Aspiring and professional game developers have a lot of questions: What should be in their portfolios? How do they make contacts? How do they negotiate salaries? How much do game designers make? What should they wear to interviews? In this fast-paced and humorous guide, the authors answer these questions and many more, including the ones you didn't know to ask. BREAKING INTO THE GAME INDUSTRY: ADVICE FOR A SUCCESSFUL CAREER FROM THOSE WHO HAVE DONE IT, provides aspiring game developers the know-how and confidence they need to make it in the industry. Written in a unique and engaging question and answer format, the book presents a clear, overall sense of what the game industry is and how the professionals operate in it, answering the key questions new developers should be asking as they begin their career. Providing invaluable advice and tips from experienced professionals, you'll learn how to best present yourself and your skills, showcase your work and create a compelling portfolio, and much more, giving you a leg up as you try to break into the competitive and fast-paced game industry.
Breaking into the Game Industry
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About the Author
Brenda Brathwaite is an award-winning game designer, artist, writer, and creative director with 30 years of experience in the industry. Before founding Loot Drop, Brenda worked for a variety of game companies including Atari, Electronic Arts, Sir-tech Software, and numerous companies in the social games space. She has worked on many Facebook games, including Cloudforest Expedition, Ravenwood Fair, Critter Island, SuperPoke Pets!, SPP Ranch, Garden Life, Rock Riot, and Top Fish. Brenda served on the board of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and presently chairs the IGDA's Women in Games Special Interest group. Brenda was named Woman of the Year by Charisma+2 Magazine in 2010 and also was a nominee in Microsoft's 2010 Women in Games game design awards. In 2009, her game Train won the coveted Vanguard Award at IndieCade. She was named one of the top 20 most influential women in the game industry by Gamasutra.com in 2008 and one of the 100 most influential women in the game industry by Next Generation magazine in 2007. Nerve magazine also called her one of the 50 artists, actors, authors, activists, and icons who are making the world a more stimulating place.
Ian Schreiber has been in the industry for eight years, first as a programmer and then as a game designer. He has worked on five published game titles, including Playboy: the Mansion and the Nintendo DS version of Marvel Trading Card Game. He has also developed training/simulation games for two Fortune 500 companies. Ian has taught game design and development courses at Ohio University, Columbus State Community College, and Savannah College of Art and Design, and has mentored college students at those and several other universities. Ian is co-author of "Challenges for Game Designers."
Ian Schreiber has been in the industry for eight years, first as a programmer and then as a game designer. He has worked on five published game titles, including Playboy: the Mansion and the Nintendo DS version of Marvel Trading Card Game. He has also developed training/simulation games for two Fortune 500 companies. Ian has taught game design and development courses at Ohio University, Columbus State Community College, and Savannah College of Art and Design, and has mentored college students at those and several other universities. Ian is co-author of "Challenges for Game Designers."
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Many years ago, I spent my after school hours in the role of the brightly clad plumber, stomping evil mushrooms on route to rescuing a captive princess. Were you to ask me of future job ambitions, I would not have hesitated to answer, "computer programmer." So strong was this desire, that 7th grade me taught himself a pretty rudimentary understanding of BASIC language with which to create custom video games. Now granted, by video games I do mean text-based, decision making numbers and action games in which the letter A could be controlled with the keyboard while being chased around the screen by the letter Z. Suffice to say Nintendo and Sega didn't come calling.
As grade school turned into high school, BASIC went extinct, C++ became the programming language of choice, I discovered cars and girls, and somehow my aspirations of video game designing were dropkicked by the allure of a college major in Business Administration. Those early days spent writing code were as close as I would ever get but the charm of video gaming never wore off. In fact, even now, while immersed in some epic quest on the Playstation 3, I find myself wondering about the industry as a whole and what it takes to become a part of it. Enter Breaking Into the Game Industry by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber; for me satiation to long-standing curiosity, for someone serious about being employed in the video game industry, a lifesaver.
The book is of the Course Technology series part of something called the CENGAGE Learning System. Not to worry if that means nothing to you, as I understand it, such classification puts it in the Professional, Technical & Reference category. Indeed, a perfect-bound softcover, it appears as if it would belong on the same shelf as say, "Welcome to the Exciting World of C++" and "Computer Programming for Dummies".
Coming in at close to 300 pages, the initial reaction could be one of overwhelmed until scanning even the introductory pages. The authors of the book take a very conversational approach to the material, written almost as if it were an email to a friend. Better still once the actual book begins, each and every bit of advice provided come in the form of easily digestible question & answer format.
Spanning the 291 pages are 100 questions; identified by the author as the most commonly asked of she and her colleagues and they cover some points I suspect would be incredibly useful for a student of video game design looking to get out and find employment in the field. Among these are what your business card should say, how your portfolio should look, dos and don'ts when talking to established game designers, writing cover letters, even proper attire when showing up to an interview!
Additionally interesting is that the book addresses the reality that while going to a college, university or specialized school to acquire degrees/ certifications is one route to breaking in, it is not the only one. It does frequently offer advice and tips to those individuals gifted with artistic ability, naturally bilingual (where the second happens to be assembly language) and those oddities who always wondered what it takes to break into the video game industry.
Another point worth mentioning is that while she does not elaborate on it, the author (Brenda Brathwaite) claims to have gotten her start in the industry at merely 15-years-old so clearly PhDs are not a requisite. The subtitle of this book is "Advice for a Successful Career from Those Who Have Done It" and while I figured we would have to take the authors' word for that, the fact is Brenda herself comes packing a resume that had me wanting to offer her a job- and I don't even work in the game industry! Her credits include working for Atari and Electronics Arts and having played a hand in the development of countless popular social-networking classics like Garden Life, Ravenwood Fair, Critter Island, and SuperPoke Pets!
Her coauthor Ian Schreiber has a history of teaching game design, has worked on many projects (including developing software used for corporate training) and is known for having co-founded Global Game Jam (GGJ); the world's largest game creation event.
As highly decorated as this pair come, surprisingly they serve mainly as the structure and research behind the book; chiming in with their own answers periodically, though a majority of the questions are fielded by their colleagues in the industry. This technique goes a long way in diversifying the information presented and prevents the authors from coming off as know-it-allish.
In all, I have to say that reading through the book was quite an interesting experience. I won't try to pretend that all of the information here was pertinent to someone in my position (just mild curiosity as to how it all works), it will likely prove quite beneficial to those individuals seriously putting together a plan of attack for getting involved. I did come away with some newfound tidbits such as what separates a Triple-A game (nothing to do with roadside assistance as you may have suspected) from a Casual Game from a Serious Game for example. I can also state with certainty that the word BASIC is never once mentioned throughout- go figure.
As grade school turned into high school, BASIC went extinct, C++ became the programming language of choice, I discovered cars and girls, and somehow my aspirations of video game designing were dropkicked by the allure of a college major in Business Administration. Those early days spent writing code were as close as I would ever get but the charm of video gaming never wore off. In fact, even now, while immersed in some epic quest on the Playstation 3, I find myself wondering about the industry as a whole and what it takes to become a part of it. Enter Breaking Into the Game Industry by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber; for me satiation to long-standing curiosity, for someone serious about being employed in the video game industry, a lifesaver.
The book is of the Course Technology series part of something called the CENGAGE Learning System. Not to worry if that means nothing to you, as I understand it, such classification puts it in the Professional, Technical & Reference category. Indeed, a perfect-bound softcover, it appears as if it would belong on the same shelf as say, "Welcome to the Exciting World of C++" and "Computer Programming for Dummies".
Coming in at close to 300 pages, the initial reaction could be one of overwhelmed until scanning even the introductory pages. The authors of the book take a very conversational approach to the material, written almost as if it were an email to a friend. Better still once the actual book begins, each and every bit of advice provided come in the form of easily digestible question & answer format.
Spanning the 291 pages are 100 questions; identified by the author as the most commonly asked of she and her colleagues and they cover some points I suspect would be incredibly useful for a student of video game design looking to get out and find employment in the field. Among these are what your business card should say, how your portfolio should look, dos and don'ts when talking to established game designers, writing cover letters, even proper attire when showing up to an interview!
Additionally interesting is that the book addresses the reality that while going to a college, university or specialized school to acquire degrees/ certifications is one route to breaking in, it is not the only one. It does frequently offer advice and tips to those individuals gifted with artistic ability, naturally bilingual (where the second happens to be assembly language) and those oddities who always wondered what it takes to break into the video game industry.
Another point worth mentioning is that while she does not elaborate on it, the author (Brenda Brathwaite) claims to have gotten her start in the industry at merely 15-years-old so clearly PhDs are not a requisite. The subtitle of this book is "Advice for a Successful Career from Those Who Have Done It" and while I figured we would have to take the authors' word for that, the fact is Brenda herself comes packing a resume that had me wanting to offer her a job- and I don't even work in the game industry! Her credits include working for Atari and Electronics Arts and having played a hand in the development of countless popular social-networking classics like Garden Life, Ravenwood Fair, Critter Island, and SuperPoke Pets!
Her coauthor Ian Schreiber has a history of teaching game design, has worked on many projects (including developing software used for corporate training) and is known for having co-founded Global Game Jam (GGJ); the world's largest game creation event.
As highly decorated as this pair come, surprisingly they serve mainly as the structure and research behind the book; chiming in with their own answers periodically, though a majority of the questions are fielded by their colleagues in the industry. This technique goes a long way in diversifying the information presented and prevents the authors from coming off as know-it-allish.
In all, I have to say that reading through the book was quite an interesting experience. I won't try to pretend that all of the information here was pertinent to someone in my position (just mild curiosity as to how it all works), it will likely prove quite beneficial to those individuals seriously putting together a plan of attack for getting involved. I did come away with some newfound tidbits such as what separates a Triple-A game (nothing to do with roadside assistance as you may have suspected) from a Casual Game from a Serious Game for example. I can also state with certainty that the word BASIC is never once mentioned throughout- go figure.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tremendously approachable and informative. Fantastic for all levels of experience
August 9, 2011
By Bryan Cash
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a rare treat. The authors did a great job of condensing and including a wealth of information in an incredibly readable format. It's very easy to find a relevant section and the language of the text is conversational and approachable. The game industry can be a confusing and intimidating space, and the book neither pulls its punches nor trys to present itself as the "One True Way." The authors make very clear that the answers provided are the opinions and perspectives of actual game developers, ensuring teh book is filled with heart-felt, honest, and (above all) practical advice.
The book's basic format is 100 sections, each being devoted to a commonly asked question about the game industry. These questions span a tremendous period of experience, with answers being provided by the two authors and other individuals in the game industry.
In just a brief scan of the book:
For those about to apply to undergrad: how to pick a school, what majors to pick, how important is a GPA.
For those starting to test the waters: business card and networking etiquette, Facebook and twitter, and the importance of portfolios.
For people actively seeking: internships, interviews, and resumes.
For people who've just been hired: salary negotiations, entering in the middle of a project timeline, AAA studios, small studios, crunch time, disagreements in teams.
Not only that, but the book spends an admirable amount of time covering the different disciplines (tech, art, design, audio, etc) and different people (minorities, disabled, women, lgbt, etc)
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you're thinking about, working towards, or actively trying to get into the game industry, this book is an incredible asset.
And if you're already in the industry and are used to fielding these questions regularly, it's a great resource to add to your bookshelf.
The book's basic format is 100 sections, each being devoted to a commonly asked question about the game industry. These questions span a tremendous period of experience, with answers being provided by the two authors and other individuals in the game industry.
In just a brief scan of the book:
For those about to apply to undergrad: how to pick a school, what majors to pick, how important is a GPA.
For those starting to test the waters: business card and networking etiquette, Facebook and twitter, and the importance of portfolios.
For people actively seeking: internships, interviews, and resumes.
For people who've just been hired: salary negotiations, entering in the middle of a project timeline, AAA studios, small studios, crunch time, disagreements in teams.
Not only that, but the book spends an admirable amount of time covering the different disciplines (tech, art, design, audio, etc) and different people (minorities, disabled, women, lgbt, etc)
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you're thinking about, working towards, or actively trying to get into the game industry, this book is an incredible asset.
And if you're already in the industry and are used to fielding these questions regularly, it's a great resource to add to your bookshelf.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Theseus
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Just how does one move from being a gamer to someone who works in the gaming industry? This book is loaded with important information, presented in a readable (but not an insultingly elementary way.)
Here's the thing -- if you ask a hundred people how they managed to get excellent jobs in the industry, you aren't going to hear one story, or even twelve stories, you're going to hear something like 50 to 60 different stories. And that's one of the things this book does well -- it doesn't break things down into a simplified step-by-step, it affords you the opportunity to learn from a multiplicity of experiences.
I like books that are structured in a Q and A fashion because I can get through the information more quickly with the Q and A structure. So this was a good match for me.
And there's about $100,000 of practical information to be found in this book. Things like...
- how do I negotiate an actual job offer?
- how do I put together a portfolio?
- how much might I make?
- is it true that all game designers wear filthy ironic t-shirts with stains on them?
- what sort of school should I attend?
- does it help if I am a geek when it comes to the history of games?
- am I the sort of personality that will fit into the professional gaming world?
- should I focus on audio or on art or on design? do I have to specialize now?
- what sort of things happen when you're on a team with a big deadline and people aren't getting along?
- what should my business card look like?
- I've had this semi-crazy idea for a game that I've been fiddling around with for two years, what do I do with it?
- how can I use Twitter and Facebook to promote my career?
Here's the thing -- if you ask a hundred people how they managed to get excellent jobs in the industry, you aren't going to hear one story, or even twelve stories, you're going to hear something like 50 to 60 different stories. And that's one of the things this book does well -- it doesn't break things down into a simplified step-by-step, it affords you the opportunity to learn from a multiplicity of experiences.
I like books that are structured in a Q and A fashion because I can get through the information more quickly with the Q and A structure. So this was a good match for me.
And there's about $100,000 of practical information to be found in this book. Things like...
- how do I negotiate an actual job offer?
- how do I put together a portfolio?
- how much might I make?
- is it true that all game designers wear filthy ironic t-shirts with stains on them?
- what sort of school should I attend?
- does it help if I am a geek when it comes to the history of games?
- am I the sort of personality that will fit into the professional gaming world?
- should I focus on audio or on art or on design? do I have to specialize now?
- what sort of things happen when you're on a team with a big deadline and people aren't getting along?
- what should my business card look like?
- I've had this semi-crazy idea for a game that I've been fiddling around with for two years, what do I do with it?
- how can I use Twitter and Facebook to promote my career?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent, But Not a Direct Pathway
After years of observation of the industry, I do not believe that there is a direct pathway into the game industry. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Coding Genius
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good timing
This came right on time, no issues or hassles. It was a gift so I was very pleased with it.
Published 4 months ago by Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for students and schools offering game development
Have listened to Brenda Brathwaite's 100 Question presentation. Fortunate to have sat with her at dinner after presentation at a conference I was also a speaker. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Terrance Simkin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Could be better organized but contains a lot of good info
Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber's guide to breaking into the video game industry suffers a bit in overall organization but manages to be a worthwhile read for greenhorns and... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sibelius
3.0 out of 5 stars
An alright book...
I won't get into too much detail as most of the other reviewers have already covered most of the bases. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Timothy Lovett
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clear, concise advice from those who have done it
As the parent of a fledgling game developer, it's exciting to watch my son's technical skills develop. Read more
Published 18 months ago by fair_deal_guy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book.
I was expecting a different approach but its a good book. I recommend to anyone who wants to know more about the gaming industry.
Published 18 months ago by Andre
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent overview of how to break into industry
I ordered this book to help my son find a job in the game industry. A recent graduate with a concentration in game simulation and design, he needed advice on how to navigate the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Andrew J. Wallace
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better title: 100 Questions We Asked People in the Gaming Industry.
I was expecting a bit more insight into the gaming industry and how it works but still this is a look a a group of diverse people who work in the Entertainment industry making the... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Skylark Thibedeau
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mildly interesting read...
So, okay, this is specific to VIDEO games, it would seem. Should probably be called "breaking into the video game industry." Minor niggling detail. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Michael Gmirkin
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