Tale Tuesday #27 – Common Questions About Game Dev #1

Hey everyone,
In the next few ‘Tale Tuesday’ articles, we will cover and answer some of the more commonly asked questions about game development. Stay tuned, as there will be plenty of articles in this topic and some of the questions that interest you may soon be here as well! Let’s get right into the topic.

How do you organize and plan your project work?
It is important to know what kind of scope your project will have. First, it’s always good to write down your project in a way that it is clear to the entire team what you all are trying to achieve. Second, you should determine how long will it all take to complete and take into consideration which features are necessary for the game to even launch. Consider putting some stuff away for future updates, so that you always have something to work with. Third, have common tools and other means that the entire team uses for communication and general work flow. It’s going to be easier to work on the team level. As for the work specific for different jobs, be sure that you know what other teammates use for their work. With this knowledge, you can synchronize your work better with other teammates and everyone can get some basic knowledge about each other’s tools, making the flow smoother. It’s important to stay organized by writing down everything that you need to do, already did or are planning to do one day.

How do I get a job in the game industry?
Well, it depends what do you want to do in the game industry world! For the sake of answering this question in a rather broad manner, we’ll assume that you want to end up in one of the positions responsible for the creation of games themselves (developer, graphics designer, game designer, QA tester). The process is definitely different for project and content managers, hence we won’t focus on those positions.
To work in the industry (especially on those sweet, sweet AAA games), you’ll definitely need some experience first. Even amateur experience is good to start your way in the field. Search for smaller companies, as they often tend to look for younger, more inexperienced staff. In addition, try to avoid companies focusing on one kind of development (such as VR games only), as it may give you experience in the field, however you’ll only get one dimensional experience, with very specific concepts. It’s also good to look for companies which offer monthly practices. If you have any significant amature experience, those often will give you insights into game development and if you did well, at the end the company may offer you a job. It’s good to reach out for opportunities and contact various companies you’re interested in!

That would be it for today! Please stay tuned for more in next ‘Tale Tuesday’.