Double-Jump Your Way into the Video Game Industry

by Vicki Salemi

If you love playing video games, imagine if you could make a living with them. There are several career paths within the gaming industry, but if you think working at a place like Nintendo is all fun and games, think again.

Sheldon Baines, lead software engineer at Nintendo Software Technology Corp., says working with video games is exciting, but also extremely challenging. "Every day is different, and we get curveballs on a daily basis." That's because a lot of people are involved in creating a game, which includes Nintendo's very own testing department whose primary job is to test the game and try to break it!

It takes about one and a half years from the beginning stages to a game's completion; the process usually includes collaborative efforts between several departments and company-wide brainstorming. "A lot of hard work and long hours go into creating a game," explains Baines, "including developing quick prototypes. But the most rewarding thing is to watch sick children in a hospital play our games and enjoy them."

How "He Got Game"
Baines graduated from DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA) with a degree in the art and science of video game programming. He recommends building a strong background in computer science in order to succeed in the game programming arena.

You can play too. If you're interested in a video game career, there are two primary paths you can take: video game programming and testing, and animation. Jason Chu, chief operating officer of DigiPen, advises you to get a broad education. "Since games simulate reality, it's important to not only take physics and math, but to study English, writing, and communications, which are essential skills required for a team-oriented environment."

Another path in the video game industry is computer animation, which Brett Bean, a sophomore at DigiPen is pursuing. "It's so much fun. I spend half of my time on computers, but it's so important to study English, art history, fine arts, and computer graphics, too."

Brett's true passion is designing short films, but notes video games are not unlike films. Basically you draw a character and create a short animation piece in 3-D to tell a story, including detailed facial expressions and body language, he says. The artwork starts out with sculpting a piece of clay and gets as high-tech as creating loops under the skin by using computer graphics programs in geometry. Plus, for some of his classes, he needs to complete 200 drawings each week!

"I look at video games in a different way now," says Brett. "I notice what was done wrong, for instance when a character walks through a door."

Brett had an internship in which he taught high schoolers 3-D animation programs, similar to the animation used to create movies like Shrek. He suggests having a broad education to succeed in this field. "You can't just sit in a cave; you need to interact. For my film class, for instance, we need to go to a concert and attend a spoken-word event."

Brett is positive that when he's done with his studies he will enjoy working with programmers to create games. "Someone who will make it in this industry is someone who may fail but will keep working at it to get better," he says.