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You know, with all the people I see looking for programming positions, artistic positions, writing, music, design, whatever... I'm surprised all these people don't just lump together and start their own development team instead of trying to get into existing ones. That seems to be the
easiest way to start in the business...
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Speaking as someone in the industry, this is, sadly, a common misconception. I say sadly, because I wish that it were true
The fact is that development teams depend upon publishers, and with development costs spiraling, finding a publisher has never been harder. Publishers look for proven teams with multiple shipped titles; a cool game idea doesn't just isn't enough anymore. Look at how few finalists from the Independant Games Festival (IGF) get published for evidence of this. And these are very good games.
Back on the topic of how to break into the industry, I've seen two common routes:
-Wait for one of the larger companies to do a huge hiring spree and try to get your toe in the door. Ubisoft Montreal did this recently (and might still be doing so, not sure). The advantage here is that there aren't nearly enough experienced people to go around, so a very large percentage are entry level. Keep in mind that a company like this is BIG, so you will generally end up as a 'cog in the machine', and the experience might not be everything that you hoped for.
-Or, apply to a 2nd-rate developer; they tend to be much more willing to take a chance on entry level employees (and, frankly, there's a lot less competition). While this may not be your dream job, it's a great way to get your foot in the door. You may not end up bragging about this job to your friends, but it's good experience nonetheless. No decent interviewer will turn you away because your shipped titles weren't AAA-quality.
Either way, the key thing is to get experience and some shipped titles. Once you have that experience you can then start working your way up the ladder to the dream job. It's very important to realise that nowadays very few people land their dream job right out of college; it can happen, but you can't count on it. Truth be told, there are as many routes into the industry as there are people in the industry; these are just two of the more common routes.
Ask yourself: are you in this for the dream job, or the career? If you're in it for the career, you can afford to be patient and not rely on luck.
One final tip: for heaven's sake, in your interview, do NOT lie or hugely embellish your experience; as interviewers it's our JOB to notice this. It's amazing how many people try to pull a fast one. Any guesses on how many of these people we ended up hiring?
-b
