| For many, working as a video game programmer | | | | Go To College |
| at a famous development studio sounds like a | | | | Currently video game development studios are |
| dream job. You get to design and build fun new | | | | hungry for programmers. They spend a lot of |
| games all day. Here are some tips for making this | | | | money using headhunters to help them locate |
| dream a reality. | | | | new people to hire. The good news is that once |
| Know what you're getting into | | | | you are in the video game business, there are |
| Before you dive into becoming a video game | | | | many opportunities for companies to work for. |
| programmer, spend a little time to research what | | | | There are many different projects and locations |
| working at a video game studio actually entails. | | | | that you can choose from. The bad news is that |
| You don't want to spend time and effort | | | | the studios can be very picky about hiring new |
| becoming a video game programmer only to | | | | employees with no previous video game |
| realize that it's not what you were hoping for. | | | | programming experience. Therefore it can be |
| Working as a video game programmer takes a | | | | very hard to get your foot in the door. Going to |
| lot of effort. The work hours and deadlines can | | | | college for a Computer Science degree and |
| get stressful, especially near the end of a project. | | | | getting excellent grades is one of the best ways |
| Talk with people who are in the video game | | | | to show video game studios that you will be a |
| business, either in person or online, about any | | | | competent and committed employee. The classes |
| questions you may have about the business. | | | | will also give you many of the skills that you need |
| Create your own games | | | | to work. There are schools now that specialize in |
| Try your hand at making your own games at | | | | video game degrees, such as DigiPen. They are |
| home to see what it's like. You can start with | | | | still relatively new and it's not clear whether they |
| simple projects first, such as basic text games or | | | | increase your chances of getting a job in the |
| simple shooters. Grab a book on video game | | | | video game industry. |
| programming at your local bookstore (there are | | | | Play Games |
| many to choose from) and dive in. C and Java | | | | Know your games! The video game industry is |
| are good programming languages to start out | | | | changing at a breakneck pace, so it's important to |
| with. Don't try to create something too big or | | | | stay up to date with the new products. Play |
| you'll quickly get overwhelmed. The purpose of | | | | many different games every month to see what |
| this is to learn what it's like to make games and | | | | companies are doing now with video games. |
| get a little experience, not to develop the next | | | | Development studios want to make sure that |
| award winning MMORPG. Development studios will | | | | they only hire programmers that are devoted to |
| be more likely to hire you if you have a good | | | | video games. Staying up to date with videogames |
| project or two that you can include with your | | | | is an excellent way to demonstrate this. |
| resume. | | | | Good luck! |