-
-
-
You are Responsible for Your Own Career
-
-
"What are the six key things you can do to advance your career in the
game business? From getting good game credits through efficient
networking, Divide By Zero CTO Joe Ludwig provides practical advice
in this handy opinion piece." The following is
a response. Click
HERE to read the original article.
-
-
December 10,
2008
- By Eric M. Scharf
-
- Extremely
well-stated. If it were not for the fact that examples are
often required to drill such a point home with many people, Joe
probably could have gotten by with the last section of "Your
Happiness Matters" and nothing more.
The one detail I would add, and the one that typically draws the
most groans, is that none of Joe's solid guidance will truly matter
unless you actually have the raw or refined talent that is useful to
and within the games industry (natural or learned skills in public
speaking, leading and planning for groups of people, creative and
technical writing, high- and low-level programming, digital concept
illustration, 3D graphics, graphic design, package design, product
marketing, thorough software testing . . . and lots of will power). Even if you have marginal talent but plenty of promise and strong
determination to not only work but thrive in a field that really
intrigues you, then, that is a great first step in the right
direction.
More so than ever before (and still regardless of the current state
of the U.S. economy), people within the games industry need to
remember, and people who want so desperately into the industry need
to learn that "love of video games" or "playing video games with an
almost unhealthy passion" cannot and should not be viewed as your
lone meal ticket into the games industry.
There is a trickle down effect that, unfortunately, most people can
only appreciate AFTER entering the industry, or any industry, for
that matter. You are only as good as your weakest link,
whether it be a part-time student / employee, an intern, or a junior
staff employee. What you bring to the table upon entry in your
chosen profession will either help, go unnoticed, or hurt your
teammates, project, and employer, in that order.
-
- This is less
about "getting industry experience before entering the industry" and
more about, again, "having that raw or refined skill, natural or
learned, that can be plugged in almost immediately" so that you are
a positive addition (even in a small, slowly-growing way) rather
than a negative distraction, who keeps telling any of the
now-concerned teammates who will listen about the ungodly amount of
passion you feel towards video games.
Friends, passionate video game players, countrymen, lend me your
ears: "Bring a real, tangible, useful skill set to the games
industry table that enhances and supports, because (outside of
acknowledged industry training) the alternative places an
unnecessary burden on your teammates, directly affecting the quality
of the product being constructed, and preventing your employer from
being able (and willing) to reward you for your efforts."
-
- Attempt to be
the critical missing link in the chain of opportunity.
-
- As Joe Ludwig originally stated: "You are responsible for your own career." This is still the land of opportunity (that you must seize for
yourself), not the land of entitlement.
-
-
- This response was posted directly
to the public blog associated with the original Gamasutra.com
article.
|
