By Dan Grushkin
Career Training Review Columnist
Computer gaming has become a mammoth industry that rivals and now dwarfs the film industry. It's grown incredibly fast, and there's always need for new talented animators, designers, modellers, artists, etc. If gaming has always been your passion, consider making a career out of game design.
For the first step, you should consider animation schools. Animation schools train you not only in software but also in the arts. As you're about to learn game design requires a lot more than software know-how. Here are some potential careers in the gaming industry and the resources you'll need to succeed.
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Programmer. Game programmers create the technologies and gaming engines that allow your favorite games to function. If you want to be a gaming programmer the competition is stiff. You'll have to show that you love coding.
Most video game companies require you to send a portfolio of programs. Some animation schools provide programming classes, but not all. Consider mixing a degree in computer science with an animation degree. It'll certainly give you an understanding of the different sides of the industry. Fluency in C and C++ are a must.
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Cinematic Artist. Many games have cut scenes. The game pauses for a cinematic interlude that either moves the game's plot forward, or gives designers a chance to develop the characters in the game.
Graduates of animation schools make key candidates for this position since the interlude is essentially an animation short. Gaming companies are looking here for your best, most original reels.
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Game Artist. The game artist takes characters from pencil on paper concepts to a 2D or 3D creature in a game. Most games now are 3D so the software you'll learn in animation school will be extremely useful to you. You'll need the skills to render and shade an entire virtual environment. Again, employers want to see a demo reel.
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Game Designer. Game designers imagine the characters, environments and plot of games. They develop the way in which a gaming experience feels and operates. Most game designers start as level designers. Level designers place monsters and villages, lakes and mountains throughout that particular level of the game. As a candidate for this job, you should submit a demo of your level designs.
About the Author
Dan Grushkin is freelance writer in Brooklyn, New York. He has written about world affairs for Agence France-Presse news wire, various international publications and has contributed to a book on the Middle East crisis. Dan holds a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.
Monday, April 25, 2005
