I can only speak for myself on this. I don't have a game development job at the moment (postgrad student right now) but once I was a programmer at a games company for a short while.

Firstly, I'd have to point out that there's a huge amount of variety in working conditions throughout the game industry. Someone working at a huge publisher will have a different experience from that working at a small developer house, which will be different from a solo indie. So the mileage in working conditions and enjoyment will also vary widely. So the experience I had working in games might be a lot different from most other people's - I'm not sure. However I'll assume you are aiming for a programming position at a smallish game development house, like I was.

Secondly, although you probably realise this, playing games and making games are completely different things, although enjoying playing games is regarded as one of the prerequisites to being a good developer. Even playtesting games is a different thing - playtesting usually isn't nearly as fun. In fact, since I helped out with the in-house alpha testing on PC games a lot back when I was a programmer, I switched to playing on consoles for that period and several months after I left due to being burn-out playing on the PC.

Thirdly, don't forget game development is a job (you probably realise this too!). It might have some great upsides, such as working with artists (loved that!) and some interesting programming problems to solve (loved that too!), but it is a job, with all the stresses and responsibilities involved.

And as a job, game development typically has lower pay and longer hours than nearly any other comparable job. While I had a lot of fun working the first few months, once we started hitting crunch time, dealing with crazy demands from the publisher, working consecutive 80+-hour work weeks and never seeing the sun - that can really sap the enjoyment out of a job.

It quickly got to the point where I realised that for the sake of both my physical and mental health I couldn't work like that. Now I'm working towards other jobs that have many of positives of game development without quite as many unhealthy negatives (presently aiming for academic).

Of course, now I'm here making games for fun as a hobby, and dreaming of possibly going fully down the indie path, so I admit I too am still considering once again whether game development is the ideal career path for me. However I wouldn't want you to have too rosy a view of what commercial game development is like. As Spoonbender wrote, most of those people who stick in the industry for several years must really love it, but the burnout rate is very high.

And if you really, really, really like making games, then obviously being a game developer is right for you!

Best of luck!

Quote:Original post by Trapper Zoid
I can only speak for myself on this. I don't have a game development job at the moment (postgrad student right now) but once I was a programmer at a games company for a short while.

Firstly, I'd have to point out that there's a huge amount of variety in working conditions throughout the game industry. Someone working at a huge publisher will have a different experience from that working at a small developer house, which will be different from a solo indie. So the mileage in working conditions and enjoyment will also vary widely. So the experience I had working in games might be a lot different from most other people's - I'm not sure. However I'll assume you are aiming for a programming position at a smallish game development house, like I was.

Secondly, although you probably realise this, playing games and making games are completely different things, although enjoying playing games is regarded as one of the prerequisites to being a good developer. Even playtesting games is a different thing - playtesting usually isn't nearly as fun. In fact, since I helped out with the in-house alpha testing on PC games a lot back when I was a programmer, I switched to playing on consoles for that period and several months after I left due to being burn-out playing on the PC.

Thirdly, don't forget game development is a job (you probably realise this too!). It might have some great upsides, such as working with artists (loved that!) and some interesting programming problems to solve (loved that too!), but it is a job, with all the stresses and responsibilities involved.

And as a job, game development typically has lower pay and longer hours than nearly any other comparable job. While I had a lot of fun working the first few months, once we started hitting crunch time, dealing with crazy demands from the publisher, working consecutive 80+-hour work weeks and never seeing the sun - that can really sap the enjoyment out of a job.

It quickly got to the point where I realised that for the sake of both my physical and mental health I couldn't work like that. Now I'm working towards other jobs that have many of positives of game development without quite as many unhealthy negatives (presently aiming for academic).

Of course, now I'm here making games for fun as a hobby, and dreaming of possibly going fully down the indie path, so I admit I too am still considering once again whether game development is the ideal career path for me. However I wouldn't want you to have too rosy a view of what commercial game development is like. As Spoonbender wrote, most of those people who stick in the industry for several years must really love it, but the burnout rate is very high.

And if you really, really, really like making games, then obviously being a game developer is right for you!

Best of luck!

What an honest answer to the question. This is just what I was looking for. I am not sure if I could handle 80 hour work weeks but, it's not constantly like that. I love brining work I really enjoy home to keep working on. There have been programs I have created for my work where I constantly worked on them at work and outside of work for a period of a month or more. The time just flew by for me. Once you get that new section of code working great and seeing it in action. Things really start to come together and I get further modivated and few things will stop me. I completly understand that making video games is diffrent then playing them. This woudln't bother me if I really find it enjoyable. Heck maybe I can beat this video game addiction out of me which would be great. :)

If things don't work out I will of course leave with a wealth of knowlege that could be translated into almost any other pgoramming field I wish. So if things don't work out not all is lost. I still have the potential of having a great programming skill set that could be used to create applications.

Quote:Original post by Murtasma
What an honest answer to the question. This is just what I was looking for. I am not sure if I could handle 80 hour work weeks but, it's not constantly like that.

No, but could you cope with 4 such weeks in a row? What about 12? I've had friends do that many, and more. It's why I'm not in the industry.

Quote:Original post by Telastyn
Perhaps the more appropriate question would be if SysAdmins enjoy what they do... Personally, I always enjoyed the work, and every one of my peers enjoyed the work. Some do, some don't, just like pretty much every other profession.

It sounds like you might be bothered more by the environment rather than the job description. Throwing out the job description over environment issues might be a little premature and/or overzealous.

Game specific training is also not really necissary. UMich has a good CS program, and should be pretty close to you; I'd look into that before throwing your life in the blender over some dreams and the recommendation of anonymous forum members.

Having workers who don't seem to enjoy the work is just one reason why I want to get out. I've been doing this for 6 years and it has only gotten more boring with time. I don't see it getting better I have worked at other places and they have all been very similar for me at least.

Quote:Original post by Kylotan

Quote:Original post by Murtasma
What an honest answer to the question. This is just what I was looking for. I am not sure if I could handle 80 hour work weeks but, it's not constantly like that.

No, but could you cope with 4 such weeks in a row? What about 12? I've had friends do that many, and more. It's why I'm not in the industry.

I honestly can't for sure because I haven't done something like that. But, when I am doing something I enjoy I feel like I could do it forever. The only way to find out is to try.

I would recommend getting a standard 4 year degree from an accredited school. That way, if you find that the life is not for you (80 hours can be considered a short week during crunch - it's not constantly like that, but it can be for months at a time) you have a very good fall back plan.

Quote:Original post by Telastyn
Perhaps the more appropriate question would be if SysAdmins enjoy what they do... Personally, I always enjoyed the work, and every one of my peers enjoyed the work. Some do, some don't, just like pretty much every other profession.

It sounds like you might be bothered more by the environment rather than the job description. Throwing out the job description over environment issues might be a little premature and/or overzealous.

Game specific training is also not really necissary. UMich has a good CS program, and should be pretty close to you; I'd look into that before throwing your life in the blender over some dreams and the recommendation of anonymous forum members.

I'm actually Wolverine majoring in CS and I second that. The CS program here is very good with knowledgeable professors, but its also tough. I spoke to an advisor taht told me he thinks the CS (really what we call EECS) is one of the most demanding programs in the University.