The Games Game

Getting in Via Marketing (February 2004)

Dear Tom,

I am a college student about to graduate in May 2004, with a degree in Business Marketing and Management with an emphasis in Entertainment. My school does not offer classes about video games, and I really would like to break into the industry. My future goals are focused more on production, than design, what should I do?

Jeremy Hoffmann

Dear Jeremy,

The degree program you're in sounds perfect to me! But then the majority of my experience is as a producer (and one of my greatest weaknesses is my lack of knowledge of marketing). So by all means finish up the program you're in.

Then after you graduate, all you have to do is get your foot in the door. Your Business Marketing & Management degree is perfectly suited for a job in two areas. You should already know what they are.

The first is marketing, obviously. Your degree ought to get you a job at a game company, if you supplement your studies with some sort of game "activism". Like organizing game events at local arcades or computer game cafes (what they call "bangs" in Korea), playing lots of games and participating in online discussions, writing reviews, etc. You say you want to get into production - well, after serving a few years in the marketing department of a game company, you could probably wangle your way into a sideways move into production. I don't see why not. I've seen movement between marketing and production before.

The second area is, of course, management. That's what producing is. If you hope to become a game producer, a marketing & managing & business degree is pretty darn good for starters. Another way of getting into a game company is as an apprentice manager (we use different titles). But the game companies usually promote to that position from within, so if you don't want to get in through marketing (or if the marketing path isn't open for you), you could get in through Customer Support, Q.A., or just about any other job you can manage to get.

Although I strongly urge everyone wishing to get into the game industry to start by getting a degree, merely having the degree isn't enough to get you a job. You also have to demonstrate that you are passionate about games, a hard-working self-starter, and someone who's willing to help the team. So finish your degree, then get a job at a game company. Any job. Any game company.