Hello!

My name is Tim, currently unemployed game fanatic who wants to pursue a career in game development. Having been a fan of Blizzard Entertainment since I was…. I don't know, 12 years old and now looking to at least start the process of maybe getting hired by Blizzard one day. I currently have a bachelors of Psychology although I'm looking to transition into more of the tech side of the industry, maybe even a different game company. My question is…. Where does a noobie like me start? Any certain certificates or degree I need to get the ball rolling? My goal is to land somewhere in the gaming industry whether its software engineering or basic game development. What should I learn first? What can help me dip my feet into the water? Any recommendations, schools etc are welcome.

Thank you!!!

TimM93 said:
pursue a career in game development.

Moved thread to Games Career Development.

TimM93 said:
I currently have a bachelors of Psychology

That's fine. You don't need to get another degree. But you need to learn to program (you said that's what you want to do). Go ahead and do that, and build a portfolio of some games you created, solo and with teams. Also, where do you live?

Most of our members are indie, only a few of us are pro. This forum (Games Career Development) is the place to ask things about career development (what you need to get hired). If you want to ask programming questions, post those in the For Beginners forum where you initially posted this. But before you post in FB, read https://www.gamedev.net/start/

Hello Tom!

Thank you for the feedback and redirecting my question to the correct place. I currently live in NYC although I am open on working remotely as well as being able to relocate. I am not afraid of a fresh start at a different location. Have done it before =).

What is a good number of projects to work on before you can start sending out your resume/portfolio to different industries? I am assuming landing a position in a company like Blizzard, Namco etc requires years of experience and a stacked portfolio.

-Tim

You need some individual projects (two might help get your foot in the door but not at a AAA company), and some team projects (two, same caveat). If you make a game that goes viral, one game will do the trick.

No AAA companies in NYC. You may need to move. Sock away moving money while you learn to program and while you make your viral job ticket.

Thank you for the information Tom! To get started I am assuming learn the necessary coding languages like C++, Java, Python etc and figure out which one leads to which door. Once knowing the basics, it'll be more clear on which path I want to take in the programming/developing sector in Indie companies and down the line, AAA industries correct?

apologize for the reassuring questions. I am trying to head into this industry with little to no knowledge of programming/developing, or even anything related to the game industry. Good thing is that having anything to do with gaming is a passion for me. =]

TimM93 said:
I am trying to head into this industry with little to no knowledge of programming/developing, or even anything related to the game industry.

Okay, well maybe these articles I wrote will have some relevant tidbits among the outdated humor. And at some point somebody else will have some advice for you. Like, for instance, don't turn down jobs from small companies you never heard of - you get spectacular learning and contacts from those “little” jobs.

So,

I also have a psychology degree.

It definitely helps, but you should either join a team or start your own.

Learning from no name indies can help a lot.

Psychology doesn't directly help you with game dev. but it can give you valuable skills such as communication, team work and problem solving , leadership, in addition to research.

If you want to design and program, than learn and do research into those things.

There are a few NYC games studios, but most of them are based in California.

If I may ask, Why did you study psychology?

Drilling down can reveal your passions, and how to follow them.