John Ratcliff's Code Suppository: So your teenager tells you they want to 'make video games' for a living...

I tend to keep giving the same explanations out time and time again and it's always awkward because I have to explain to people that this is almost always simply not a realistic expectation.

What I decided to do today is to write up the explanation here on my blog so that, in the future, I can just refer people to it rather than having to get into a protracted exchange each time.

I might add that this is becoming more and more of an issue because of the incredible amount of predatory behavior that is taking place in our culture.  There are numerous institutes, colleges, and specialized programs all designed to convince young people that they can have a bright and promising future working in the video game industry.  These programs take advantage of the millions of young people who have a deep passion and love for games by filling them with false hope of jobs and careers that simply do not exist, all the while aggressively running these young people and their families into enormous debt.  Maybe your son or daughter came home with a bright shiny brochure about how in just a short 18 month program they too can be a video game designer and get a job at Electronic Arts.  Don't believe it.

Let's get one thing clear right off of the bat.  The chances of you getting a degree or certificate at a technical institute in 'computer game design' and getting an actual salaried position in the game industry is virtually non-existent.  It's like the odds of winning the lottery or something.

Now, this article is not meant to dissuade young people from following their interest in computer games and even game design.  That is not what I am trying to convey here at all.  What I am trying to make clear is that going to a technical school or specialized program and spending thousands and thousands of dollars on the hopes of making a career in the video game industry is an extremely poor investment.  

However, if you insist on making a career out of it, here is my practical advice on the matter.

There are really only two good paying salaried positions in the game industry that are available.  

The first is as a software engineer and the second is as an artist.

These are real jobs which can pay well and be very rewarding. 

Every other job you may have heard about in the game industry does not offer a similar path.  Yes, there are people in the game industry that have the job title of 'Game Designer' but few of them got that job because they went to college and got a degree in game design.  Some probably have, but I would imagine that for every one person who has a salaried position as an honest to goodness game designer in the industry there are thousands and thousands of other people who can't even get their foot in the door.

Most people who have jobs as a 'game designer' got that job based on who else they already knew in the game industry and by leveraging existing personal relationships.

So, my general advice to you, is that if you don't want to work on games as an artist or as a software engineer, then you probably should forget about making a 'career' out of it.  You most certainly shouldn't pay thousands of dollars to some technical institute who promises an industry job when you are done.  If you are a parent and your child is trying to talk you into paying for a game design school please don't fall for it.  These are largely a scam which prey on the hopes and dreams of young people.

And, well, come to think of it, in some ways the entire video game industry preys on the hopes and dreams of young people.  That's why only a small percentage of people who started out working in the video game industry are still there 10 years later.  At a presentation at GDC this year someone stated, and I'm not sure if these statistic is absolutely true but it's probably in the ballpark, is that the average career lifespan in film and games is 4 years and only 3% manage to make it to the ten year mark.  It is for this reason alone that getting some kind of a 'specialized' degree is a really, really, bad idea.  Most of those who do have a career in the industry experience a boom-bust-cycle which requires them to constantly change jobs and experience a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress. 

But, more on that later. 

Personally, I would not recommend that anyone get a degree from any 'institute' dedicated to 'getting into the game industry'.  Yes, I know there are good programs out there and I know there are success stories.  However, the real issue is that you probably don't want to limit your career opportunities to just this one single industry.  And, really, you don't have to.  The skills needed to be an artist or software engineer in the game industry are the same exact skills that are desired by numerous other companies as well.  So, why limit your options by going to some 'gaming college'??  Why not go to a real University and get a real University degree so that once you find out how truly awful the game industry sucks, you can get a job at a company which recognizes the concept of things like free evenings and weekends??

So, let's take a look at the requirements.

Does your son or daughter want to be an artist working on video games?  Great.  Is your son or daughter a simply mind-blowingly amazingly talented artist?  Do they do art at a young age that looks like it could have been done by the best animators at Walt Disney or Pixar?  

If the answer to that question is 'no', then your child is not qualified to be in the game industry as an artist.  You need to face this reality very early on.

If your child cannot do art of this caliber, then they probably should not waste your money at art school.

Now, you might object, and say that "my son or daughter isn't that good yet because they haven't gone to college for four years to 'learn' all of that."  Let me be clear.  You do not go to college to 'learn' talent. You are either born with it or not.  You go to college to learn technique and how to use complex and sophisticated computer software which is used by the graphics art industry, but college simply does not and cannot 'teach' talent.

Let me give you an example.  A number of years ago I interviewed a young person to fill an entry level position as a graphics artist at a game company I worked for.  This young person was only 19 years old and had never been to college for art.

Here is a link to her website.  This is the quality of art that she presented me at the age of 19!

Now, Tracy is extremely talented, but it is this level of natural talent that the game industry seeks out.

Be realistic with yourself and your child.  If they do not have this level of talent, please don't encourage them to waste their time and your money going to college to be a 'game artist'.  They will never get a job and never get a degree that will be helpful to them.

Think about those kids that go onto 'American Idol' and somehow convince themselves that they are great singers when, in fact, they sound like an out-of-tune screeching owl.  Someone should have told them that first.  You are doing no favors to your child by encouraging them to pursue a field for which they lack natural talent.

Now, if your child does have that level of artistic talent, then things are actually pretty positive because, it turns out, that the same exact skill set needed to do video game artwork is also the same skill set needed to do special effects for film, television, web-design, and advertising.  There are many, many, jobs available both inside and outside of the game industry if you have a high level of talent, a strong work ethic, and the technical skill set necessary to produce this kind of content.

You might think that after stressing the level of talent required that I might argue that, maybe, a college education isn't even necessary.  While it is true that you can make it in the industry on sheer talent alone, a college education really does offer a lot of value.  Today the kind of art that people are creating involves a whole lot more than just a sheet of paper and a pencil.  Extremely complex and sophisticated computer software is required to produce the kind of art used by video games and movies.  And, while it is possible to learn this software on your own, a formal college education is extremely valuable.

Now that I have covered the topic of 'game artist', next let's focus on 'game programmer'.

Many young people will readily admit that they don't have the artistic talent necessary to be a game artist but are confident that they have what it takes to be a game programmer.

My first question to that statement always begins (and usually ends) with 'How good is your kid at math?'  If the answer is anything other than 'My kid is great at math and we go to state math competitions on a regular basis' then, really, forget about it.

There are lots of jobs in computer software where you do not, necessarily, have to be really, really, really, good at math.  Computer games are not one of them.  

When I went to college 30 years ago, a degree in computer science required three semesters of calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and matrix algebra, and things have only become more demanding since then.

The amount of mathematics behind the technology in computer video games today is staggering.  Even if you don't use that level of math on a daily basis you certainly need the background and to have the kind of mind that is capable of grasping and learning it.  

If your kid is not an expert at math, don't even bother discussing the subject of being a computer game programmer.  It's a non-starter.

The degree you need to pursue in college to become a computer game programmer is 'computer science'.  Good computer science programs are available at M.I.T., Stanford, and the University of Illinois for example.  Yes, those schools, not some 'computer gaming technical' institute.  And, yes, there are many great state schools with excellent computer science and engineering programs.  These are all great places to to get the kind of degree that will give you a strong grounding in the field of computer science and software engineering.

The good news here, is that if your child can score a 32 on their ACT and get into one of these colleges and walk away with a degree in computer science, not only are they qualified to get a job in the video game industry, they are qualified to get a job at Google, Microsoft, Apple, Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, etc. etc.

If you somehow had the idea in your head that working on computer video games was 'easier' than working in these other fields, well, you must dissuade yourself of that notion right away.   Some of the most advanced and cutting edge work in the fields of computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and computer simulation, happens in the video game industry.  We have major scientific conferences where our work is presented.  And, yes, there is a lot of math involved.

Let me give you a case in point.  Here are some papers recently published by my colleague Mathias Muller.  All of the work presented in these papers we are applying directly to computer games currently in development.

These three papers, respectively, discuss techniques for how to simulate hair, fluids, and clothing suitable for use in computer video games.

Another point that needs to be raised, while you can have a degree in computer science from M.I.T. or Stanford, and Microsoft, Apple, or Google, might give you a job based on your education alone, the game industry will not.  Boeing will hire you even if you have never personally built a fighter jet in your spare time.  In contrast, it is extremely rare for game company to hire a software engineer who has not worked on a game before.

Really the only way to get a job in the game industry is based on your previous work on games.  This may seem like a bit of a catch-22, and it kind of is, but that's just how things work.

The video game industry is project based, it closely mirrors the movie industry in that way.  No video game company can afford to hire someone who can 'learn' on the job.  There are sometimes very limited internship opportunities in the game industry but, really, for an internship to be effective some senior people need to act as a mentor, which just takes them away from their other duties.  Game companies care about one thing and one thing only, and that is shipping their game on-time.  This singular focus is all consuming and leaves little room for internship and on the job training.

You might wonder, how does anyone get a job in the game industry if the only way to get a job in the game industry is to have previously worked on a game?

The answer to this is simple, you have to work on games 'for fun' as personal projects on your own time and without pay.  Fortunately with the advent of the Iphone and Android platforms this is today a completely realistic goal.

An individual or small team can write a game for a mobile device simply as a learning experience.  If their game demonstrates a high degree of technical skill and professionalism, that is exactly the right ingredients necessary to land an entry level position in the game industry.

Virtually every single software engineer in the game industry is, to a large extent, self-taught.  Sure, most have gone to college and have degrees, but they were virtually all programming computers since a young age and much of the work they have done was self-directed and driven.

This is pretty much universally true.

If your son or daughter is not already programming the computer since an early age, teaching themselves programming and actually doing it, then almost for sure they don't have what it takes to make it in the game industry.

I know of almost no successful software engineer in the video game industry who did not teach themselves how to program at a young age and write their own computer games before they got their first job. 

So, if your son or daughter's idea of 'fun' is reading a book on C++ programming, neural networks, graphs and data structures, algorithms, and other such exciting material, then maybe they do have what it takes to work in the game industry.  However, if they are not already teaching themselves, I don't think any 'game institute' is going to make any big difference.  

Years ago it was common for people working as computer game programmers to have no college degree at all but, over time, the process of software development has really evolved and changed.  Years ago an entire computer game was written by a single guy.  Today, a massive team of people work on a computer game in code bases comprising millions of lines of code.  A completely 'self-taught' computer programmer does not have the training necessary to work with a large team.  They have not learned the proper design principles and methodologies (such as Agile) or have the necessary background in mathematics previously discussed. These skills and the maturity which comes with a well rounded education go a long way towards getting a person prepared to work in a professional team environment.  

So, to recap:

Finally, I will address what is probably the most important issue of all.  Should you even want to work in the game industry at all?

This is a much more serious question than you might think.  If you like to see your wife and children, then the game industry might not be for you.  If you like to go home in the evenings and have weekends, then the game industry might not be for you.  If you would like a job where you do not, on a daily basis, live in fear of having your project canceled or being laid off, then the game industry may not be fore you.  If you don't want to work at a company that is driven by often insane and irrational schedules with completely unrealistic expectations about what can be done in a given period of time, then the game industry might not be for you.

The video game industry is project driven, just like the movie industry.  In other fields when you work hard on a project and complete it, you might be rewarded with a bonus.  In the video game industry, your reward for working hard on a project, often times, is to be laid off.  Game companies continue throwing bodies at a project to try to get it out the door.  Once it does ship, they now have way too many people on board and the cycle is often a massive layoff.

Most video game projects that get started end up being canceled.  There are many people in the industry who have worked for years and years, but never actually had a shipped game.  Every project they have ever worked on, and sacrificed their time and talent on, ended up getting canceled.  This can be really devastating emotionally to deal with.

The video game industry knows just how much young people have a romantic notion about 'working on games'.  They take advantage of that.  When you tour a video game company you might be impressed by the free snacks, the free meals, the ping-pong table, and the pinball machines.  All of that must look fun and seductive but the real reason all of that stuff exists in the office, is because the game company executives don't want you to go home.  (Think of it like Hansel and Gretel finding a gingerbread house, it may look delicious but something dangerous lurks inside and you will never leave....) Game company executives, they don't want you to have a life outside of the office; your apartment is nothing more than a place to sleep and, don't worry, those comfy looking couches in the office have a dual purpose..

Now, for a young person, 22 years old, this isn't necessarily a big deal.  They love the work, and it is fun, and what else do they really have going on in their life anyway?

But, as you get older, and try to make a 'career' out of this industry, it simply doesn't mesh with a quality way of life.  For about ten years of my career my children virtually never saw me.  I was a completely absent father.  I deeply regret that today.

I would like to add yet one more note of caution about these 'gaming institutes' and 'technical schools'.  Let's say you make it through one of those programs and actually manage to get a job in the game industry.  Realize that the game company is going to know that your options are limited.  Your salary will reflect that.  If you had gotten a full four year degree in computer science from a really good University, you could command an impressive salary with decent working environment and benefits from any one of a number of technology companies.  

I know this article may get some blowback from these colleges and institutes who take so much pride in their game courses.   I am merely expressing my personal opinion here.  I have been working in the game industry continuously for literally over 30 years.  I wrote my first games on an Apple-II computer for Milliken Publishing Company back in 1982.

I have worked with many of the top game companies over the years and I have been involved in numerous game projects.  I am still in the industry today though I no longer work directly for a game company; for all of the reasons cited above.

My argument here is simple.  If you have the talent and drive necessary to work on the most advanced computer games and technology then you have the talent and drive necessary to get a real university degree from a college with a great reputation.  I cannot see any reason, in any way shape or form, that you should limit yourself or your career opportunities by pursing a limited degree program dedicated solely to the game industry.

The simple fact of the matter is that there are thousands more young people who dream of some day becoming a 'video game designer' for a big game company than their are actual paid salaried positions available. 

Sometimes I use this analogy.  To say that you want to be a 'game designer' is somewhat akin to saying you want to 'be a movie star'.  You probably have about as much chance.

My advice is to the parents.  Unless your child has the talent and skill set I have described above as either an artist or a software engineer, then I would strongly, strongly, strongly, recommend that you do not waste your money or your child's life by letting them pursue a career 'opportunity' as a game designer.

They have a better chance of developing a best selling Iphone or Android game on their own personal time than they do getting a job at Electronic Arts because they went to a 'game design' program at some technical institute.  They probably have a better chance of winning the lottery quite frankly.

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A little postscript here.  

One of the main points of this article was that the video game industry is unstable and not a good place to try to make a career.  I say repeatedly that you should not limit your career opportunities to this industry alone.

And, ironically, what happens within 24 hours of my posting this and it going viral?

Major layoffs at game companies and Walt Disney completely shuts down one of the most famous game studios of all time 'Lucas Arts'.

I don't know how much more clearly I could make my point than this.  Every one of these people, their lives are now completely disrupted.  They will have to move, try to find new jobs, be put at financial risk and go through incredible stress and uncertainty.  If they are married and have children this will be especially difficult to deal with.

It's not that you don't get laid off in other industries but in the game industry it's practically 'expected' on a frequent basis.  And, more to the point of this article, many of these people will face challenges trying to migrate to other fields than computer games alone if they can't find any openings there.

by John Keefer, Apr 03, 2013 1:00pm PDT

The Los Angeles offices of Square Enix America have againbeen hit with an unspecified number of layoffs, reportedly including the CEO and head of marketing. The office houses mostly marketing and public relations staff.

by John Keefer, Apr 03, 2013 12:00pm PDT

by Steve Watts, Apr 03, 2013 10:40am PDT