Looking for advice to get in game design

[Saboera]

Knowing how most of you got through this and currently work at Obsidian, I am wondering if any developper would have any advice to give me before throwing myself into the gladiator pit that is the game industry (competition wise that is!).

 

Always been a big gamer, since I was 8 years old I always wanted to make games. I'm currently 23 years old and wish to enter my career of choice. Now for the past 2 years, I have been gathering showcase material and trying to enhance both my written and spoken english (my main language being french) seeing how video games are international. Seeing so many opportunities arise in Montreal, I have been looking to apply for a job at a major developer for a while now and haven't actually had the balls to make a move yet out of fear of lacking something. I am most interested into game design but open to any job available that might suit whatever talent I could bring to the table.

 

So far what I have planned to back me up should I get an interview when I decide to make my move.

1 - A board game I completely designed, including the artwork, mechanics, printing documents and setting. (Soon to be printed as a prototype)

 

2 - Various examples of level design, done within Neverwinter Nights 2 Toolset.

 

3 - A fake (or maybe real someday) pitch document involving the vision of a game, with gameplay mechanics described, possible control scheme, characters, setting, single player/multiplayer content, ect. I left the story out since from what I learned from reading various online interviews, is that no one really wants to know the story during interviews and wish to focus on the actual mechanics.

 

4 - My own sci-fi setting pretty rich in lore developed over the years, which I guess could serve as a testament of my creativity.

 

5 - A short Neverwinter Nights 2 module (WIP) to demonstrate my ability to handle toolsets and engines. Mostly to be presented in the form of screenshots and videos.

 

 

The assets and skills I have that might be of interest of said company.

- I am a graphic designer so the visual arts are something I am most familiar with.

 

- Extensive knowledge/expertise of Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Word and other softwares. (graphic design classes and other various courses).

 

- I took a few classes in 3ds Max (covering the basics and the relationship between models and video games).

 

- 10 years of modding in various toolsets (lost count but around a dozen different engines and toolsets).

 

- Decent drawing skills, I'm no insane artist but I can get my ideas on paper and did some illustration contracts before.

 

- Great knowledge of video games from various genres, upcoming game related technologies, artstyles. (Yes I even play flash games for the fresh mechanics or unique styles)

 

- Great written and oral skills (not this type of oral!) in both french and english (I think, for a frenchy).

 

 

Would anyone have advice or something to suggest that I might have missed?

What approach should one take assuming an interview arises?

Is there anything I should be aware of?

What was your interview like?

 

Any information would be much appreciated

Edited December 17, 2009 by Saboera

[Walsingham]

Haven't we had this question a few times? Is it just me or are things disappearing from this bit of the forum?

[Saboera]

Yes, old topics get deleted on some forums.

 

I saw a few topics around the subject, however I'm more looking into information concerning how the content I intend to present would be received.

 

I know that you should present yourself in casual clothing, have material to show up and so on. What puzzles me a bit is how much should I bring over, what is best to be presented first and how much time does an interview last.

[Gorth]

There is a drop down menu thingy in the lower right corner that says show last 30 days or so. Just change it to Show 60, 90 or Show All to see the older history of this forum section, including a lot of interesting threads (imo) about how to get started on the gaming industry