I hear it on almost a daily basis, every time I'm introduced to someone new and tell them I'm a video game journalist - "How do I get a job working with video games?" Some parents even ask, "My kid would love to create video games; what should he do?"
To both I always respond, "Learn to write code."
That is what the majority of the people "in the games industry" do. Our industry has a term for these largely disposable seat fillers - "code monkeys." So if you like math and have an eye for scrutiny, perhaps this really is the industry for you!
Perhaps you want to be one of the industry's artists instead? Drawing and texturing other people's creations on a deadline with supervisors breathing down your neck trying to squeeze out every ounce of creativity that they can. Maybe you were thinking of becoming a level designer? This might not be all the fun you're looking for either - you know all those barrels and crates you see in games? Somebody's got to put them there.
The truth is that when people say they want to work in video games, they really just want to play games. In spite of those cheesy commercials you see on TV for gaming schools where the attractive female supervisor wryly chastises two stoners for not playing hard enough, being in the games industry doesn't mean you get paid to play.
Perhaps I'm wrong though, and by "getting paid to play games" you are referring to testing positions. Here, you play one level of one game for hours on end for minimum wage - certainly not something that will support a family, let alone provide you with the income needed to feed your gaming habit.
Maybe you're referring to my job - the video game journalist? Well I love my job. I see and play games before they are released, and mingle at industry-only parties. I love what I do and where it takes me. However, more often, I'm pinching myself to stay awake while trying to write through the night, or groaning when I get tasked with the review of a title we dislike. (Somebody has to review the latest Pokemon game, and sometimes it's you.)
Let's say, hypothetically, you get tasked with reviewing a game you have been looking forward to for a long time. If having fun under a deadline sounds like an oxymoron to you, many times it is. If you're lucky, you get the game a couple days early and then have to play through as much of it as you can, evaluate it, and write your review. If your significant other already nags you for spending too much time playing video games, there is no magical transformation of her demands on your time just because you can now say "I'm working." You can certainly try it, but it doesn't fly.
Now I am not complaining. As I said earlier, I love my job. But it isn't all free games and booth babes. I work for a living and I work hard. Luckily my work is my passion, but I know many other journalists who don't have as much fun with gaming any more. No matter what it is, there is always a chance you will end up hating your job. If you are willing to take that chance and work hard for your opportunities, the gaming industry is always recruiting. If it doesn't sound that good to you anymore, find a job that pays well and gives you time to enjoy your wonderful hobby.
Christiaan Allebest is the editor in chief of GameAlmighty.com, a cutting-edge provider of videogame, motion picture and entertainment technology content.
