Jobs and Artist Tools for Video Games
Holden Caulfield
I am a web designer considering making a serious career change. I
want to be involved in Video Game design. I have done a little
research and discovered: 1) Toronto -- where I live -- in NOT the
place to be. And 2) Based on my current skillset, my greatest chance
is to hone my artist skills as opposed to programming skills. (I can
learn a 3D animation program before I can become a C++ Grandmaster!)
Based on this, I ask:
1) Where is the best place in the United States (I have dual
citizenship) that I can move to try and immerse myself in video games?
What city or county or whatever is the real mecca -- with the most
job opportunities! -- for game design?
2) What is the most important single 3D Graphics program I can learn
that will make me employable? It seems to be either Softimage, Maya
or 3D StudioMax... but which? Or another? I really want to focus on
the most important one!
Thanks!
I know I seem totally naive, but hey! -- you have to start somewhere,
right?
Thanks,
Holden
Tom Sloper
From: comman...@hotmail.com (Holden Caulfield)
>1) Where is the best place in the United States (I have dual
>citizenship) that I can move to try and immerse myself in video games?
> What city or county or whatever is the real mecca -- with the most
>job opportunities! -- for game design?
The hotbeds of videogame companies are (in no particular order):
Los Angeles
San Francisco Bay Area
Seattle
Salt Lake City
Texas
Chicago area
Massachusetts
You definitely want to move to an area where there are numerous game
companies. I recommend that you use some of the "game company listings"
websites, some of which are searchable by area. (You can find a number of
those website links in the Game Biz Links page on my website,
http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html.) Research which area you want to move
to. Be mindful also of the cost of housing - L.A. (where I live) and Silicon
Valley (where I once lived) are both expensive.
>2) What is the most important single 3D Graphics program I can learn
>that will make me employable?
I have no idea. Try a graphics newsgroup. You're a graphic artist, eh? You
might also want to read Lesson 7 at my website (all about the various
careers in videogames).
>I know I seem totally naive,
And you seem like you're hiding something (like your real name). I never
trust people who wear masks, myself.
>but hey! -- you have to start somewhere,
>right?
Yup. Good luck, whoever you are - Tom
Tom Sloper
http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html
Brandon J. Van Every
"Tom Sloper" <tom...@sloperama.com> wrote in message
news:QjIZ7.82711$WK1.20...@typhoon.we.rr.com...
>
> From: comman...@hotmail.com (Holden Caulfield)
>
> >1) Where is the best place in the United States (I have dual
> >citizenship) that I can move to try and immerse myself in video games?
> > What city or county or whatever is the real mecca -- with the most
> >job opportunities! -- for game design?
>
> The hotbeds of videogame companies are (in no particular order):
>
> Los Angeles
> San Francisco Bay Area
> Seattle
> Salt Lake City
> Texas
> Chicago area
> Massachusetts
Geez, don't you think giving a particular order would be helpful? LA, SF,
Seattle, those all have a lot of stuff. Texas has some stuff, maybe Texans
think they've got a lot of stuff? And which city anyways, Austin or
something else? The others on your list are news to me.
--
Cheers, www.3DProgrammer.com
Brandon Van Every Seattle, WA
20% of the world is real.
80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.
Alexx S Kay
>"Tom Sloper" <tom...@sloperama.com> wrote in message
>news:QjIZ7.82711$WK1.20...@typhoon.we.rr.com...
>>
>> From: comman...@hotmail.com (Holden Caulfield)
>>
>> >1) Where is the best place in the United States (I have dual
>> >citizenship) that I can move to try and immerse myself in video games?
>> > What city or county or whatever is the real mecca -- with the most
>> >job opportunities! -- for game design?
>>
>> The hotbeds of videogame companies are (in no particular order):
>>
>> Los Angeles
>> San Francisco Bay Area
>> Seattle
>> Salt Lake City
>> Texas
>> Chicago area
>> Massachusetts
[snip]
> The others on your list are news to me.
There are definitely several game companies here in Massachusetts. Just off
the top of my head, we've got:
Irrational Games
Impressions
Mad Doc Software
Turbine
Stainless Steel
Papyrus
I suspect there are others I'm forgetting (or unaware of).
Alexx Kay
Opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily those of my employers
al...@world.std.com
http://world.std.com/~alexx
"...if you go around earning your livelihood by lying, those lies are quite
likely to come back to you in -- as you put it -- "unnerving" ways. Yours
seems the most sensible course and the one I've adopted as well. "Isn't
that interesting?" and then get back to what you were doing. It might
well be a "sign"; it probably isn't a sign, and you're on the slippery
slope to L.-Ron-Hubbard-Land if you take it for a Sign."
-- Dave Sim, in correspondence with Alan Moore about _From Hell_
Tom Sloper
>
>Geez, don't you think giving a particular order would be helpful?
Perhaps. Tell me which order you think I should use next time (and what
criteria you used to determine that order), and I'll use it next time. I
suspect that the area with the MOST game companies is also the most
expensive place to live, so to me that area isn't necessarily the "best" or
"first" place I'd want to recommend that a career-changer move to. Depends
on what criteria the asker has in mind (and heck, not only don't I know what
his criteria are, I don't even know what his real name is!).
>LA, SF,
>Seattle, those all have a lot of stuff. Texas has some stuff, maybe Texans
>think they've got a lot of stuff? And which city anyways, Austin or
>something else? The others on your list are news to me.
So check it out. At http://www.sloperama.com/advice/links.htm under the
heading "LISTINGS OF GAME COMPANIES" I've given URLs of five websites where
one can research game companies (some of them searchable by area) -- that
might also help you in generating the ordered list.
Tom
PS - Sorry to have taken so long to reply. I was in Hong Kong.
Tom Sloper
http://www.sloperama.com
Holden Caulfield
Thanks so much for the repsonses! To clarify, as far as my request
for video game hotbeds is concerned, here is my criteria:
What places in the U.S. (and Canada, if there is a place) have the
greatest opportunities for employment in the industry. Simply put,
where are the most jobs? Cost of living and any other issues are not
important (although I do welcome any general comments). And Yes! --
ranking them would be awesome! (I'd love a top 10 list!).
I get the impression the top three are:
1) San Fran
2) L.A.
3) Seattle
Anyway, thanks for the responses!
Holden
Geoff Howland
Caulfield) wrote:
>1) San Fran
>2) L.A.
>3) Seattle
Quite a few places in Texas as well. Austin/Houston I believe being
the largest areas.
-Geoff Howland
http://www.lupinegames.com/
Tom Sloper
"Holden Caulfield" <comman...@hotmail.com> wrote ...
>
> What places in the U.S. (and Canada, if there is a place) have the
> greatest opportunities for employment in the industry. Simply put,
> where are the most jobs?
>
>
> 1) San Fran
> 2) L.A.
> 3) Seattle
Yep. I'm an L.A. fan myself, which is why I live here. I've lived in the
S.F. area for a while but I prefer L.A. And there are lots of game
companies (and jobs) here.
Tom
Xlug
Vancouver has what seems to me to be a lot of dev houses. EA's got a huge
facility there, Radical Entertainment, Black Box... and there's more. I
think they all hide though. EA was especially impressive, by the way, with
super tight security, soccer fields, basketball courts, inaugeration
pictures with the Prime Minister.
Okay, I'm getting carried away, but when I visited this summer I was truly
in awe. It would be a great place to work if you could get in, and they're
big enough that there seems to be regular positions open.
Xlug
"Tom Sloper" <tom...@sloperama.com> wrote in message
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