Advice for getting into Gaming

I got an email the other day asking about how to get into gaming, and I wanted to post up the reply. Might as well do it here :)

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I think a lot of people love to wax on how dificult it is to get into gaming, because the guys with the jobs want to add prestige to their position.

The truth is, it's quite simple. Make games now. Take a day, make a game just as you would dream of making it. A small text based game? A small fun physics engine? A card game? Talk about it on your cover letter.

Secondly, examine job postings. People want DirectX experience for Graphics Engine jobs, so write a paper on it for a work report this term, and tell them you did next term.

That's the plain and simple of it.

As for GDC, you just have to really dig into yourself to pull out something innovative to say. I talked about the reasons I found games to be on the verge of becoming interactive art, then cited examples like Half Life and Metal Gear.

Good luck, and keep me informed :)

p.s. Everybody wants to be heard, as evidenced by my long email. Write an article for the school paper, call EA, and say you're writing for a school paper and would like a 10 min interview with the head developer. Talk about ins :)