Hey people i'm at the stage where I have no clue as what to do (hey it rhymed ) , and i've always been an avid gamer and would love to make my stamp on the gaming industry.But it's very tricky to get into as i've heard so what tips could you guys give me ?To learn the basics something I can do at home (As I need to improve my maths to get in a course in college wich I hope to do ).
Thank you guys for taking your time out of your day to help me.

Huh? This situation sounds almost identical to mine, kind of freaked me out to read it. Having said that, I also would like to some tips.

I want tips too!? All the help I can get, you know? Thanks.

Uh, start making games as soon as possible. Modding is a start. But eventually branch out into coding your own stuff. Going to school for creative/game design is a start, but IMO the prospects of a "game designer" (vague) don't justify huge student loan debt. I have friends who went to nationally acclaimed schools to study game design, won awards from Vicarious Visions for their school projects, and work at Toys R Us. And not for lack of trying.

Like I said; start small. A company like Blizzard, while a dream job, won't even consider hiring you unless you single-handedly develop a successful app on the magnitude of Angry Birds.


Furthermore, it's important to try your hand at each area of "game design," focus on your strengths, but also try to round yourself out. If you want to write storylines and quests and dialog you may not be coding the engine or rendering models, but it might put you a leg up on the "next guy" if you can do those things. It is important to develop an understanding of what goes into a game. Being a game designer is not drinking mountain dew and playtesting all day. There is a good chance that you will spend next to no time in-engine, and will likely not *want* to play your game when it's done out of exasperation. Understand what goes into making textures, models, scripts, engines, as well as the concepts of playability, UI, storyline and the like.



Oh yeah, one more thing: NETWORKING.



Er, sorry. I meant:



NETWORKING.



I am not overstating it's importance when I say the odds are it is, above anything else, the one thing that will get you a job in the game industry. Call me cynical, but you CANNOT get into the industry without knowing someone. Fact.

To sum up:

• Game design is an art. Practice your art. Write storylines, paint textures, render models, whatever. Most likely a lot will be garbage. A lot will be good too; expect it never to be used.


• Get hands-on experience wherever possible. Mod games. Code games. Find out what makes and breaks games. When it comes down to it, you want to be able to deliver effortlessly due to experience.


• Branch out. Network. FInd an "in." You know that "six degrees of separation" thing? You better hope it's true, cause life is gonna be tough if you're not a distant relative of Gabe Newell.


• Make yourself known. Ascend the ranks. Join teams of modders who need your skills even if the mod doesn't look that great. Then build your own when you have the capacity


• You will fail a lot. Your indie games (and that's where you'll start) will not be popular at first. Henry Ford was bankrupted five times, and Edison threw out over one thousand bunk designs before they were successful. You are not these people. You will probably have to try more than one thousand times before you get your big break. Be determined.

Oh god. I totally broke the formatting. ITS FULL OF STARS

What is a good school for creative/game design? And what is a good major to start in? And would knowing the cousin of one of the people high up at Gameshark be a good start as well?

The friend I'm referring to graduated from Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute in NY. They have a major there for Game Design, but many universities will not. And the ones that do - while I hate to imply - are sometimes diploma mills looking to take advantage of people in your situation.

Also be aware, nearly all successful game developers have done it without completing formal education. Will Wright, John Carmack, Doug Church and Gabe Newell all dropped out of college (some as prestigious as Harvard and MIt.) Not that I'm advocating against going to school - these are, by definition - exceptional people, and other such exceptional people (Einstein, Gates) have left their studies when they found that they could do better on their own.

One needs to be creative, as well as having strong problem-solving capabilities. Neither of these are easily taught, but the right school can reinforce them if you are willing. Depending on what area you want to go into, different schools or majors may be best for you. Programming and Graphic Design are best for the technical aspects, whereas Literary Arts or even Management are also important to the game design process. What school you go to will more depend on your area (both physical, and their strength in the area that most closely relates to what you want to study.)

And certainly, you can take advantage of knowing someone in the industry. You can attempt to score an internship (always good), and when the times come, if your skills are developed enough, see if they can throw work your way - even if it's just as an outside contractor or temp work (benefits are expensive.) But it's certainly a start.

Thanks for the help. If there is anything else I should know that comes into your mind just PM me if you would.