No, this isn’t an ad… it’s more like the first question I’ve ever asked somebody about the subject.
I was interested in pursuing a new career that would eventually lead to working on a video game design team. This would be a change from what I’ve been doing from graduation until now, which is educational technology (especially content design).
So: what are some of the best resources for learning about the industry? And what kinds of entry level jobs would lead to that kind of work?
www.flipcode.com
www.gamedev.com
Especially GamaSutra.
Generally what you want to do is start by getting into a quality assurance job with a game company (ie- testing). Did this myself for a few months. Then prove your worth and move up to either the programming, art, or production levels. Eventually you’ll get to level design.
I’m a senior game designer at Sony. ArrMatey is right – virtually no one gets hired as an entry-level designer from outside the industry. Instead what typically happens is that you start out in some other position, prove that you have a talent for design over a couple of titles, and then switch.
How you get in depends a lot on your current skill set. Think hard about what sort of low-level grunt work you’re qualified to perform on a game development team. If you’re a professional programmer or artist you probably already have skills that you can use to sell yourself to a game development house. If you’ve previously managed software projects outside the game industry you might be able to swing a job as an assistant producer. In the case of “non of the above” your best bet is to try to get on as a tester.
Of the designers I know personally most started out as testers, one came in as a paper game designer and writer, a couple as producers, a couple as artists. I started out as a programmer.