The Games Game March 2005

Into the Trenches of Game Dev (March 2005)

Dear Tom,

Here are the cards I've been dealt so far: I graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. in Computer Science in 2001. Since then, I have been on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Army. I've served on combat deployments to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. (As a side note, I understand ea_spouse's complaints all too well--almost every "Militaryspouse" has similar issues.) I'm also currently enrolled in online classes through UAT, working towards an A.A. in game design. My service commitment is coming to an end soon and I have decided on changing my career to the video game industry, with my spouse's approval of course. My current timeline makes me available for work the first week of June 2005. Additionally, I've already made plans to attend the GDC in March.

I am primarily looking for a programming job, but I will take any opportunity (QA, test, etc...) that I can get. My primary question is: how much of an advantage will I have during my job search if I develop a prototype game as an example of my skills? Compared to my coursework, which use of my time would be more valuable?

My spouse's approval of my career change came with one stipulation. Based on the geographical densities of video game companies, it seems most likely that I will find a job in the CA area. My wife's condition was that after gathering up to five or six years of experience, we need to move back to the Northeast (Boston) area. Is it reasonable that I will be able to hold up my end of the bargain? How much control over geographical location does a senior programmer in the industry have? Do you think I would have any advantage by working toward the project manager / production side of the industry?

Elijah Sears

Hi Elijah,

I'm really glad you mentioned that you've discussed your career aspirations with your wife and reached an agreement together. That's very mature, and it speaks well for your character and stability. But that's what one would expect from an officer anyway. (^_^)

Combat experience probably wouldn't be helpful in obtaining a game job, unless you join a company that specializes in combat games (and there are several of those), so yes, doing some game programming on your own is going to give you a leg up.

The fact that you're an officer tells me that QA might not be a setting you would enjoy as an entry path. Good testers are quite disciplined, but the dress code and some of the less well disciplined among them might get on your nerves after a while. It would be a big adjustment from Army life (especially for an officer) to jump headfirst into the typical QA lab. It's very conceivable that you'd make a good QA manager - but you'd need to have at least a year as a tester to do that. Programmers are going to be much more to your liking, is my guess.

And yes, producing would definitely be something your officer experience would suit you for - but you need to get game industry experience for at least a couple of years before you can do that. In fact, I used to work with a producer who was a former officer (Air Force).

As to "location, location, location" - I think you're right that you need to start in California. Lots of companies here making military games, and they'd be delighted to have someone with officer combat experience and game programming ability. There are other companies doing that sort of thing - I know of one in North Carolina and one in Germany - so California isn't your only choice (just the place with the highest concentration). There are game companies in the Boston area (oh wait, I just read that Atari closed one down there today). But I agree with your plan to start in California, then relocate. You need the industry experience first.

Tom Sloper's game biz career began over twenty years ago at Western Technologies, where he designed LCD games and the Vectrex games "Spike" and "Bedlam". There followed stints at Sega Enterprises, Rudell Design, Atari Corporation, and Activision. In 12 years at Activision, Tom produced 36 unique game titles (plus innumerable ports and localizations), designed four games, and won five awards. Tom worked for several months in Activision's Japan operation, in Tokyo. He is perhaps best known for designing, managing and producing Activision's "Shanghai" line. He is currently consulting, writing, speaking, teaching, and developing original games. Find out more at Sloperama.

© 2005 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved.