Check out this free magazine full of advice on getting into the games industry
For those who are cursed to be forced into the industry
How does one get a job in the games industry? Don't. Don't do it. Take your talents to an industry which will respect, appreciate, and pay you more. But if a curse has befallen your blood and you absolutely must work in the games industry, you might appreciate some advice. Our corporate siblings at GamesIndustry.biz have released a free digital magazine on How To Get A Job In Video Games, with 100-odd pages of decent advice from industry professionals. If your blood would turn black and crystallise in your veins were you to even contemplate another job, you should have a read.
The Academy Magazine is available to read in your browser or download as a PDF. It's building on an article series GI.biz have been building for years, so parts might be familiar.
It covers jobs in progamming, design, art, testing, sound design, production, writing, community management, and voice acting, as well as marketing and the media, with bonus help for job interviews, CVs, and such. It talks to loads of folks who already work across the industry, sharing their words of wisdom. Many of them are wise!
Our own Alice Bee was one of several folks offering advice on getting into the games media. She has good advice.
"More than anything, [you need to] like writing, care about writing," Bell explains. "Like games, sure, of course. But day-to-day, the writing is what you'll be doing most of. If you don't want to be a writer more than you want to work in games, you'll go mad, and should look for a different route into the games industry."
This is very true.