Introducing the Games Game - December 2002

Each month, industry veteran Tom Sloper provides career guidance to game biz wannabes, newbies, and junior professionals with the goal of helping them break into the industry, and stay in. Submit a question to Tom for developer-oriented advice in this column (IGDA members only).

Introducing the Games Game (December 2002)

When you've been in the game biz as long as I have, you tend to regard just about every aspect of life as a game. So let's treat the business of making games as a game itself - and let's call it the "Games" game.

Goals

The first goal of the Games game is to get a job in the games business. The second goal of the Games game is to do well at the job so that you can move up to a desirable position, etc.

Game Theory

The Games game involves both luck and skill. The luck part of the Games game involves your life circumstances (where you live, what lessons you learned as a child about play and work, what resources are at your disposal); think of these as cards you have been dealt. The skill part of the Games game lies in how well you play your cards. Skillful card playing can overcome a bad initial deal; and a hand of great cards won't win the game if they are not played skillfully.

This Column

My goal in this column is to provide career guidance every month to game biz wannabes, newbies, and junior professionals, and help you understand both (1) the rules of the Games game and (2) strategies to help you win the Games game. Although I've written about this topic many times, this column will be devoted to guidance that is specific to the needs of those who submit a question to me.

Your Letters

I don't give confidential private advice; my responses will be given in this column only. When you submit your question, please provide information about you and the cards you have been dealt so far. I need to know if you have gotten (or are planning to get) a college or university degree, for instance. I need to know if you live in an area where there are game companies nearby. I may even need to know what your hobbies are (if your question is about what to study in college). I need to know about your work experience, etc.

Please do not send me a question that looks like “hey i wanna make videogames what should i study please respond". There's just not enough for me to go on, sorry. Also, I'm not good with questions about "this school versus that school", "this tool versus that tool", or "this programming language versus that one". Schools are schools, tools are just tools, and the choices you make about these things probably won't spoil your game.

That’s All for Now

I invite your letters about preparing for a career in the making of games or improving a game career that has already started. Simply jump to the Ask Tom page to get rolling. I look forward to hearing from you.

Please note that there is no guarantee that Tom will be able to respond to all the questions he receives. It is up to his discretion which questions he uses for this column. For further advice and resources, check out the IGDA's discussion forums, the Breaking In web site and the Students & Newbies Outreach section.

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.

© 2002 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved.