I have been looking to make the switch to the game dev industry for almost a year now. Ive followed the advice of making my own portfolio of personal game projects. At the moment it has just been one game and a bunch of graphics demo. I was wondering for those whom successfully switched from another industry can give me some insight and how you did it.

For me, I'm a programmer for a aerospace/defense contractor. I finished grad school a year ago and have been working for 2 years. Started as a web programmer for a small company half way thru grad school and then moved onto the big guns at my current job. I didn't decide to pursue A career in game dev until earlier this year, kind of a late bloomer.

Quote: Original post by unfateful
I have been looking to make the switch to the game dev industry for almost a year now. Ive followed the advice of making my own portfolio of personal game projects.

Cool. Have you read the Switching FAQ yet? (View Forum FAQ, above. If you have read it, then don't read it again.)

Do you have any specific questions? I personally moved from shrinkwrap apps/business software into games, and all I really did was apply for a job, and that was that.

Quote: Original post by ApochPiQ
Do you have any specific questions? I personally moved from shrinkwrap apps/business software into games, and all I really did was apply for a job, and that was that.

Did you have a personal portfolio at that time? What area of games did you went into? (ie. Infinity Ward/Blizzard Entertainment type of companies, casual games development, etc)

Quote: Original post by unfateful
I have been looking to make the switch to the game dev industry for almost a year now. Ive followed the advice of making my own portfolio of personal game projects. At the moment it has just been one game and a bunch of graphics demo. I was wondering for those whom successfully switched from another industry can give me some insight and how you did it.

One of the things to consider is taking a job with a smaller/less established studio, to initially get your foot in the door.

Caveats:
1) The company could easily go out of business, or occasionally miss payroll.
2) Expect to work long hours, as milestone payments are usually critical in keeping the company afloat.
3) Expect the company to be understaffed.
4) Expect to take a pay cut (a given for going into the game industry), and a smaller studio probably will not be able to pay as well as an established studio.

Assuming none of that has scared you away, there are a few potential benefits:
1) You will more than likely work on a wide range of tasks.
2) The number of projects will probably be larger than a established studio, either through shorter projects or being swapped around to meet milestones.
3) The group will potentially be more close-knit.
4) You will have a greater impact on the final product.

My experience is that most game dev studios don't really make the connection between simulation development and game development.

Quote: Original post by unfateful
Did you have a personal portfolio at that time? What area of games did you went into? (ie. Infinity Ward/Blizzard Entertainment type of companies, casual games development, etc)

I had a portfolio of work and a couple of years of experience volunteering for the company I ended up going to work for. We do large-scale space simulation games.

Quote: Original post by cdoty
My experience is that most game dev studios don't really make the connection between simulation development and game development.

Can you explain what simulation development is? Never heard of that before.

Quote: Original post by unfateful
Can you explain what simulation development is? Never heard of that before.

Well, you say you currently work for an aerospace/defense contractor. One area that defense contractors often work in is modeling and simulation, which has a substantial overlap with game development. Of course, if you don't know what it is, then that probably doesn't apply to you. ;)