Since forever, you’ve loved video games and thought about working in the gaming industry?

Are you contemplating a career change or facing the decision of “what to do in life”? The video game industry is a very enticing option, especially for all the nerds, geeks, and game enthusiasts. However, it is also very vast and usually requires specific education.

The production of a game typically involves the efforts of individuals specializing in computer science, art, and animation fields, with each field branching out into various professions.

What does this mean? Gaming careers are very diverse, so depending on skills and education, many people can start working in the gaming industry. Do you want to learn more about careers in gaming? How to start a career in the industry, and do you have a chance without a specific education? Welcome to the reading!

Gaming Industry Overview:

Although the history of the gaming industry dates back 60 years, it has experienced a boom in the past three decades that continues to this day. Nowadays, almost everyone plays games, and the demand for them constantly grows. New titles are being created all the time, and new development studios are opening. There is no doubt that this business will not collapse quickly, and finding work in it can be the beginning of a long adventure and stable employment for years.

Currently, several countries dominate the gaming industry:

  • China – a powerhouse in the mobile gaming market with its Clash of Kings (Beijing ELEX Technology Co., Ltd) leading.
  • USA – home to the largest gaming companies such as Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Epic Games.
  • France – the homeland of one of the most prolific studios – Ubisoft.
  • Japan – one of the pioneers in gaming and the main headquarters of studios like Konami, Nintendo, Bandai Namco, or SONY.
  • United Kingdom – the home of Rockstar North, Codemasters, and Team17, among others.
  • Germany – the origin country of hits like The Settlers (Blue Byte Software) or Far Cry (Crytek).
  • Sweden – the homeland of popular studios like Paradox Interactive or Avalanche Studios Group.

However, this is not all. As one can boldly state that huge, popular gaming studios are scattered all over the world. Even in countries like the Czech Republic or Poland, the gaming industry is rapidly developing and achieving success. Examples confirming this include popular games such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance created by the Czech Warhorse Studios or the globally recognized Witcher series created by CD Projekt Red.

Understanding Game Development Studios:

You’ve probably encountered the terms AAA game and indie game. What do they mean, and do they have any connection to the studios that produced them? Absolutely!

AAA games are titles created by leading developers, with the highest budgets allocated for their production and promotion. Typically, teams of dozens or even hundreds of people with various specializations work on such games. It’s inevitable – top studios are expected to create games quickly. Therefore, a larger group of people must be involved to meet deadlines.

These massive budgets and the high reputation of studios mean that the quality expectations for such games are extremely high. Studios producing these games have a significantly higher bar to meet, but they also enjoy much greater profits from sales. Although, they must meet the expectations of critics and players, which, with each successful title, become even greater.

CD Projekt Red illustrates perfectly this mechanic. After the release of the excellent Witcher 3, the world went crazy about it, and new trends naturally fuelled the game’s sales. When the developer announced the release of Cyberpunk 2077, all eyes were on the studio and the game development process. People were eagerly anticipating the release, and the studio granted that wish by releasing CP2077 a bit prematurely. Minor bugs that most fans would overlook in different circumstances, became a significant problem, leading to mockery and affecting the developer’s reputation…

In the case of indie games and indie developers, things are quite different. Indie games are titles created by smaller groups of independent creators. Often, even one person is responsible for creating a game from start to finish – from creative conception through graphics, programming, to release and promotion.

Such studios have creative freedom, can fulfill their artistic vision, and play with various genres and themes, often combining different elements into a cohesive whole. Unfortunately, the fewer people “on board” and the smaller the budget for creating the title, the longer the production time, and the games themselves are often not as popular as their AAA counterparts.

Job Categories in the Gaming Industry:

While in the case of indie studios, it sometimes happens that one or two people handle the entire production, creating a game requires individuals with specific skills. During game production, efforts must be combined by writers, graphic designers, those designing the plot outline, characters, and locations.

Game designers and programmers must also step in, gradually creating the code and transferring what is in the project to the virtual world, created from scratch. People are needed to design individual levels, enemies, and the environment, as well as those who will take care of dialogues, music, and dubbing.

As you can see, there are plenty of tasks for everyone. Before a game is finished, people must also step in to gradually test it for responsiveness and playability, checking it regularly for errors, bugs, and other issues.

The work of all other non-specific, supporting jobs that ensure the company operates and thrives remains significant. In addition to people directly involved in game design, every company needs individuals dealing with HR, financial specialists, administrators, as well as those responsible for promotion and sales.

Diving Deeper into Production Roles:

As mentioned earlier, the entire game creation process is a combination of efforts from individuals specializing in various fields, such as arts and computer science. Let’s have a closer look at production careers in gaming companies, the tasks of individual employees, and what skills they need:

  • Game Programmer: A person who must have excellent knowledge of various programming languages and analytical thinking skills. They participate in the project from the idea and preparation to its execution and ensure the best possible playability of the product. The work of a game programmer involves designing solutions, preparing software, and developing systems and game mechanics.
  • Game Designer: A visionary who is responsible for designing how a particular game should look. They create systems, rules, and gameplay, as well as help build the world to create an engaging and playable game. Such a person supervises both the creation and execution of game mechanics and the overall user experience.
  • Technical Artist: A person who acts as a liaison between artists and programmers working on the game. Their task is to coordinate the work of various graphic designers with a wide range of programmers.
  • VFX Artist: An artist who deals with visual effects, creating photorealistic digitally generated images. This role requires seamless integration of these effects with the live action in the game being created.
  • Concept Artist: A person who creates a visual representation of an idea for use in the game before it is added to the final product. This artist draws or paints characters, graphics, environments, weapons, vehicles, and everything required in the game project.
  • Environment Artist: Similar to a Concept Artist, an Environment Artist is involved in modelling larger objects such as buildings, bridges, undergrounds, etc., generally the terrain of the game world.
  • Level Artist: A person who assembles a given location from previously prepared 3D objects, building the game world. Every so often, they also independently create objects needed to build virtual worlds in the game engine.
  • Level Designer: A person using computer programs to create entire stages of the game. Their task is not only to create the map terrain, but also to locate the equipment scattered throughout the map or independent characters.
  • UI Artist: A person who uses their experience and knowledge of user behaviour, assessing how the game will be perceived. They are responsible for the graphical representation of how the player will be able to behave in a given game.
  • 2D Artist: A person whose job is to draw textures for characters, environments, effects, and more. They lay the groundwork for what programmers, 3D artists, or animators will later create 3D models from.
  • Animator: An artist who prepares and implements character, object, or environment animations into the game. They are also responsible for creating 3D assets for the game, as well as texturing and mapping 3D models.
  • Game Writer or Narrative Designer: A person who creates the story for the game and develops characters, dialogues, and details of the narrative. They collaborate with Level Designers, Level Artists, Game Designers, and Programmers to ensure that the story aligns with other elements of the game.
  • Sound Designer: Their job involves determining, acquiring, or creating sound elements using sound production techniques and tools to create sound effects such as footsteps, rain sounds, etc. They also may be responsible for implementing music and collaborating with voice actors recording lines in games.

As you can see, a fairly large crew is needed to produce a game. To take on any of the positions mentioned above, one must have the necessary skills, experience, and often also the appropriate education confirmed by certificates. Fortunately, many universities are increasingly opening courses that teach programming or graphics, specifically oriented towards the growing game dev industry.

Quality Control as a Stepping Stone:

One of the few jobs in the gaming industry that doesn’t require special education is working as a Tester. How to get this job? If you have extensive knowledge of the gaming industry, have had the opportunity to play hundreds of titles, can work in a team, and also have basic knowledge of programming, you may have a chance to work as Quality Control in the gaming industry. A university degree is not required for this, but having it or relevant knowledge can significantly facilitate getting such a job.

Due to the growing studios, the considerable potential of the industry, and the constantly emerging new productions, many development studios collaborate with people who can support game productions during the testing phase. Testers are essential to continuously check the game for errors and bugs during its creation. The issues they notice are quickly fixed, and their suggestions are often considered, refining the produced game.

Non-specific Roles in the Gaming Industry:

As mentioned earlier, in addition to people involved in designing and testing games, every company (not only in the game dev industry) needs employees who will ensure that it operates and prospers.

These employees include Human Resources specialists who ensure that the right people are hired for the right positions, conduct training, and motivate employees. Another group of employees is IT support, which includes all individuals responsible for ensuring that the hardware of game designers, artists, and programmers is always operational. Every company also requires people knowledgeable about personnel and finances, who manage cash flow, invoices, and payments.

Employees dealing with event planning, advertising, social media, translations, as well as secretaries, accountants, or assistants, are also essential. Gaming studios, especially large, international, and popular ones, are gigantic companies that employ hundreds of people in various positions.

Closing Thoughts:

Working in game development is definitely not the easiest, but it is undoubtedly very fascinating and inspiring. With the right knowledge, experience, and education, you have a good chance of turning your passion into a well-paying job.

When you lack skills and education, you can try your hand at Quality Control as a game tester. This is one of the best jobs for gamers, which also plays an important role in the game development process. Such work can also become your gateway to the industry – completing the right school, courses, and training, as well as developing artistic skills, you can apply for higher positions in the future and start working in production of the games!

If you love video games and have always dreamed of working in the gaming industry, don’t give up on that dream!