Category Game Industry
Links and articles about the game industry: how to get game jobs, how to manage your role, etc.
Contents
Industry Insight
The Belly of the Whale: Living a Creative Life in the Game Industry - by Bob Bates
GDC 2010 lecture about how creative types can survive and thrive in the game industry. Highly recommended by many Polycounters.How NOT to hire an artist - by Jon Jones
Response to the inflammatory article How to hire an artist by Christopher 'xdragonx10' Gregorio.The Co-worker - by Adam Bromell
Polycount News article about what makes a good team co-worker.Why is it hard to find a job in game industry?
Discussion on LinkedIn about what it takes to get that first game industry job.Game Industry Advice to students - by Athey Moravetz
A great article by a 5-year veteran game artist about what it takes to get into a game artist job. Very straightforward and accurate.Game Developer magazine. Free subscription for those employed in the US and Canadian game industries.
Art Disciplines
CategoryDiscipline lists the various artist roles in game development:
What Game artist career is more difficult? Polycount forum thread
Lack of Environment Artists Polycount forum thread
Difference between Environment and Prop Artists? Polycount forum thread
Percentage of environment artists .vs. character artists at most studios Polycount forum thread
What's the difference between a level designer and environment artist? Polycount forum thread
Portfolio Advice by Nate White has succinct summaries for what the various game disciplines should show in their portfolios, also all-around good advice for entry-level people.
Education
The basic argument in the Polycount community is between going the self-taught route or going the formal education route. The best path seems to depend on what kind of person you are: self-motivated or authority-motivated.
Beware of education scams! Schools often cost a lot of money and many promise easy employment afterwards, but unfortunately the reality is not so forgiving. See the Polycount thread Profit Schools - Can we condemn them publicly?.
There are many threads about game art education, you can do a forum search for education to find them.
Portfolios
CategoryPortfolio has links to tutorials and advice about creating an artist portfolio for a career in game development.
Resumes
Job Searching
Most game developers get their jobs by word of mouth, this industry puts personal contacts first and foremost. Networking is key; keep in contact with your friends and former co-workers.
For job postings, see the Polycount forum section Work Opportunities.
For advice about joining a mod team, see the Polycount forum threads Game and Mod Development Article and Some mod guidelines.
For some frank advice about job searching, see Industry tips: How to find a job in the game industry - by Christopher Natsuume
For info about how companies weed out applicants, see The Phone Screen - by Joel 'joelonsoftware' Spolsky.
Interviews
Interview Advice thread on the Polycount forum.
In need of interview advice thread on the Polycount forum.
10 Tips for Your First Interview - by Dave Sanford
Time-tested interview strategies:- Research
- Practice
- Clothing
- Get there early
- Observe
- Know thyself
- Handshake
- Listen
- Finishing
- Follow up
Four Steps to a Better Job Interview - by Brad Karsh
Four simple things to improve your interviews.- Relax, not a battle of wits.
- Job description = questions that you'll be asked.
- Have answers about why you did certain things.
- Have questions about them.
Ten Tips for the Interview Follow Up - by Carole Martin
How to avoid a non-response after your interview.job interview, 2-3 hours, why so long? Polycount forum thread
Game developers talking about the interview process they do, or have been through.
Art Tests
Game companies often ask their art applicants to complete an art test, to gauge their talent relative to that company's particular needs, and to make sure you can actually do the work (portfolios can be faked or stolen).
Art Test Master List GameArtisans forum thread has some example art tests.
"Large art tests as the first stage of candidate selection. Acceptable?" LinkedIn discussion (registration required) with seasoned artists weighing in on their art test experiences: unpaid vs. paid tests, how long is too long for a company to ask you to spend on it, plagiarism horror stories, non-response after submission, etc.
A few Polycount forum threads:
Salary Research
Do the research to figure out what a fair offer is for your skill level and geographic area.
2010 Game Industry Salary Survey - from Game Developer magazine (mostly USA) See also 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006.
Senior Artist Salaries at Computer Software companies in United States - from Glassdoor.com (USA) Customize your search, and enter your salary data for full access.
3D Artist Salaries in the United States - from Payscale.com (other countries available)
The Foreign Labor Certification Data Center - Online Wage Library (H1B Visa Applications) - from the US Department of Labor (USA)
Wages In The VFX, Animation, And Games Industry - by 'VFX Soldier' features a spreadsheet of wage data mined from the H1B Visa database.
Freelance rates query Polycount forum thread has info about how to calculate your freelance rate.
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines is an excellent resource for freelancers (and salarymen too). Pricing guidelines, legal info, copyright law, sample contracts, how to negotiate, and more. Highly recommended!
VFXWages - a global database of hourly monetary rates of people in the film and television visual effects, animation, motion graphics, and gaming industry.
Negotiation
Salary negotiation is an essential skill that will be put to the test after a successful interview.
Salary of a game programmer (artist, designer, or producer) - by Christer Ericcson, Sony Computer Entertainment
Industry tips: How to not ask for money - by Christopher Natsuume
Know Your Rights - The Myth of Pay Privacy - by KC Labor (USA)
Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People ($) - by G. Richard Shell
Employee Rights
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines is an excellent resource on a great range of employment issues. Pricing guidelines, legal info, copyright law, sample contracts, how to negotiate, and more. Highly recommended!
Know Your Rights - by KC Labor (USA)
Discussing issues at work, grounds for firing? Polycount forum thread has information about workers discussing their compensation with one another.