I'm enrolled in a certificate for video game design, how does one go about finding a job in this industry? I would love to start a career doing what i love and spreading it to everybody else.
Time422 votesBuilding a portoflio of work, so stuff like making your own board game, or a mod for a favourite game. A document of ideas is not enough - generally for game design recruiters will want to see that you can actually implement your ideas and improve on them.
Proof that games are your thing. So you play games. Good start. :P A diploma, certificate, or degree are all also good... but having experience that proves that your interest is in gaming is great; stuff like volunteering at games conferences (Gamescom, GDC, LeagueFest, etc). Lots of Rioters don't have Games related degrees - pretty sure Ghostcrawler studied Marine Biology. :P
Entry level stuff seems to be difficult to get into, there's the usual "you need experience to be able to get experience" thing. Don't give up though, keep on the lookout for opportunities. I know here in the UK for example there are games-targeted recruitment agencies which allow you to upload your CV for free.
Keep up to date with Games news - ie keep track of conferences, announcements, publications etc. Develop for example.
For League, obviously patch notes are big. There are also design podcasts and every Thursday there's a Game Design stream on Twitch (always interesting).
tl;dr
Hope that helps. :D
chronicbomber4202 votes[{quoted}](name=An Honest Thief,realm=EUW,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=75XcAR2o,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2016-08-24T23:48:44.801+0000)
Building a portoflio of work, so stuff like making your own board game, or a mod for a favourite game. A document of ideas is not enough - generally for game design recruiters will want to see that you can actually implement your ideas and improve on them.
Proof that games are your thing. So you play games. Good start. :P A diploma, certificate, or degree are all also good... but having experience that proves that your interest is in gaming is great; stuff like volunteering at games conferences (Gamescom, GDC, LeagueFest, etc). Lots of Rioters don't have Games related degrees - pretty sure Ghostcrawler studied Marine Biology. :P
Entry level stuff seems to be difficult to get into, there's the usual "you need experience to be able to get experience" thing. Don't give up though, keep on the lookout for opportunities. I know here in the UK for example there are games-targeted recruitment agencies which allow you to upload your CV for free.
Keep up to date with Games news - ie keep track of conferences, announcements, publications etc. Develop for example.
For League, obviously patch notes are big. There are also design podcasts and every Thursday there's a Game Design stream on Twitch (always interesting).
tl;dr
- Portfolio of stuff (actual stuff, not just ideas).
- Proof that you are passionate about games and game design.
- Keep on the lookout for entry level / hobby game making opportunities.
- Stay up to date with general game news and especially up to date with the games you're interested in the most / the games of the company you want to join.
Hope that helps. :D
thank you for all the great advice, just the information i needed to learn. I've actually coded and designed some basic concepts nothing special with unity. I already graduated with a bachelor in business admin but i decided to go back to school and now i'm just having a blast with graphic design and c#, the problem is i live in a small town and opportunity for events to volunteer or projects to join are fairly limited. but i will work on that portfolio i actually took the classes backwards because i went from continuing education to re-enrolled so it's a work in progress
Riotmoonstones3 votesThese are a lot of awesome points! To elaborate a bit -
Specializing in something is always a plus! Do you want to be an animator, sound designer, QA, etc.? Having a bit of knowledge about game design as a whole is awesome, but it's also important to specialize in something (unless you know everything about game design ever. :P) Figure out what you like and learn, learn, learn. QA roles can be an awesome jumping point into the game industry, and many people learn a craft while working in QA. I have friends who began in QA and are animators now. :) Many companies have mentors that can help you reach your goals in the industry!
Game conferences are awesome. :3 I've been to GDC and it's a great event for checking out games, having your work looked at, and meeting up with recruiters. GDC is actually how I met a recruiter for Riot. :o
Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part. As An Honest Thief said, you need experience to be able to get experience in a lot of cases. Luckily, that isn't always the case! Personally, I started off at a smaller company to gain some experience, and then went on to pursue a job at Riot. Smaller companies are great - both to gain experience from, and to work at! Internships are also valid real-world experience.
Being 'in the loop' with the industry is also helpful! It gives you the DL as to what's going on, what's hot, what's up and coming, and can make for some insightful conversation with a recruiter.
Oh! You're definitely right that we all don't have degrees in Game Design; I majored in Graphic Design myself, and actually started off as a designer/writer for a local entertainment magazine. :P
chronicbomber4202 votes[{quoted}](name=Riot KateyKhaos,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=75XcAR2o,comment-id=00010001,timestamp=2016-08-25T00:31:05.816+0000)
These are a lot of awesome points! To elaborate a bit -
Specializing in something is always a plus! Do you want to be an animator, sound designer, QA, etc.? Having a bit of knowledge about game design as a whole is awesome, but it's also important to specialize in something (unless you know everything about game design ever. :P) Figure out what you like and learn, learn, learn. QA roles can be an awesome jumping point into the game industry, and many people learn a craft while working in QA. I have friends who began in QA and are animators now. :) Many companies have mentors that can help you reach your goals in the industry!
Game conferences are awesome. :3 I've been to GDC and it's a great event for checking out games, having your work looked at, and meeting up with recruiters. GDC is actually how I met a recruiter for Riot. :o
Getting your foot in the door is the hardest part. As An Honest Thief said, you need experience to be able to get experience in a lot of cases. Luckily, that isn't always the case! Personally, I started off at a smaller company to gain some experience, and then went on to pursue a job at Riot. Smaller companies are great - both to gain experience from, and to work at! Internships are also valid real-world experience.
Being 'in the loop' with the industry is also helpful! It gives you the DL as to what's going on, what's hot, what's up and coming, and can make for some insightful conversation with a recruiter.
Oh! You're definitely right that we all don't have degrees in Game Design; I majored in Graphic Design myself, and actually started off as a designer/writer for a local entertainment magazine. :P
well i got into the program, but the problem is all the boring classes need to be taken first in order to all collaborate with the game design class such as the graphic design and coding. The goal is to build an actual portfolio, however you have to have enough students enrolled in the program and the best way is to offer the fun and exciting class without much restrictions otherwise you run into the problem of funding with the student body for the program from lack of interest. Now with that said I loved the class and gained an actual understanding of the industry and all the collaboration that goes on with the process of coming up with game ideas and marketing to target audience. Reward difficulty graphs to gain an understanding of what makes people want to play etc. so now we find me here asking what can i do to further this passion and questions to help me determine what i would prefer to specialize in!
Michael7021 votesWell if you do get a job at Riot, let them know that we hate dynamic queue and they should get rid of it. Thanks.