Hi. i'm an 18 year old kid whos life long dream is to become a video game developer such as yourselves. I am working really hard at it by getting A's and B's, working towards my ACT score and looking for the right college. My question to you is: how did you guys become video game developers? What colleges did you go to? Did they help you find your job? What, in your opinion is the best part of being a video game developer?  My hope, although kind of unlikely, is to work at lionhead studios, so that i can help create the games that have brought me the most happiness. Thanks in advance for the answers, and luck on Fable 3.

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"Give a beggar a million gold and he will buy food, untill he is full. Then he realises that bread isn't the only thing for sale." -Garth

The category you're looking for is Games Industry...

But generally, it doesn't seem to be so much getting into a college or getting grades, as much as having some game designing skill

"Game developer" is a pretty broad term. Do you want to be a coder? Learn to code. Do you want to be a graphical artist? Start drawing. Do you want to be a storywriter? Write some stories. You get the picture. The first thing you need to make clear with yourself is what exactly you want to do in that industry.

Welll you need to either get on a games developers course (Which is a level 3 course and you needat least 5 C's to get onto it) or a media course. I am currently on a media course and at the moment were doing research on how you get into jobs such as these. You will start off as a level tester and work your way up from there, so really you'd need the right qualifications (look them up and give me a second I might be able to find you the site we used to find the information) and you'd need to get into contact with some one in the industry and talk to them and if your lucky they may take you on as a level tester. However don't think because it's called level testing that it will be easy.. it isn't you don't just sit there playing games, you have to submit reviews, reports and recomendations.

I may be extremely wrong about what I just said so if any of the dev's(or any one else with more knowledge then me on this subject_ want to correct me then go right a head however this is only what I have been tuaght.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.

Like already said you need to decide which aspect you want to get involved with, art, level design or coding. If you're a coder then a computer science course is the common one to take. But in the games industry experience is sometimes better than degrees so get making lots of sample reels of your work.

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I started out on a helpdesk. Two years of that and I was burnt. Lucky for me an opening as a junior software engineer came about and I grabbed at the chance. That was twelve years ago. Before that, I had been writting silly little programs since my family got the pc jr and then a Amiga over a decade before.

When you get paid to code for an actual, viable project for a real company, you realize that everything you've ever done before is silly little doodoo crap. You change gears rapidly and everything clicks! It's amazing and so satisfying!

Let it be known, however, that I am a meer financial software engineer and not a professional game developer. However, it's quite a bit easier and most of the constructs are the same. I write pieces of software in many different languages -- c++, java, c#, etc. and in my spare time I pick up languages like Lua when I feel like maybe this time I'll actually get serious about laying a foundation for a game!

But I digress. I have a family and that is more important than becoming a game developer at this point.

So what is my point? Hmmmm... Become a game developer by first becoming a tester. Let that experience inspire you! Start small and write small bits of code. And analyze other people's code. Learn the constructs.
Take some classes and maybe even get a degree. But the inspiration, motivation, drive, and most importantly, TALENT are the key! Then when the chance arrives take it!

I should point out that writing financial software is much easier and you will earn at least the same amount of money as a game developer. Any game developer could tell you that. Our hours are way better too. It's just not as SEXY as game development.

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http://projectthwart.sourceforge.net/

But how can i get game design skills without going to a game design college? i am by no means a wealthy man, so i can't afford those expensive computers and programs. sometimes i fiddle around with some cheap free game design programs, but other than that, school's all i got.

I'm thinking about being a storywriter, since people say i'm at writing. However i'd like to explore my options in the industry, bringing me again, to college. And if colleges don't help, then why are there majors in game design? (Flashpoint Academy. Which is where i wish to go to soon)

IDK you just got me worried with that "getting grades or getting into a college doesn't have so much to do with video game designing skills". Anyway, I believe in the saying "if there's a will, there's a way", and i do have the will. My passion for gaming is unmatched, i assure you. (assure?lol)

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"Give a beggar a million gold and he will buy food, untill he is full. Then he realises that bread isn't the only thing for sale." -Garth

cherevolution2:

But how can i get game design skills without going to a game design college? i am by no means a wealthy man, so i can't afford those expensive computers and programs. sometimes i fiddle around with some cheap free game design programs, but other than that, school's all i got.

I'm thinking about being a storywriter, since people say i'm at writing. However i'd like to explore my options in the industry, bringing me again, to college. And if colleges don't help, then why are there majors in game design? (Flashpoint Academy. Which is where i wish to go to soon)

IDK you just got me worried with that "getting grades or getting into a college doesn't have so much to do with video game designing skills". Anyway, I believe in the saying "if there's a will, there's a way", and i do have the will. My passion for gaming is unmatched, i assure you. (assure?lol)

Well college isn't that expensive. You don't need a college that is game design specific( I don't think there is a college out there that only teaches game design). Just go to the local college I'm pretty sure they'll have a course on it.

I suppose you could get a job in the industry without the qualifications on paper... however it's a long shot and you would probably have to build a large portfolio with proof of what you can do. You'd have to get an interview first though.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.

Most programming languages have free development tools. Java, C++, C#, F#, Haskell, Ruby, Python, Perl, the list goes on and on.

Making 2D games is possible with any language that has a decent GUI library (that's about every popular language).

Making 3D games is probably best done with OpenGL, which has bindings for a lot of languages these days (free of course) or DirectX, of which the software development kit is also free.

I believe the DirectX API is C++, but there are likely a lot of wrappers for other languages out there, and there is XNA for any .NET languages. I can recommend XNA, as it is a cleaner and more modern API, and therefore easier to learn.

Short reply since I'm on my phone: there is no one way into the industry, anybody who gives you a prescribed path as The Way In is wrong.

- have a read of the stickied thread in the games industry section

- Game dev is many different disciplines, what do you want to do, what are you at.

- do you have to go to college/uni? No, but it does help. Do you have to do a games course? No, in fact on the coding side we'd prefer if you did computing science. As with many jobs having a degree, in anything, shows you have commitment and can finish things.

- Be self motivated, I see lots of people who decide they want to make games and will do a games course and it'll teach them what they need to know, that scares me. Games are about creativity, they need people who will try new things, push forward, not people who wait to be spoonfed the information. I started coding and making games when I was eight, most people on the design & code side started young, no one waited to be taught how to make games. We taught ourselves, we just did it.

You want to design, to write stories, dialogue, quests, etc. You want to learn how, just start doing it. There are loads of toolkits, SDKs, etc out there, there's really no excuse for not getting involved. Get hold of the Neverwinter Nights toolset and create some quests. Join a mod team, make it by yourself, either way just start. That's how you learn, that's how you get experience.

- Do you have to start as a tester and work your way up? No, some do some don't (again no one way). Most companies will hire juniors, I started here as a junior straight out of uni five or so years ago.

- Dare to be Digital - take part if you can.

A couple of months back one of the Bioware writers wrote a blog on the Bioware site about how they got that job, you should give it a read.

Overall getting a job in games is about being a what you do, no matter what field, and standing out. Show you've got the talent. If you've any specific questions ask away & I'll attempt to answer or kick one of the other devs on here.

The Bag:

Snip.

Again my college teacher as lied to me... you know.. I really don't see the point in teachers some times. Every teacher I get misinforms me... That's why I prefer to research stuff my self... however researching this stuff and reading books doesn't give me qualifications.

If you would answer me a question here Bag.. I know your on your phone so I doubt it will be any time soon but if you could would you answer it?.

Are you telling me that Peter or anyone else at Lionhead would give me a chance to work for them even without the qualifications on paper?. I mean if I could create a portfolio of my skills would the people at lionhead give me the time of day to look through my stuff, look at what skills I can offer even without brilliant grades (I have 4 C's which I doubt is great) or reputation?.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.

I have a question.

I don't really want to develop video games, although it's something that appealed to me a while ago, it's just not something I'm interested in now.

Do you know how to get into game testing though, any qualifications I might need, things I might need to do beforehand? I know that it's not just sitting playing video games all day, and that it's an incredibly competitive and risky field, but I think I have the stamina, the patience and the eye for detail for it.

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I only wrote this because I hate you.

You know this would normally be the time were I offered every bit of information I could on the subject to help you out... however seen as every time I do offer advice that was offered to me I seem to be dead wrong about it.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.

All advice is advice. The world is a house with many doors, in and out.

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I only wrote this because I hate you.

LethargicMotivator:

All advice is advice. The world is a house with many doors, in and out.

Why is it that I interpreted that as a sexual innuendo. It's either the insomnia or I am a very weird guy.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.

Well sovvolf, I'm hardly an expert in the subject, but a company like Lionhead I believe would take the time to look through a portfolio, and personally I think even if you had got a degree or grades, you'd still need a bloody portfolio so if you can prove yourself without the grades go for it.

Game development was something that interested me a while ago and I did look at pursuing it but never had the motivation to learn to code on my own. Now I'm going for engineering which ironically includes coding so you may see me in the games industry one day.

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Something that was hard for me to do, before I was given the opportunity to become a programmer, was to take my research and actually take the time to implement it. The problem is that it really does take baby steps.

Learning to develop software is a very iterative process. You research a small part and then you need to actually implement it by writing it yourself. I never wanted to do that. I wanted to throw graphics onto the screen right away and I wanted to do it from scratch, the hard way, like a real Lionhead developer!

What you really need to do is first write a console program that simply writes, "Hello World!"

Find a example of one on the net and then create a new console program and write the code. Then compile it.

Did it compile? If it did, great!

If not, that's even better! First,because you are upset, change the string from "Hello World!" to something more appropriate, like, "Son of a..." Now dig for a solution to the problem by Googling it and learn that you weren't the first one to make that particular mistake. Correct the problem and compile it. Now run it.

Did it run? If it did great!

If not, praise the day! For now you have a chance to dig for another solution to a problem. Before you do that, modify the string to let off some more steam. I'll let you decide what to write, but make sure to put some STANK on it! Now Google the problem.

Did you find a solution? If so, great!

If not, drop to your knees and thank God for this chance at failure! Now modify the string to something so haneous that your mother would cry. You now can dig some more by going a different route. If all else fails post to a forum and wait for a response (Sometimes you really need to do this -- so do it!). You'll persevere and it will eventually run.

When you successfully run it you can again change the string to something appropriate for the mood. Something like, "Hey World! I did it! You can't hold me back! I'm on top of the world!" Then for fun add, "You mother fu..ers!!!"

Through this process, you'll learn quickly tthat finding the right combination of swear words (with the right amount of silibles and rythmn) can be very theraputic. Someday when you finally become a developer and you're sitting in your tiny cube you'll hear someone yell from another cube, "You mother fu..ing, son of a ..., I'm gonna take this monitor RAAAAAAGHHHH!!" You'll think to yourself, that lucky *** is on the way to learning from another mistake. Makes you feel tingly all over. Although that could be the monitor hitting you in the head.

Try moving your fingers and your toes.

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http://projectthwart.sourceforge.net/

I should try and clear up what I was trying to say in my previous post.

You need to start small. Go through the failures and the eventual successes. We can learn a lot by failing first.

The trick is to fail, fix, succeed in small doses or you'll be overwelmed and you'll probably give up.

Believe me, especially when learning a new API or technology, everyday you will have an opportunity to fail and then succeed. Google is so cliche for everyone now-a-days, but I bet engineers use Google the most!

It would be really nice if developers could tag the helpful links that we find in Google (as we are searching for a solution) with words that would help other developers find solutions even faster! Did I just come up with a new fantastic idea?! I'm on fire today!

Sorry. I have ADHD. I really do. It's an asset when you're an engineer. Especially for troubleshooting. Where are all my ADD'ers out there? You know what I'm talking about. Plus we have high IQ's. The ladies love that! Bowm chicka bowow -- chick bow boah. Of course following through can be a problem.

But I digress. Back to my point.

Learning anything is usually an iterative process. You must take the time to
learn it,
do it,
fail it,
fix it,
and then do it again.

Only you will hold yourself back.

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http://projectthwart.sourceforge.net/

Sovvolf:

The Bag:

Snip.

Again my college teacher as lied to me... you know.. I really don't see the point in teachers some times. Every teacher I get misinforms me... That's why I prefer to research stuff my self... however researching this stuff and reading books doesn't give me qualifications.

If you would answer me a question here Bag.. I know your on your phone so I doubt it will be any time soon but if you could would you answer it?.

Are you telling me that Peter or anyone else at Lionhead would give me a chance to work for them even without the qualifications on paper?. I mean if I could create a portfolio of my skills would the people at lionhead give me the time of day to look through my stuff, look at what skills I can offer even without brilliant grades (I have 4 C's which I doubt is great) or reputation?.

If you're enough and can prove you're then yes.

Companies with big mod communities hire out of them because people are demonstrating they have the talent.

I'm not encouraging you to drop out of college/uni, I'd encourage you to stay. Having qualifications aren't the be all and end all, but they can open doors.

Look out for junior jobs in the field you're interested in and apply.

Again it's all about getting involved, I went off on a slight rant before I'm not saying you have to be self taught (well I am a bit) but my point is there are so many tools and so much information available out there that you should just jump in.

Mr Bag is correct. Qualifications and portfolios can open doors more easily than having none...but it is entirely possible to get in without any (such as is my case).
Work experience is a valuable and potentially life-changing key. If you can get in somewhere, (QA is a great starting point) then it can be a foot on that ladder.
Possibly the most important thing you can get in the industry is contacts. If you get in somewhere, then a personality can get you far. Of course, work ethic, decent communication/written skills and creativity all help...but it's the people who remember you who can open that door wider.
Too many times when I was at LH QA did we have work exps in who were lethargic, big headed, whining, unfocussed, immature or *** lickers (and often a combination of those). It's a fantastic opportunity so when you do get a sniff of one, show some professionalism and you'll go far.
And displaying any talent will definitely help while you are there.
And lastly, you actually won't get into the industry until you try. It's not going to come looking for you. So, be pro-active and get off your bottom, show some courage and go for it :-)

Okay then I'll do it... Gradius pass me my thinking grenades...[.... this would help if I actually owned thinking grenades.... Plan B.... Hard work.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.

The Bag:

Sovvolf:

The Bag:

Snip.

Again my college teacher as lied to me... you know.. I really don't see the point in teachers some times. Every teacher I get misinforms me... That's why I prefer to research stuff my self... however researching this stuff and reading books doesn't give me qualifications.

If you would answer me a question here Bag.. I know your on your phone so I doubt it will be any time soon but if you could would you answer it?.

Are you telling me that Peter or anyone else at Lionhead would give me a chance to work for them even without the qualifications on paper?. I mean if I could create a portfolio of my skills would the people at lionhead give me the time of day to look through my stuff, look at what skills I can offer even without brilliant grades (I have 4 C's which I doubt is great) or reputation?.

If you're enough and can prove you're then yes.

I'm either too modest or too honest to say I'm but I will give it my best try.

The Bag:

Companies with big mod communities hire out of them because people are demonstrating they have the talent.

Never really tried modding before.. well except with Neverwinter nights Aurora tool set but it seems the tutorial for this along with the equipment or a twincy bit out of date. I need to get hold NWN2. I'm more of a model designer then a coder anyway. However my true skill lies in story telling (wouldn't think it with my grammar though) I have the imagination and I really love to go in-depth with my stories.. A short story I did (That I'm currently making a game of via NWN Aurora tool set) had a full chapter devoted to telling you about the small town the young hero of the story was stationed in.

The Bag:

I'm not encouraging you to drop out of college/uni, I'd encourage you to stay. Having qualifications aren't the be all and end all, but they can open doors.

Don't worry I have not intentions on dropping out of College. However I do intend to use my spare time learning more about modding and improving my skill portfolio over the next year while in college, need to fit it in between Boxing and Thai boxing ect. but I'm sure I'll manage.

The Bag:

Look out for junior jobs in the field you're interested in and apply.

Will look but at the moment I very much doubt any one would want me at the moment with lack of any real qualifications and my modelling skill isn't all up there just yet.. I have a few in the 3D show it all off thread but I don't think there at professional standard, at a push probably amateur standard.

The Bag:

Again it's all about getting involved, I went off on a slight rant before I'm not saying you have to be self taught (well I am a bit) but my point is there are so many tools and so much information available out there that you should just jump in.

Yeah I think I understand were your coming from.. get the qualifications, try your best.. and try to learn all you can by any means that you can.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.

Gradius1:

Mr Bag is correct. Qualifications and portfolios can open doors more easily than having none...but it is entirely possible to get in without any (such as is my case).
Work experience is a valuable and potentially life-changing key. If you can get in somewhere, (QA is a great starting point) then it can be a foot on that ladder.
Possibly the most important thing you can get in the industry is contacts. If you get in somewhere, then a personality can get you far. Of course, work ethic, decent communication/written skills and creativity all help...but it's the people who remember you who can open that door wider.
Too many times when I was at LH QA did we have work exps in who were lethargic, big headed, whining, unfocussed, immature or *** lickers (and often a combination of those). It's a fantastic opportunity so when you do get a sniff of one, show some professionalism and you'll go far.
And displaying any talent will definitely help while you are there.
And lastly, you actually won't get into the industry until you try. It's not going to come looking for you. So, be pro-active and get off your bottom, show some courage and go for it :-)

first note, I have some thinking grenades for sale if you want them. Secondly since devs seem to be responding on this post a lot, when do you expect to get some work experience placements available again as testers, as I wouldn't mind coming along next summer before I go to University. And I can guarantee I wont suck up to you lovely, talented, well rounded individuals.

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Gradius1:

Mr Bag is correct. Qualifications and portfolios can open doors more easily than having none...but it is entirely possible to get in without any (such as is my case).
Work experience is a valuable and potentially life-changing key. If you can get in somewhere, (QA is a great starting point) then it can be a foot on that ladder.
Possibly the most important thing you can get in the industry is contacts. If you get in somewhere, then a personality can get you far. Of course, work ethic, decent communication/written skills and creativity all help...but it's the people who remember you who can open that door wider.
Too many times when I was at LH QA did we have work exps in who were lethargic, big headed, whining, unfocussed, immature or *** lickers (and often a combination of those). It's a fantastic opportunity so when you do get a sniff of one, show some professionalism and you'll go far.
And displaying any talent will definitely help while you are there.
And lastly, you actually won't get into the industry until you try. It's not going to come looking for you. So, be pro-active and get off your bottom, show some courage and go for it :-)

I'll just throw my story out there as probably one of the least conventional ways in...for the record, I'm a scripter - we design quests and then implement them, using Lua and FablEd.

I did a week's work experience in LH QA (it would have been at the right time, so fingers crossed I wasn't one of the ones Mr Gradius is referring to...) before I went to university, on the back of which I got a job as a contract tester on Fable 1, just for the summer before I started studying. My degree wasn't anything remotely relevant - I did philosophy.

During uni I worked in LH QA over the summers, so I added a bit of time on the Movies and B&W2 to the time I'd spent on Fable.

After I graduated I looked at going back to Lionhead but there wasn't any work available. I then carried on studying, and became a lawyer (for my sins!). I qualified as the credit crunch was biting, and my job was put on hold. At that point, LH were recruiting testers again, for Fable 2.

While I was a tester I stayed late (very late! I basically did my usual working day, then another working day at night) after work and worked out how to get some of the development tools working on PC, and taught myself Lua - nearly entirely through very painful trial and error. Some of the Fable 2 team had given me a hand and had told others what I was up to, and as my testing contract was ending they asked to see what I'd done. I did a little demo and had an interview and now here I am!

So yes: no one way in indeed. If I got there, I think pretty much any route could work! But if you get an opportunity, work hard grab it.

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never run with bread

Monbee:

Gradius1:

Snip

Snippy snip snip.

Wow monbee I must say that's actually a really awesome story, extremely unconventionally approach to get in to the industry but shows that anyone can do it if they have the passion and drive.

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Monbee:

Snip

..... Wow.... you was a Lawyer.....


Edit: Okay now that my head as gotten around the fact that you were once I'll begin with the real comment. Sadly I live no were near Guildford... I live up north... in Barnsley... it's very northern... we do very northern things... yesterday we discovered fire. So I doubt I'll be hired for game testing any time soon until I am qualified and confident enough to move my ass down there and apply.

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"IrishMorn"
If Adon and Sagat step in....ah, what the hell, I'll get drunk and join in on that one.