Recently I had sort of an epiphany about what I want in my future career-wise. I've never come across a job that I thought I could be truly passionate about until I started reading about jobs in the gaming industry. Playing video games is the only real constant in my life and something I don't think I could ever get tired of.

My only dilemma is that I know little about the industry and even less about the technology that surrounds it. My only qualifications right now is a love for playing games and a creative mind. With that said, I've come to the internet to do some research. The Bethesda Forums seems like a really good place to start, as there are plenty of video game aficionados here.


Some of the fields that I'm interested are Level Design, Script Writing, Animation, etc. Something that demands a lot of creativity is really what I'm interested in. Pretty much anything besides Marketing, Production, and the things really math centered.


What do you guys recommend me doing to test the waters?
If you are in the gaming industry, how did you get started?
What's the path to getting into the gaming industry like?


I'd really like some people actually in the gaming industry to give their input on this thread, but if you have some good insight on this topic, please enlighten me! Even if you have some negative things to say about it, please tell me about it.

Thanks, folks!

Start modding.

Start modding your own stuff, make a portfolio, and if it's good enough, you'll get attention.

Communicate with people who have the skills you want.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to start modding once I have the proper computer for it.

Are there any programs for modding that a computer with low-specs could handle for the time being?

You have no idea how many people want to be in the gaming industry.

Developers are looking for people who have gone to school and know what they are doing. Start modding, join classes and make your way up.

They seek people with an education not anyone of the street. Work at it and you may happen to find yourself in front of a screen working for your next pay check.

To love playing video games means nothing to company’s. If I walked into a bank and said, "Hey I love working with money but I'm not good at math." They will laugh and think it's a joke.

Work at it, get good at modding and definitely start doing some classes.

Most of the http://www.bethblog.com/index.php/category/inside-the-vault/ dev interviews ask how they got into the industry, I'd suggest reading through them.

Also, open up the websites of game developers you like and look at their job listings - that should give you an idea of what qualifications they're looking for.

I'm still in high school now and definitely seeking higher education. In college I'll probably major in Computer Science and minor in something like English or History to complement it.


Thanks! I'm reading through them now

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Anyone know of a modding program like this? Or maybe just a program that involves just some aspects of game design that I could try out?

You need to find the blue key.