I'm going to try to work towards a career in game development. What I'm wondering is the stability of Jobs. For example, is there a high chance that as soon as I join a 'team' or something later down the line the project will crash and burn. Also would it be better for me to become a freelancer or join companies like EA games. Is it generally standard practice for when a game is finished you no longer have a job or do you stay on for other games. Lastly what would I need to actually get into the industry. (Learning wise) Sixth-form college, university? I'm sorry for the mass of questions, and my horrific grammar. :) P.S If this is in the wrong section would you mind moving it? Thank you, Ben

Hi Ben, you wrote:

>is there a high chance that as soon as I join a 'team' or something later down the line the project will crash and burn.

High? I don't know. Is there a chance? Absolutely.

>Also would it be better for me to become a freelancer or join companies like EA games.

1. You can't freelance right out of school. Read FAQ 63 on my site - http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson63.htm
2. The chances of your getting hired at EA right out of school are very slim. Set your sights more realistically. Lots of other companies around. Read FAQ 24 and 27 on my site.
3. The two choices you presented are both wrong. Read FAQ 52 on my site.

>Is it generally standard practice for when a game is finished you no longer have a job or do you stay on for other games.

Again with the two choices! It's typical that a lot of people pull up stakes and move elsewhere after a big project is finished, but there is no "standard practice" as you suggest.

>Lastly what would I need to actually get into the industry. (Learning wise)
Sixth-form college, university?

Yes. Read the FAQs here on this site.

>I'm sorry for the mass of questions, and my horrific grammar. :)

That was only a small mass. Your grammar was better than most - but it was funny how you thought everything is either black or white. Guess what, there are grays and colors too.

Thanks for the quick reply. As for the EA Games thing that was just an example.

I would also like to start learning at a young age. I know you can't really compare the two but I am quite good at learning languages and also they say that when your younger you learn easier.

Would the best way to get into learning a programming language be books? I find tutorials limiting and I'm too skint and I'm 13 so can't get a credit card to get some online.

Quote: Original post by Dindamer
Would the best way to get into learning a programming language be books?

Learn in any way that works for you.

The bad news: your assumption, that there is one universal "best way" to do things, is dead wrong.
The good news: you can proceed from this point in any way you like!

The whole point is that you should pursue your passions, and nobody can tell you how to do that. (But you still have to balance that with your "job" of graduating school, then getting a degree.) Your own passions are your own personal yellow brick road, and that path leads you to your own personal Emerald City.

Thanks for you patience and being so helpful.

This may be a bit much to ask but has anyone here in the UK got any sucess stories of how they made it in the industry.

Tom's answers are good, but I would like to address your question about stability. In general, job stability in the game industry is low compared to other software industries. The primary reason is that the business is risky -- many (if not most) games do not make a profit. Another is that there are more people wanting to make games than the industry can support.

The most stable companies are the large publishers (such as EA and Activision) as you would expect, but even they are not immune. Even the large companies go bankrupt occasionally, and EA (for example) seems to have layoffs after every major project.

For most companies (the small developers), the biggest problem is getting work. Frequently, a company will get a contract to make a game, finish the game, and then go out of business because it can't get another contract.

To temper all this pessimism, I have to note that even when you lose your job it is not impossible to get another. And with a few years of experience, sometimes its is not even difficult to find another. Also, with the maturing of the industry, the stability has improved a great deal, and I expect that it will continue to improve.

My recommendation is that if job stability (and income, BTW) are major goals, then you would be better off working in a different industry, and make games as a hobby (like most of the people here).

Speaking of finding a job... If you are a game programmer with experience (sorry, I know people hate seeing that) in the S.F. area, and you are looking for a job, send me your resume.

Thanks, Despite the talk about the instability I'm still pretty sure I want to try.

P.S If only I lived in that area, was older and was a programmer. Good luck finding someone.

It was mentioned that it's slim chance that most won't make it a big company like EA out of school, but to provide some encouragement, and to prove that nothing is impoossible, a friend of mine, just landed a job at EA, working on the new Harry Potter game at EA out of college. You can go to his site, and read about his experience at EA if you like: http://parabellumgames.no-ip.org/