Power Up! Breaking Into The Gaming Industry

As a choice of a creative career, being a games writer is one that might not cross many people's minds, but it is a veritable business venture. You only have to see the success of games like Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed to see that the gaming world is booming, and is one of the more profitable ventures in modern business. In fact, it's something that a lot of people choose to enter into because of the sheer scope for creativity. So here are a few hints and tips for those that are either thinking about entering into the games industry, or are thinking about starting their own gaming business.

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The nature of the work is widely dependent on where you go to start your career. There are plenty of games organizations in the more computer-centric areas of the world, which generally mean that they are in the major cities like London or Los Angeles or New York. Starting out in this career means you need a background in either computer software or have extensive writing knowledge, which doesn't mean you necessarily have to have been a published author, but it does help, as there are many skills that lend themselves to the gaming universe. For example, the LitRPG contributor James G. Patton works as a developer during the day while writing in the night, and you tend to find that the industry boasts people from a wide cross-section of creative types.

For those that are keen on starting a video games business, apart from the typical pillars of setting up a small company and trying to nudge your way into the market, it's all about assembling the right team. This will usually consist of a couple of programmers, a few graphics artists, as well as the person with the business know-how. Bear in mind the industry is incredibly competitive, so unless you have the next Grand Theft Auto, you could find it's an uphill struggle. However, this does mean that you can cut your teeth by trying out smaller ideas on platforms such as apps which are a simpler launchpad for a more complex game. The amount of work that goes into a modern game purely from the writing alone is as detailed as writing a motion picture as technology is expanding, and there are more ways to interact with a game.

It's important to remember that when you are creating the worlds of these games that the research involved is surprisingly in-depth. You only have to lightly scour any nearby gaming magazine to get an idea of how complex these worlds really are and that every subtle nuance will be pored over and analyzed. The work of a games creator, whether a games designer, writer or animator, the key aspect is being open to collaboration, and if you enter this industry from a writer's background, it's very surprising to see how many people have an impact on the final product. It's not just you and a typewriter! So many creatives are flocking to the games industry because it is an outlet for the skills which they are unable to earn money from in other industries such as playwriting. But be aware of the competitive nature of the industry.