Game Development Studio Map
An interesting blog post by Marc Taro Holmes:
A student just asked me how to get an Internship in a games company
OCTOBER 20, 2013
I get this long mail from someone saying they really really really want to be a concept artist (in games or film). So they want to get an internship. I have a hate-on for internships, even though it probably worked for someone out there who will immediately email me and say I’m an idiot. BUT – here is my advice to this fairly common question:
Hey XXXXX, nice to meet you. You have accidentally pushed the ‘RANT’ button.
//Rant ON
So, what’s the deal, – why are you looking for an internship?
Are you in your next-to-last year? Going to graduate next-next year I mean, and are looking for an internship to beef up your work experience? You want to go from school right into a concept job! (That’s a tall order my friend :) Not impossible, but rare. (Want to show me your stuff? I could give you an honest opinion).
So, here’s the issue – concept art is not an entry level job.
It’s kind of a high level position. There are a few concept artists for a team of hundreds of production people. So it’s quite difficult to find a relevant internship.
As a concept artist, you are the most important link in the chain. You are the pilot. The Jockey. Your brain-sweat is fuel for the engines. In other words – a few million dollars is burning under your chair as you work. The whole shebang is depending on you. If your work does not cut it, well, that’s bad.
Most interns in film/games go into PRODUCTION. (Not art). So they literally push the coffee/doughnut cart, run print jobs, do power points for meetings, make posters of schedules, pick up journalists at the airport. Junk like that.
If you want to be a concept artist, that’s not going to help your resume one tiny bit. It won’t matter an iota.
All you need is a great portfolio. Your work is the only only only thing that matters.
Another one about internships by Ethan Levy:
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7 lessons I wish I learned before starting my first game internship
by Ethan Levy on 09/03/13 12:50:00 pm
It is rapidly approaching 11 years between my entry into the games business interning at Pandemic Studios and founding an indie studio to develop Enhanced Wars. Although it is still early days in my career, I think I have at least gained a modicum of insight worth sharing. When one of my mentors asked me to speak at the college course I credit for turning me into me into a game designer, I saw an opportunity to reflect on my time in the game industry and codify the lessons I wish I could go back in time to teach my youthfully arrogant college self. It is not like I am not still making missteps regularly; I hope that 40 year old me is telepathically beaming back his list through time to send some wisdom my way. But it feels like a good time to share the top 7 lessons I wish I knew on my first day as an intern:
1) It's a small world after all
The game industry is small. Remarkably small. The sort of small that only becomes apparent when you have been developing games for a while. In the past year and change that I have worked as a consultant to help fund Enhanced Wars, I have been recommended for gigs by people I worked with 9 years ago I did not expect to work alongside again. I have been able to pay my rent thanks to jobs I was referred to by people at EA that I am certain I aggravated at one point or another. I have walked into meetings to instantly regret the actions a younger, more abrasive self thought were completely justified at the time.
Every person that you meet in your early career, you are guaranteed to meet again. Every professional relationship you have is a long term investment. Every person you see as an obstacle to your success today will invariably be someone you are too embarrassed to ask for a favor 5, 10, 20 years down the line. It is nearly impossible to take the long view when you are young, but the sooner you realize just how tiny the game industry is the better off you will be.
2) Don't go for a big splash
When I reflect on my career, the clearest facepalm moments come from the first few weeks on a new job. The times when I really wanted to prove myself. The times when I was trying to convince the people around me that I was a rockstar.
Every time I tried to make a big splash at a new job, I made a belly flop. I was young, I was excited, I was trying to instantly make my mark. The hard smack of soft belly against the surface of the pool was a clear reminder that I had no idea what I was doing.
1) It's a small world after all
The game industry is small. Remarkably small. The sort of small that only becomes apparent when you have been developing games for a while. In the past year and change that I have worked as a consultant to help fund Enhanced Wars, I have been recommended for gigs by people I worked with 9 years ago I did not expect to work alongside again. I have been able to pay my rent thanks to jobs I was referred to by people at EA that I am certain I aggravated at one point or another. I have walked into meetings to instantly regret the actions a younger, more abrasive self thought were completely justified at the time.
Every person that you meet in your early career, you are guaranteed to meet again. Every professional relationship you have is a long term investment. Every person you see as an obstacle to your success today will invariably be someone you are too embarrassed to ask for a favor 5, 10, 20 years down the line. It is nearly impossible to take the long view when you are young, but the sooner you realize just how tiny the game industry is the better off you will be.
2) Don't go for a big splash
When I reflect on my career, the clearest facepalm moments come from the first few weeks on a new job. The times when I really wanted to prove myself. The times when I was trying to convince the people around me that I was a rockstar.
Every time I tried to make a big splash at a new job, I made a belly flop. I was young, I was excited, I was trying to instantly make my mark. The hard smack of soft belly against the surface of the pool was a clear reminder that I had no idea what I was doing.
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