How to become a video game spokesman, or get into the industry.?

Question

Im looking to get into the gaming industry. Only thing i wanna do with my life is be apart of a gaming company and represent them and be apart of the community. Does anyone know where i can find this info at or maybe point me in the right direction.

Answer 1

Game companies usually do not hire full-time spokesmen.  Game studios typically have a marketing/public relations department that handles all the press on a game, and the people doing interviews for the game press are usually the Lead Designer, Lead Programmer, Lead Producer, etc.  All spokesmen (and women) for a game are members of the development team, rather than a paid spokesman.

Now, if you want to get into game development, you could work your way up to a high profile job with spokesman duties.  Your other option, obviously, is the marketing/PR department.  There are four basic areas of the development team: design, programming, art, and level building, which are supported by production, Quality Assurance, customer service, sound design, marketing, business development, etc.  

Designers write up the details of every tiny aspect of the game and come up with the math to support it.  Programmers take the written details from the designers and implement it using programming languages like C++ and/or in-house tools.  Artists create the 3D art, animations, textures, etc for everything in the game.  And level builders take assets created by the artists and create the physical layout of the world.  Producers manage the entire project and keep everyone on schedule and on budget.  Quality Assurance tests the game for bugs, and reports those back to development.

You'll need a college degree before you start applying to game companies.  If you’re interested in marketing, you can get a normal marketing degree.   If you're interested in programming, you can go to any good 4 year college and get a degree in Computer Science, and take a couple of classes in essay and tech writing, and at least one art class.

For art, you can go to any 4 year college that offers classes in 3D/computer art and animation, or a specialty program like those at the Art Institutes.  For level building, schools like the Art Institutes and Full Sail have good reputations.  Level builders can also benefit from creating their own levels using editors like those that come with Unreal and Neverwinter Nights.



For game design, there isn't really a school or major that's better than any other.  A lot of schools will try to tell you they have game design majors, and that's flat out false.  They're either 100% art and no design whatsoever, or they won't prepare you any better than a "normal" college would (the only exceptions to this are the Masters program at Carnegie Mellon, and possibly USC's program).  True game design is accomplished almost entirely with writing and math, and involves no art or programming.



If you're interested in design, go to any good 4 year college and major in whatever you want.  Just pick a major that you enjoy and that will allow you graduate as quickly as possible.  Along with your major take math up through Calculus 1, and at least two courses in Statistics, two courses in writing, one Computer Science course, and one art course.  Math and writing are the main tools of a designer, and the CS and art courses will help you work with your programmer and artist colleagues later on.  Fill up the rest of your course requirement with a wide liberal arts education -- history, literature, mythology, sociology, psychology, etc, are all useful in game design.



If at all possible, go to school near a city with a lot of game studios, like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, etc.  Most game companies will not pay for relocation for an entry level job, and some won't even interview you if you don't live in the area, so it'll be a lot easier to find a job after college if you already live near several studios.  There's a map here: http://gamedevmap.com/ that lists every game studio by city.  Try to find a college in a city with at least 10 game companies.



Once you graduate from college, you can start looking for jobs.  Programmers, artists, and level builders can often get hired for those jobs right out of college, especially with a good portfolio.  Designers are almost never hired as designers as their first job in the industry.  Most start out in Quality Assurance or customer service and work their way up within the company.  The key is to get a job, any job, with a game company, and then move to design.