Hello,

I realized recently that my dream is make video games. I've been playing video games since I was 5 or 6 years old. I'm now 27 and have 3 years of experience as a C#/.NET Developer. Video games is still pretty much ALL I do. I have heard that the main video game languages are C & C++. I've done a little bit of C - I made a script in Call of Duty to modify bot behavior (accuracy, mechanics, etc). But I haven't done C++ so I know that is different...

Anyway.. I am seriously thinking of moving out to California (maybe LA or San Fran) and getting started in this industry. I haven't made a full game before - I've only made maps, mods and scripts for multiplayer games (again, like Cod). What are your recommendations for starting out? I would like to network with some video game companies and such. I'm already networking with a lot of companies looking for .NET devs and have a pretty decent Linkedin presence. At this point I'd be happy with PC game, console or mobile game development. What would be the best of those three to start out on?

Also - would you recommend that I start out with a large video game company (like Konami or Activision) or a smaller one (mobile game startup)? I'm usually better with smaller firms, but I've never actually worked with a large firm, so I might actually prefer that more...

Any general tips would be great!

EDIT: One last question. SInce I don't have c++ experience, should I be expected for the employer to request that I go to school for c++ first, or during the beginning of employment? I really hope not, since I just finished off 9 years of college with an MS-IT

Thanks,

Paul

LA or SF are expensive places to live. Most reasonable size studios will pay your relocation costs if they hire you, so I wouldn't move until you actually have a job. This isn't like Hollywood, you don't move out there and hope you get discovered (that usually ends badly anyway).

You should find companies with open positions that fit your interests and apply for them.

A reasonable employer should expect that, as an accomplished programmer, you can pick up C++ reasonably well on-the-job. You can expect to be put in a position that requires C#, or one that requires basic C++ where you will be mentored.

LA or SF are expensive places to live. Most reasonable size studios will pay your relocation costs if they hire you, so I wouldn't move until you actually have a job. This isn't like Hollywood, you don't move out there and hope you get discovered (that usually ends badly anyway).

You should find companies with open positions that fit your interests and apply for them.

A reasonable employer should expect that, as an accomplished programmer, you can pick up C++ reasonably well on-the-job. You can expect to be put in a position that requires C#, or one that requires basic C++ where you will be mentored.

Josh,

Awesome advice. Thank you. Yeah I was figuring I'd have to wait until they offer me a position. At my level of experience should I expect an internship, a junior/associate or normal developer position? Those areas are expensive but the salaries are usually higher too... hopefully 50k+ with my exp?

You should absolutely not consider an internship. There's nothing all that special about game development; programming is programming. There's some domain-specific stuff you'll want to learn or pick up on the job, but a good programmer is a good programmer regardless of the industry, for most part.

So you should take an actual full-time programming position. Salary-wise, you should take a look at the cost-of-living in the area you'd plan on moving to if you take the job and use that as the basis for what you should expect.

$50k is almost unlivable in San Francisco. You are either going to have a bunch of roommates if you want to live in the city (personally, I was done with that after college) or have a good hour commute one way because you have to live so far outside the city. Glassdoor can give you a rough estimate of salaries in the area for the kinds of companies you want to work for. The Bay pretty much has the entire gamut of game studios so you should be able to find something that suits you.

Making games isn't some magical fantasy job just for a select few. It's a programming job not much unlike your current job. Granted the subject matter can be much more interesting but at the end of the day it is still figuring out solutions to problems and coding that solution. And liking to play games isn't the same as liking to make games. Working on games all day can quickly kill your desire to play games. There was a time I probably spent 20-30 hours a week playing games now it's maybe five because I feel like I need to do other things with my free time.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from making games if that is really want you want to do. But you should actually make a complete game from start to finish and then see if this is something you really want to do. Modding games is quite a bit different then making them.

I've been playing video games since I was 5 or 6 years old. I'm now 27 and have 3 years of experience as a C#/.NET Developer. Video games is still pretty much ALL I do.

Playing games is radically different from making games.

One is enjoying the final entertainment product, like watching a movie or being a customer at a theme park.

The other is creating the entertainment product, implementing all the hard ideas, doing all the hard work most people don't know about.

While many people find the process of making games enjoyable, it is still hard work, and absolutely nothing like playing a game.

I just finished off 9 years of college with an MS-IT ... I haven't done C++ 3 years of experience as a C#/.NET Developer.

The typical degree is a Computer Science degree.

I have no idea what an "MS-IT" degree is about, many IT people are most experienced at running software install scripts, configuring email clients and servers, creating and locking/unlocking user accounts, and running AD trees.

A CS degree covers algorithms and data structures related to programming, trade-offs you can make between time and space, ways to manipulate data between a single processor on a single machine and getting it out to multiple machines or multiple processors, compiler theory (note that many game tools are data compilers), computer theory (knowing the difference between what can be done quickly, what is hard, and what is impossible, and how to take processes in the latter two and make a slight change to make it into the first group).

While many AAA games rely on an engine built in a subset of C++, they are only a tiny sliver of the industry. Unity uses C# for its scripting language, and there are jobs for that. Many tools are written in C# because it can be leveraged for quick development.

Those who interview you will likely be asking many questions about computer science and about the programming languages they want to hire you for.

LA or SF ... the salaries are usually higher too... hopefully 50k+ with my exp?

If you ask them for that wage, they'll likely give them to you. :-)

Go back and do your homework for wages on the area before you commit to any salary range. If they ask you what you need, tell them you haven't finished studying out the cost of living in that city yet.

$50K in those cities is about enough to support a single adult, not much more. It is also extremely low for software developers. I've known many recent graduates who were over $60K in that area with zero work experience at an entry level job.

Ask for $50K, or $55K and the recruiter will try to maintain their poker face, and politely say they will double-check to see if they can give you that wage, but they think they can do it. It is a high risk that you'll leave when you discover a better job, but a brazen HR person might even try to negotiate down from that low value.

@stupid_programmer, @frob:

Thanks for your advice. I think the consensus is that I definitely should make my own complete game first before diving into industry. I will probably use the XNA Framework unless anyone else has a better suggestion. Looks like I might have to do some research on comp/sci too! Thanks again.

I think the consensus is that I definitely should make my own complete game first before diving into industry.

Build your own complete games first if you want, but it is not strictly necessary. It does provide some evidence that shows you have interest and can do the job, and it gives you something to do when not hunting for a job, but don't think of it as a magic ticket into the industry.

Few entry level people who are hired have complete games under their belt, and some people with complete games are not quickly hired at that level.

@stupid_programmer, @frob:

Thanks for your advice. I think the consensus is that I definitely should make my own complete game first before diving into industry. I will probably use the XNA Framework unless anyone else has a better suggestion. Looks like I might have to do some research on comp/sci too! Thanks again.

XNA is, if I recall correctly, completely unsupported at this point.

You would be much better off learning and using Unity, if you want to develop in a managed language.

@stupid_programmer, @frob:

Thanks for your advice. I think the consensus is that I definitely should make my own complete game first before diving into industry. I will probably use the XNA Framework unless anyone else has a better suggestion. Looks like I might have to do some research on comp/sci too! Thanks again.

XNA is, if I recall correctly, completely unsupported at this point.

You would be much better off learning and using Unity, if you want to develop in a managed language.

MonoGame would be another option if you want to use C# and go a little lower level. But Unity is used more and more in the industry whereas finding a job that uses MonoGame is fairly slim.