The Path to a Bright Future
Revolutionising Higher Education

In recent years, the video games industry has increasingly come into the limelight. Increasing global penetration of smartphones has created greater access to a medium of entertainment that was hitherto limited by a high technological bar to entry. Simultaneously, the rise of esport, streaming platforms and the advent of crowdsourced funding has changed the way different demographics engage with video games and gameful content.

Von Shagun Shah

Getting Started

When trying for a career in the gaming industry, it’s important to have a clear understanding of the roles available in this market. Video games are composed of many moving parts and utilise a variety of specialisations in their making. These include creative skills like art, user experience, story writing and game design, as well as more technical proficiencies like sound engineering, software programming, product management, project management, and data science.

In a studio setting, these skills would be found across positions like ‘Game Designer’, ‘Systems Designer’, ‘Concept Artist’, ‘Animator’, ‘Sound Designer’, ‘Producer’, ‘Product Manager’, and ‘Game Programmer.’

Salary and Career Outlook

As with any other job sector, people pursue a career in video game development for a number of reasons, ranging from an abiding love for video games, to a desire to explore the application of more mainstream job skills in a creative and technically challenging medium.

The graph shows the average salary in dollars, across roles in the Western game development ecosystem.

• In terms of career prospects, business-focused profiles like Product Management typically rest at the highest end of salary brackets.
• This is followed by engineering and technical roles like Programming and Sound Engineering. Art and Animation, Production and Design dwell in the median range while Quality Assurance rests at the bottom.

However, the latter is often the easiest way for young professionals to enter the industry. It is also not uncommon for employees to shift from QA to other more specialist roles over time. While the salaries would differ in the context of another country, the trend in terms of salary spread remains the same.

Self-Learning vs. Formal Education

There are a number of paths, individuals interested in careers in game development can take, to enter the industry.

While most mainstream fields necessitate getting the appropriate graduate or postgraduate degree, entry into the games industry is - while still competitive - somewhat more porous. Depending on the role one is seeking, one would find that most employers tend to place less importance on college degrees and more emphasis on a portfolio, i.e., a demonstrated skill and ability to do the work.

When one is considering engaging in formal education, it is important to consider the kind of role one would like to play in a game's development. For example, roles like game design, art and writing would typically require a portfolio and a studio test, while jobs like product management and programming would be harder to land without an MBA or a degree in computer science.

Of course, while it is indeed possible and highly plausible for one to self-learn the processes of game development, there is an argument to be made that the structured teaching environment of a degree program would be more effective and confer a sense of legitimacy, especially in large studios. Degrees that offer specialisations specific to video game design can also help give future game developers a leg up on the competition by allowing them to develop skills specific to the career they’re pursuing.

Game design roles

• Game design roles typically require a mix of diverse skills, ranging from understanding player behaviour, writing fiction, documenting technical information, devising mathematical and physics models, and understanding user experience. Therefore, it is entirely possible for one to pursue a career in game design having gained a bachelor’s degree in either liberal arts or science. For example, degrees in creative writing, film-making, psychology, computer science, economics, mathematics, and product design will all prove to be valuable and bring a unique perspective to a design-based role.
   
• With regards to Art roles, there is a plethora of options ranging from character design and concept art to animation and 3D modelling and so on. Given the specialist nature of some of the work, prospective game artists would be expected to have a high skill threshold and a proficiency with industry-standard tools. This role places a heavy emphasis on a candidate’s portfolio. Thus, it is eminently possible for one to find gainful employment whether one is entirely self-taught or has undergone formal training.
   
• In the case of more technical roles such as game programming, the chances of employment significantly increase when a candidate has a formal education in the field. To that effect, a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related engineering field would be highly valuable.

Where to study?

For those seeking a formal education in game development, the best options in terms of quality of education, access and networking, job potential are largely found in the western pockets. Some examples include the University of Southern California, Carnegie Mellon University and New York University.
 
Not to forget, Germany is home to many famous, highly reputable universities, with zero or minimal tuition-fees. Those looking to study video games and multimedia degrees could refer to programs such as the B.A. in Game Design at the University of Arts and Design in Berlin or the B.A. in Digital Games at Technical University in Köln.

Do you need a master’s degree?

While other jobs may benefit from a master’s degree, the need for further education in game development is not a must, especially if one has already gained professional experience at that point in time. No two jobs in video game development - even with the same titles - are truly alike. All things being equal, an individual’s career growth would, over time, become typically more dependent on their portfolio of work.

With that said, no education ever goes to waste. Given that master’s degrees are more specialised in comparison to baccalaureate programs, it is eminently useful for those with bachelors’ in non-gaming fields to pursue a master’s to hone their knowledge before or in-between jobs. Certainly, it is highly unlikely that any employee would view a master’s degree as any other than a plus point on one’s CV.

Getting your foot in the door

Regardless of the educational choices one makes, there are a few invaluable methods one should follow.

Create a portfolio Being able to demonstrate proficiency in game development is the best way for future employers to evaluate one’s ability.

A portfolio can consist of personal projects, coursework, or for commercial gain doesn’t really matter. What matters is that each entry should be of the highest possible quality and should showcase one’s skill with programming, art, user experience, storytelling and game design. This is not to say that projects in the portfolio must cover all aspects of game development - it is equally valuable to have a portfolio focused on a specific skill (e.g. art, programming, writing) if one is clear about the role they desire. Similarly, portfolios can contain group projects, where one’s role is clearly defined. This has the added value of showing employees how one functions in a team.

Participate in the buzz: Game Jams

Online game jams are a great method of cultivating one’s skill at crafting video games. Jams typically last for 24 to 72 hrs and have a central theme to inspire participants. Players may work individually or in teams. The focus is typically more on having a complete game over a pretty, polished one. Many game jams and competitions also provide developers with feedback and constructive criticism on their games.

Participating in game jams creates an incentive to create content which can later be refined for a portfolio. In addition, participating in competitions offers aspiring game designers a means of building one’s professional network.

Some examples of game jams are Global Game Jam, Ludum Dare, Weekly Game Jam, Game Maker's Toolkit Jam, and Goethe-Institut’s Game Mixer Programme.

Summing it up

To conclude, there is no perfect path to gain education in game development. It is entirely feasible to, based on one’s comfort, capacity and preferred style of learning, to follow a traditional academic path of graduate and postgraduate certification or take a more practical, self-learning approach. All that eventually matters is one’s passion for the craft, willingness to seek out new knowledge and explore new ideas.