beneficial! Also research the company you're applying to so when you talk to them, you are knowledgeable about what they do and can express why you'd want to work for them.

Networking is also very important in this tight-knit industry. Look for local clubs and groups you can participate in. Is there a chapter of the IGDA near you? Start connecting with people in the industry as much as you can, whether locally or online. You can learn a lot from those who came before you!

It also really depends on what part of the video game industry interests you. If you want to make video games, one way to think about a career in this industry is as a game designer. Or if you prefer to work with code, engineering. Art is of course another path, and their are many varieties of art positions available. I'll take a moment and briefly talk about Game Design. There are many things you can be doing right now that you might not be thinking about that are actually the best ways to prepare for a career in Game Design on your own. You don't have to wait to college or later in life to begin. The first thing I would say, and it may seem obvious, is play a lot of games. And be sure to play a lot of games across a variety of genres and platforms. Don't just play games you like, experiment with games in other genres so you are familiar with different types of stories and gameplay and have developed a vocabulary of gaming. Play mobile and console games, as well as traditional board games. I would also highly encourage you to discover and play around in the game modification community. Game Mods are player designed levels that are built with tools you can download and experiment in. Take a look at http://www.moddb.com/mods and see some of the mods players have designed themselves. As you begin your study in games, you will find that later in your career when you are presenting yourself to potential employers, having a deep and involved history in gaming as a player will separate you from other applicants.

Before you start looking for a Video Game Tester job, it’s important you know what employers will expect from you. In this article I present a list of the most commonly required skills and education for the job. If you think you don’t master all these skills yet, don’t panic and keep reading!

Only an ideal candidate will master all these skills, and such candidate does not exist. The list is presented here to help you assess yourself and sell yourself on your resume and at a job interview.

Core skills

Detail oriented and observation: Forget about testing if you can’t catch bugs. Those skills are likely to be tested at the job interview.
Investigation and troubleshooting skills: It’s one thing to stumble on a bug. It’s another to be able to find the steps that will reproduce the defect.
Tolerance to repetitive and tedious tasks
Analytic thinking: If you trying to get a job in a company that doesn’t consider testers as clicking monkeys, they will likely require you to be able of analytic thinking. What does that mean? If they give you a specification document mentioning that the game should accomplish X and Y, you should be able to write test scenarios covering different aspects of X and Y. This skill is quite common requirement in the world of software testing.
Additional skills

The following skills are required in general for any IT job, including game testing:

Team player: You’re not playing video games alone in your bedroom. You’re working with a team of professionals for a company trying to make money. If you’ve already had any job involving teamwork then you know how people with big egos can get in the way of the teams goal. Don’t be one of these people because you won’t last long. You also need to understand that testers are providing a service to other departments in the company. In a way, those departments can be considered as your clients. Make your clients happy and they’ll love you. Mess with them and you’ll walk out faster than you got in.
Good oral and written communication: You will need to write flawless bug reports and be able to explain in an effective way what went wrong. In companies having a more formal process, you may need to write test cases and to document your test strategy.
Ability to maintain good working relationships with others: This is something you need for every job. It basically means: ability to collaborate with the people you like as well as with those you do NOT like.
Work ethics: crucial for a tester. It’s so easy to ignore a bug and hope nobody will find out. Employers need to trust you.
Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure: Things can get hectic as the release date is getting closer. Your employer needs people who can still perform under such conditions.
Specific and/or technical skills

If you’re testing PC games, the employer may require that you’re able to build a PC and troubleshoot hardware issues. If you’re doing localization testing you obviously need to master a language perfectly. Compliance testers are expected to know the certification process of various constructors. You get the idea.

Experience

Some companies will require experience.
I have noticed that in areas hosting a lot of game companies, experience is required more often. It’s probably because the pool of candidates in those regions contains more experienced people.

I can understand how inexperienced people can find unfair that companies require experience when it comes to game testing. After all it’s just playing a game all day long… NOT. If you still think that, you seriously need to read this article again.

As a tester evolves in the industry, he learns the game development cycle, the tools, and he develops a sense for uncovering defects. He learns to recognize the patterns. This is why some employers require experience.

That said, game testing is still an occupation very accessible to inexperienced workers.

Those skills will be tested at the interview.

Passion

The Last Of Us teamplay

Employers will pretend to require that you’re passionate about video games. Why did I use the word “pretend”? Because not all of them really care about that. What they all care about though is that you’re able to sit in front of a video game and interact with it all day long. And they assume that this will be easier for people passionate about video games. They may also want make sure that you are familiar with their games genre. And even if the employer does not really care, sometimes the QA manager will be more comfortable to hire someone with the same interest.

So in the end even if they don’t really care, it does matter that you know your stuff about video games.

Education

Usually no specific degree is required by gaming companies. However the skills are very often tested at the interview.

For the kids: don’t take that as an excuse to drop off school. Chances are that you won’t want to be a game tester for ever.
You’ll want options.

Enjoy Video Games: Many video game companies look for people who know the difference between a good video game and a bad video game, both in complexity and design. 9 times out of 10, the only individuals that know this are 'gamers'.

Be a Problem Solver: Sharp problem solving skills are key to being a game designer as one must be able to come up with solutions when all does not go as planned -- from collision detection to making objects appear more life-like.

Be Creative: A good game designer is always coming up with a new approach; they come up with new and different ideas for games that keep video game enthusiasts enthralled.

Be Efficient: The video game industry is incredibly fast-paced. Great game designers need to be able to get things done in critical situations. This requires a combination of efficiency and patience to ensure proper resolution of tasks.

Have Technical Skills: Technical skills are a must have in the increasingly technical career - from computer generated imaging to physically modeling an object to conceptualize it properly for the screen.

Awareness of Audience: A great designer is aware of his or her audience and tailors the work to meet the expectations of that particular audience.

Communication: A great designer has excellent communication skills. They are good listeners and able to garner what a client is expecting. They are able to engage in meaningful conversations with clients to ensure both parties are in agreement of the work that is being done.

Creativity: A great designer is very creative and able to develop new, innovative ideas for projects. They are always thinking of different approaches and techniques.

Eye for Materials: A great designer has an eye for color, texture, fabric, space, and other elements that go into various designs. They are aware of the extensive variety of materials available and understand what works well in particular projects.

Humility: A great designer has a strong sense of humility and recognizes that people have varying tastes. They are not afraid of criticism and can handle recommendations for change.