Where Do I Go From Here...

Long ass post. Dammit. Anyways, disclaimer: I don't work for a game company and I'm saying right now that there's no such thing as a set career path. Especially in something like the gaming industry.

Well for a start, which part of the game industry do you wanna be a part of? It's a business like everything else. There's the developers, testers, artists, musicians, managers, HR, PR, marketing.... the list goes on. Just look at a credits screen and think of each section as a possibility.

You say you barely know some code (which language?), and you're pretty good with art. Those are your current two career paths in gaming that you can contribute something to. However, what do you have to show for it? And if you wanna make either of those your dream career, which one are you most comfortable doing for the rest of your life to make a living? You gotta pick one and go to college for it. People like hiring people with education. Unless if they're retail.

And don't go to colleges/technical schools that specifically major in "gaming industry" or whatever. You want to have versatile skills for when things don't work out. If you know coding then you can go work with the government or other IT companies if the gaming industry denies you.

As someone who graduated with a Bachelors of Science and still looking for a job, I'll tell you now it's about who you know more than what you know. But you can't be a complete dumb ass and have nothing to show. If you decide to learn coding, build up a resume of all these projects that you created. Preferably with more than one language. (btw SG was coded in C. Good place to start.) Same thing with art. Show off that you're versatile with more than one art style and you don't just draw anime. (of course, I'm assuming that solely based on the fact that you're learning Japanese. anime is fine, but assuming that you're living in MURICA, you're gonna need to appeal to the western style of drawing things.)

Oh and your location is very important. If you're not living anywhere near a game company, then you should either move or form an indie company. Moving is more likely a lot more practical.

Again, it's who you know. Internships can help you get exposure.

loonieboy9697 said:

volunteer for Beta's and attend Conventions and Trade Events. Those sound fun to do, but I don't really see how It can get me into the game industry.

You're right. That may be a path for a tester, but it's not guaranteed. And if you really want to be a tester, you have to consider that your life is going to be playing videogames not for fun, but to purposely look for ways to break the game. And every single little thing that you find must be filed in a report. It's still a desk job.

loonieboy9697 said:

I should keep all my character sheets and game ideas in separate folders

What does this mean and have to do with anything? Assuming you mean all your collective ideas for developing a game, don't even bother. Get some skills first, and figure out how you want to contribute to developing the game. Being an idea guy is nice, but if you don't apply yourself through coding or art, then you're contributing nothing. It's best if you put that on a shelf for now. What kind of games do you want to make anyways?

loonieboy9697 said:

I am going to the NAVY most likely this year. I figured that this could help me somehow, I can use what I learn to get into the game industry, but I'm not entirely sure if it will actually help.

What exactly are you hoping to learn from the Navy? They might do coding, but it's probably better if you learn from a college.

Hi hi, I'll try and give some advice.

First you have to know what you really want to do. The best way to do that is to research and explore about different jobs you are interested in. I was once interested in music but then after exposure to the ins and outs of composing I felt it wasn't for me.

You really have to do things enough and if you are still motivated to get the hard work done (because it will be a lot of hard work) then you can know that it is right for you.

I was interested in game design and programming so at the end of high school I began experimenting with gamemaker and making games and such. They were bad but the exposure was what made me decide to study to be a programmer.

I was and still am interested in art and illustration but I felt that I didn't want to devote as much time to that so I mainly do it as a hobby now.

Don't stress too much about it but do expose yourself and do things, don't just sit and wait and think about what you would like to do. You can begin to do stuff now.

Also especially with the indie scene it is entirely possible to teach yourself the necessary skills for game development but you will need to be disciplined and keep yourself at it.


Good luck!!!

Study for a computer science major.

Even if you don't make it in the game industry, or decide you don't want to work there after all, you'll still be able to fall back on those skills for getting a job.

Start working with Game Maker/Unity/Multimedia Fusion/etc on your free time if you want to make games. Play games analytically as well.

Fedora_Ninja said:

What exactly are you hoping to learn from the Navy? They might do coding, but it's probably better if you learn from a college.

Even if your job has nothing to do with coding, the military can help you get through college, with stuff like tuition assistance and the GI bill.
It's definitely an option if you can't afford it otherwise.