I'm 17 and graduating this year. And for the past year and a half I've been struggling about deciding what to study in University: it started with Medicine then I moved to Acting but then I realized I might only like it as a hobby so I moved to Psychology, then to Forensics but then I realized it's something everyone studies now because they are all brainwashed from TV shows like I was. Then one day after coming back from school and having my regular 2 hours game-session I realized something: the one thing that I would always love is to play video games.

So I thought to myself, why not help create them.

Problem is, I have no previous experience in any of the different things you can do when you create a video game... I'm ok in drawing, but I cannot do anything good without taking my time, so concept art or anything including drawing landscapes or characters is a big no no. I have no experience whatsoever in programming anything so I have no idea how that would be, I mean I know you write codes but is that all, you also test the game right??
I don't have the sufficient Math skills for physics stuff..

What other game industry related jobs are there?
I don't want to do anything with marketing or law though so that's crossed of the list already..

Thanks in advance for the help, and if you're planning on going to study anything concerning video games and already know what you gonna do, join the discussion! Or even better: a Bethesda employee (since at the end of the day, everyone here wants to work there and that would be my goal in life ) that can explain to me what he/she studied and what experience they got before Bethesda and how hard it was to get the job!

EDIT:

Also, what are the pluses and minuses of each job?

Hi! I'm pretty much going to be in the same situation as you in a couple of years, so here's what I've found;
There are many jobs in the field of video game design. The main ones can be split into three fields; art, design and programming.

Now, you've already said that you aren't so good at math or physics, so perhaps programming isn't for you, but art and design are still open paths!
I believe you said you weren't too good at drawing and such, but have no fear, for you can get better at that sort of thing by practicing. Take it from me, I could just about draw stick figures when I started doodling in classes, but now I'm (if I do say so myself) a reasonably competent artist with my own style.
Also, not all jobs in game art require such fine drawing skills. If you happen to have a knack in 3D modeling, that's classed as art too. You don't even need that much art skill to do it, but you do need a little math skill so...maybe?

It's a little harder for me to describe design, as it branches out in so many different ways...level designers, scene editors...loads of things!
I'm not sure what I'd recommend for you to do to get into the field. Generally, you would learn how to do your preferred job of choice, create something (a large scale mod is generally a good one, like Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul) that would catch a companies eye.

As for learning the ropes themselves, you could start right now if you wanted! Obviously, the art side can be practised by drawing a lot, and if you wanted to go into programming then there are simple programming languages you can pick up with how to guides that could get you into it. If you wanted to be a 3D model designer, you could start up now with Blender (which is free) and get some online tutorials (I know there are a few about).

For me, I plan to go to Futureworks, which is a media college which does a game development diploma that I plan to take. However, after all my exams are done and dusted, I would like to learn a bit of basic programming and perhaps a mod or two for Skyrim along the way?

Regards, Soulwithlife.

P.S - If you would like to have a look at Futureworks, you can visit their website http://www.futureworks.co.uk/index.html.

This is just me, but I personally believe that if you're not good at maths, you'll never be good at programming. So work on your maths, if you want to be a good programmer. Although, if you just want to be a programmer, then you don't need to be particularly good at maths.

Anyway, I'd recommend steering yourself away from working in the games industry, I have only heard bad things from people who have worked in the industry (at least as programmers).

If I were you, I would get a degree in computer science or IT. That can lead to a job in the field, but if that doesn't work, there is always other employment.

Thanks for the replies

I am not bad in math.. I'm not in the lower level class but also not in the higher level class, so I'm average

I actually downloaded Blender a few days ago and now doing their tutorial (creating a body then animating it) but not with 100% success but then again the first time would NEVER look like the photos... right?

After I'm done with that, I'll try some programming language I read and heard is a good one for beginners which is called Blitz.

Hopefully by the time I'll start experimenting with it Skyrim would come out and with it I'd be looking for some tutorials for how to create Skyrim works.

Thanks for the Website! I'll be checking it out, maybe even go study there

Myserious Dr. D, sorry but I won't listen to that recommendation. And yes I also heard bad stuff about all that Crunch Time stuff or whatever but I think that's negligible.. I'm still not sure if I'd be a programmer because that's just an option..

Well, all I can say is a lot of people want to get into making games without realising what it actually involves, so before you go and spend a lot of money, and a lot of time you should think realistically about what you can do and your abilities. I don't want to be too much of a buzzkill - but most people who say they want to work in games end up failing miserably; and while it's nice to think that one is one of the special few, it's not always the case.
A lot of people enter the industry through other channels, but unless if you're planning to do a Game Design degree or something make sure it's from somewhere reputable or you'll just be laughed at, as well as being woefully unprepared if your plan backfires and you want a job elsewhere.

Well I've been looking at a few places, and about your first claim, I agree! So that's why I'm researching and experimenting!


Soulwithlife I've been looking at Futureworks and I like their course, I mean that's exactly what I like - Freedom of choice.. They teach you about everything and then you can specialize with whatever you like
But then again, Mr D was right about studying somewhere reputable.. The site looks fancy and all but I think that that's it.. Maybe there are more reputable universities that teach the same kind of course :/

It's up to you where you study, so go ahead and look elsewhere if you don't trust somewhere. When I first found the website (it was recommended to me by my cousin who works in video editing when I said I wanted to work in game development) I thought "Wow, this looks almost too good to be true!"
So I set off to Manchester to actually have a look at the place and see if I would be getting my money's worth. They had the tutors guiding us through the various aspects they taught and showing us some portfolios of the students that had just graduated. I thought it looked pretty damn good personally.

Obviously, it might not be the wisest thing to just trust some random dude on the internet on such things, so I'd recommend looking at the places themselves and having a look. Make sure you ask lots of questions.

@Mysterious Dr D : It's not so much the degree that's important (though there is that) it's more the experience, knowledge and portfolio you'll have afterwards.
As for the "you might want to go for a different career afterwards", there are jobs that you can use the skills learned there for. For example, you could just use your experience as an everyday programmer rather than a game one, and work in CGI isn't as much of a stretch as you might think if you trained in 3D model design for video games.

-Soulwithlife.