Job at Riot

GingaDaNinja·Jul 27, 2015·5 votes·2,329 views

Right now I am in high school and I am thinking about getting a major in computer science. Right now the job I would want to have in the future is being a technical game designer at Riot because I have a passion for the game, I love discussing the state of the game with my friends, and I love computers. For my last years at high school I am putting the game aside on weekends so I can work harder to pull my grades up. I was wondering if anyone could tell me good books to read on the weekdays or really great websites to learn coding from (especially C++). I know it is kind of odd looking this far into the future for a job at riot, but this is really for any job with game design because I have such a great passion for video games. Thanks, GingaDaNinja.

19 Comments

remeasures2Jul 27, 20156 votes

Well 1st off contact riot directly. Ask them what degrees they look for and from what schools. Secondly riot does interns every summer so make sure you find a school where interning is allowed in your program. But I will be honest with you loving a game and computers does mean you will like coding. Its not fun unless you are truly gifted at it. If not then you will hate how tedious it is. Especially when you need to find an error in your code. Also you better love math. An associates degree in CS has about 23 credit hours of math. The bachelors has about another 20 and the masters has about another 30. The associates will take you through calculus and analytical geometry (mth173/174) and statistics. The bachelors will take you through linear algebra and Differential Calculus. Not to mention all of the cs programs you have to take. I suggest you definitely pick up a coding book and watch some coding streams to see if its something you would like. Most people who get into coding by the time they finish high school have already written code of some sort. There would be nothing worse then having spent $1000+ on math classes to find out you dont like to code.

technosavageJul 27, 20152 votes

lol good luck contacting riot. this guy got jokes.

remeasures2Jul 27, 20154 votes

I contacted them about the internship and got a reply so yeah. Enjoy your trolling.

Professor WardJul 27, 20151 votes

{quoted}

I contacted them about the internship and got a reply so yeah. Enjoy your trolling.

lold so hard i wish i was still young and dumb and full of hope and faith, and btw an internship implies working without pay and then getting fired when they have bled you dry. Good luck but it wont happen, id bet my soul on it.

remeasures2Jul 27, 20154 votes

Actually I'm 24 in the middle of my bachelors degree and the internship is paid and only for a summer. I was accepted but got an internship with nasa so did that instead. Good day.

Professor WardJul 27, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Actually I'm 24 in the middle of my bachelors degree and the internship is paid and only for a summer. I was accepted but got an internship with nasa so did that instead. Good day.

please get real son, Even if you did get an internship at NASA; it sounds like an insta-lie. The pics or didnt happen sorta stuff. And i would never accept someone into a high level internship when it took them 7 years to be in the middle of their bachelors, i finished mine before i was 22. But if youre not a trollzor than i wish you the best of luck man.

remeasures2Jul 27, 20151 votes

It was an entry level data entry internship. Its not like I was working on the launch. So yeah I'm done talking to you. Reply if you must but you wont get one in return. Also on top of being in the middle of my bachelors I have one enlistment in the military under my belt and am currently in the reserves so thats why because I didnt start my degree until I was 21 about to turn 22.

technosavageJul 28, 20151 votes

well then you're lucky, and rioters only give copy pasted messages when you send a ticket so that is why i said goodluck talking to one.

remeasures2Jul 28, 20151 votes

I would hate to break it to you but that's how all online customer service is. They have corporate guidelines. They have a team that comes up with every possible scenario someone may contact their support and they create generalized template responses. They even have generalized template responses for when you tell them to not use them and to give an actual reply. This eliminates the possibility for riot support staff to reflect the company in a negative way. I've worked for NCO and UPS call centers and their online support is the same exact way. This removes the possibility of typos, bad grammar and things being said that corporate or their PR department did not approve.

RiotmoonstonesJul 27, 20153 votes

We're always happy to give advice where we can. :]

RiotmoonstonesJul 27, 20159 votes

+1 to this.

There are a ton of aspects of game design. I'd recommend researching several options before nailing down what you're really passionate about. You would like coding now, but once you explore it, you may discover, like Remeasure2 said, it's tedious, and not something you'd enjoy doing for 40 hours a week.

FarRockBFJul 28, 20152 votes

[{quoted}](name=Riot KateyKhaos,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=cAITrHh1,comment-id=00010001,timestamp=2015-07-27T16:58:16.518+0000)

+1 to this.

There are a ton of aspects of game design. I'd recommend researching several options before nailing down what you're really passionate about. You would like coding now, but once you explore it, you may discover, like Remeasure2 said, it's tedious, and not something you'd enjoy doing for 40 hours a week.

So much this. Coding for a gaming company sounds glorious sure, but in reality you will be spending 8+ hours a day trying to find that DAMN SEMICOLON YOU MISSED. It is very stressful. You will be debugging code 80% of your life.

Source: I teach programming.

imonly4noobcakesJul 27, 20154 votes

Dream on kid...dream on.

RiotmoonstonesJul 27, 20153 votes

Hiya!

You'd said you're still in high school, which means you have plenty of time to research and explore the world of game design.

Since you mentioned game design as a whole, I can suggest checking out other avenues as well, such as

Designer - Champion or various other content. Gameplay and balance changes can also fall here.
VFX artist - Creating particles for skins/champions/etc.
Sound engineer - Composing, recording editing and implementing sounds for games.
Concept artist - creating initial designs for content.
Modeler - Modeling/texturing content.

There are, of course, many other options, this is simply a list to get you started.

An awesome resource is the Riot LinkedIn Group. Many Rioters and applicants discuss all kind of things here. You'd be able to get more information regarding the career you'd like to pursue, as well as feedback/advice on applying when the time comes.

If you decide coding/programming is what you're interested in - go for it! Whatever major you decide to go with, work on becoming an expert. Know your content inside and out, and be able to discuss all aspects of it. Obviously, this isn't an overnight process, but it's a great goal to keep in the back of your mind as you're learning.

Internships are also a great opportunity to become an expert in your craft. They're a great real world/hands on experience that can really test the skills you have, as well as help you acquire more. We offer internships in the summer. You can check out the FAQ here.

Best of luck!

Pgkav8f9I3Jul 27, 20152 votes

[{quoted}](name=Riot KateyKhaos,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=cAITrHh1,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2015-07-27T17:01:28.623+0000)

Hiya!

You'd said you're still in high school, which means you have plenty of time to research and explore the world of game design.

Since you mentioned game design as a whole, I can suggest checking out other avenues as well, such as

Designer - Champion or various other content. Gameplay and balance changes can also fall here.

VFX artist - Creating particles for skins/champions/etc.

Sound engineer - Composing, recording editing and implementing sounds for games.

Concept artist - creating initial designs for content.

Modeler - Modeling/texturing content.

There are, of course, many other options, this is simply a list to get you started.

An awesome resource is the Riot LinkedIn Group. Many Rioters and applicants discuss all kind of things here. You'd be able to get more information regarding the career you'd like to pursue, as well as feedback/advice on applying when the time comes.

If you decide coding/programming is what you're interested in - go for it! Whatever major you decide to go with, work on becoming an expert. Know your content inside and out, and be able to discuss all aspects of it. Obviously, this isn't an overnight process, but it's a great goal to keep in the back of your mind as you're learning.

Internships are also a great opportunity to become an expert in your craft. They're a great real world/hands on experience that can really test the skills you have, as well as help you acquire more. We offer internships in the summer. You can check out the FAQ here.

Best of luck!

Hate to bother, Katey, but I was wondering if you could go a bit more in depth on the Game Designer position. I feel the description on the Riot Games site is rather vague, and as something I'm heavily considering, I could use all the information I can get.

remeasures2Jul 28, 20153 votes

There are a few things you need to consider when doing this.

A. Do not go to a school that exclusively teaches the aspects of game design. Yes full sail/DigiPen may better equip you to get hired into the gaming industry(Industry head hunters actually hire directly from digipen), but that will make you a one trick pony. Getting a degree in computer science and double majoring in business management will essentially give you the same experience that you would acquire from these game specific programs the only difference is you would need to create your game design portfolio in your free time and you may not get the free networking you would get at these schools. But full sail is about $47,000 per academic year for a roughly two year program coming out to about $100,000 in tuition. DIgiPen is about $60K per academic year(not including room and board which is expensive in seattle) and is a 4 year program with the highest drop out rate in the nation due to how hard it is. Expect 70 hour weeks at the least which means no time for a part time job and $200,000+ in tuition. Now those schools may better suit you to get into the gaming industry but if you are qualified you'll get into the industry without these unnecessarily expensive programs. On top of that with a CS/Business management degree from a traditional university you would not only be able to switch majors more easily if you find out its not for you but if you do finish your degree and can't get into gaming then guess what? You can now also work for google, facebook, apple, microsoft, etc etc.

B. The gaming industry, especially for coders, is one of the most unstable and competitive fields there are. Unless you are a prodigy, expect to have to update your resume and apply for a new job after every project for a long time. After you get established you may still get laid off every few years. Highly skilled graphic designers and artists are pretty much the only indispensable people in the gaming industry.

C. If you are dead set on getting into the gaming industry, make sure you fully develop at least 3-5 fully functional games. As a coder don't worry about if it looks nice. Just make sure its bug free and the coding is spotless. Make sure there are no clipping issues, everything works as intended and that the game can be played from beginning to end without issues. On that note as long as its not a school specific project then you can put it on steam green light and if it sells well then thats something to add to your resume.

D. Make sure you take internships, even if its just an indie company. Get as much experience in the gaming industry as you can. Dont worry about whether or not its paid or free. If its free make sure you can cover living expenses if they dont give you a place to live or feed you during your internship. If your school approves the internship then they should be able to include it into your tuition and provide you with grants if you qualify or enable you to take out school loans for the internship.

RiotmoonstonesJul 28, 20151 votes

Hiya!

What kind of information are you looking for?

Pgkav8f9I3Jul 29, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Riot KateyKhaos,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=cAITrHh1,comment-id=000200000001,timestamp=2015-07-28T23:06:35.406+0000)

Hiya!

What kind of information are you looking for?

From what I can gather, it seems that Game Design is focused on the ideas of the game? Or is it more focused on the coding that makes sure everything works? I'm a fairly big idea guy, with 101 ideas for champions, maps, monsters, or new experiences in general. But I'm unable to get a clear answer as to what I'd need to do as a Game Designer. **Is it more tech-oriented? Idea-oriented? A mixture? **

In addition,** is this where champion designers fall into?** Or is it like, someone from, let's say Narrative, wants to write a story about a character like this, and he brings this thematic to the table and from there someone starts making a kit based off of what this character would be like?

The aspect of making a game that most relates to my "skill set" is Narrative, creating stories/worlds and such, but that's a pretty closed circle from what it looks like, with the only open slots visible in Riot being the Senior Narrative Designer, and I'm no where near being qualified for that. My artistic skill is no where near where it would need to be to enter an art position, but I'm able to get my idea across with relative ease, and get a sketch out that sells the idea, but isn't to the level that Concept/Champion Art does.

######I'm approaching senior year, knowing I'd like to get into the gaming industry but realistically has a few backups (Psychologist, Attorney, etc), and I'm finding everything a little difficult to grasp, especially since schools I've gone to (3 different high schools, not because of behavior though I promise) haven't offered anything that would help me get my feet wet as far as the field goes. Only now does the newest school that I'm going to offers basic programming, but I'm a little low on time to get anything insanely useful out of my time. So as you can see, I'm completely in the dark and tripping over everything (metaphorically) as far as the gaming industry goes. But I'm dedicated, and I catch on quickly, so there's no doubt I can make up for lost time, I just need to be pointed in the right direction. I've tried finding my own path, but I only seem to get lost in the information, or hit a dead end. I know this probably isn't making my whole "wanting to work for Riot" dream any better, being super clueless and vulnerable and what not, but...

...Sorry if I freaked out a bit. I should've gone back and edited my panic out of that, but maybe it gets the mentality/message across. Anyway, yeah, if you could explain what I have questions on (will bold important things, make me freaking out smaller) that would be well appreciated.

PS: What could you tell me about audio design as far as gaming goes? I've seen a lot of different methods, but beyond the equipment and software, isn't it just a matter of thinking of a sound and making it based off of other sounds? Like how [One Game Company] made the hoof sounds with foam filled coconuts, or the layering for Jurassic World's T-Rex roar (I think there was dolphin in there somewhere...)?