Get in the Game: Careers in the Game Industry (New Riders Games) (Paperback)

by Marc Mencher (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Marc Mencher delivers a book full of timely and relevant information for
anyone interested in learning more about our dynamic industry."
--Will Wright, Legendary Game Designer, Co-founder of EA / Maxis and the man behind SimCity and The Sims Series.

"This book is a great resource for distilling the vital statistics in a complex industry. A great read for job seekers and fans alike."
-- Paul Steed, 3D Animator / Modeler for the Quake Game Series and author of Modeling a Character in Max and Animating Real-Time Game Characters.

"Whether you're interested in game programming, design, art, or production this book offers up the inside scoop on what goes into creating your favorite games."
-- Marc Saltzman, Author of Game Design Secrets of The Sages and CNN Technology Contributor.

Product Description

Have you dreamed of obtaining a game industry job? Get in the Game will help you achieve this! This friendly guide shows you step-by-step how to prepare yourself for a game industry career. With insights from over a dozen industry experts, it's the only guide you will need for training yourself then finding a game industry job. Discover how to research, meet the right industry people, access the unadvertised job market, sell yourself, create the perfect demo, beat the competition, handle interviews, and negotiate a salary package. This book will show you how to tailor your job search, answer tough interview questions, transition into the game industry from other careers, hone essential resume writing skills and networking skills.

It's a crash course on everything you need to know about the game industry! You will learn about the following careers;

• Game Designer
• Game Programming
• Game Artist
• Game Production


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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Games; 1 edition (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735713073
• ISBN-13: 978-0735713079
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #321,591 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Who is this book intended for?, February 13, 2003

By A Customer

I thought this book was going to be for people who aren't yet actually -in- the game industry, but all of the sample resumes are for people with tons and tons of experience. The first one is for a Producer who has already produced 32 successful games! How is that supposed to help me write my resume?

But the book starts with a list of programming languages used, and tells you why each one is important! So who is that for? Because these people with 10 or 15 or 32 games to their credit already must know all that stuff.

I'm not sure I believe very much of what this guy says. He says that you should never use the mail to send your resume because it shows you are technically illiterate, but then he tells you to stick post it notes to your resume, and not to use brightly colored paper -- well, how do I stick a post-it note to my emailed resume?

And is it possible that any hiring manager would really be influenced by a post-it note on the resume saying "I'm the person you're looking for!", or even worse, a telegram (a telegram?) after the interview, saying "I really want this job!" I'm not in the game industry, but in my industry, that kind of thing would mark you as a flake.

Of course, the telegram doesn't -say- that, it -states- that, because this guy writes pretty badly, and thinks that everything has to be -stated- instead of just -said-, like that makes it more important.

But how the book is written isn't important, I just wanted the information, and he pretty much just ignores people in my situation, trying to move into games from another industry.

I can't figure out who this book is supposed to be for. It sure isn't "all things to all people", but it isn't for people like me, either.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marc's advice from this book got me a job in the industry, June 30, 2003

By	Christopher (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

I read his book and started networking and marketing myself. 6 months later through a contact I got through networking I got a job as a Content Manager for a AAA game company.

It's all who you know and how well you can network to get there. The game developers are a small tight-knit group who rely on other people's referrals.

Marc's tips got me started creating a database of game developers and keeping touch with those contacts. I also redid my resume according to his advice and it really stood out.

I did other things on the side: Create modifications for existing games (Unreal, Half-Life), reworked my demo reel (also using advice from Marc's book), and worked as an intern for a 3-D design company. But this book was the glue that held all those parts together.

This is a great book and well worth the money. My current position can testify to that.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good overview of the game industry., June 20, 2003

By	T. Nelson (San Francisco) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is an excellent overview of the game industry. It goes into some detail regarding the different positions and the rolls people play within a game company; programmers, producers, artists and some of the specialties within each category. Marc takes the time to explain the basic skill sets that are expected of a candidate and suggests a few ways of making yourself stand out from the crowd.

It contains a good deal of practical advise for the beginner who wants to break into the industry and certainly does it's best to dispel some of the myths that surround it (you will not be playing games all day at work!). He also has some good refreshers for those of us who have been around for a while that we all need to be reminded of on occasion (Network!).

This book is not a magic bullet, but nothing could be... but it sure give some good suggestions on how to aim.