Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
suggests, “showing an understanding of games, and story execution in them, can give
you a leg up on others.�
1.6 Staying In
Once you break in with your first job, that's not the end of your personal skill devel-
opment and keeping an eye out for future positions. If you're having problems with
building up more material for your portfolio, Seamster and Posey both recommend
volunteering to help showcase your writing skills.
If you're full-time but looking to move to a different company or get more at-
tention, Serviss notes, “Noticeably reaching out and doing twice the work in your
current job as well as handling writing duties will get you noticed. Once you've
made your ability to write known, smart studios will realize the asset they have and
will work to keep you happy doing what you can do best.�
If you're freelancing, you certainly have to look ahead. “Keep offering your skill
up. Talk openly about your ambitions as a writer and ask advice from others in the
company about how you can crack that nut,� advises Forbeck. “Publish your work.
Start a blog or LiveJournal. Link to other writers and get them to link back to you,�
adds Fiegel.
Above all, just keep writing.
1.7 Breaking-In Stories
Ben Serviss, Saber Interactive
When I first decided to break in to the game industry, I started small, leveraging the
skills I already had as a writer for a small-time game site. I wrote features, previews
and reviews for months, getting paid little to nothing—but the real experience came
in covering events. Through this job I was able to cover GDC, E3, and countless
small-scale game nights and press gigs. All this exposure to the professional side of
the industry was great experience and gave me plenty of opportunities to start net-
working and making contacts. Shortly afterwards I joined the New Jersey chapter
of the IGDA, where again I offered my skills to help out with events, writing meet-
ing reports, and generally making myself useful. This gave me even more industry
connections to like-minded people, and I soon found myself as the lead writer at a
small indie startup. I stayed busy, continuing to write articles for various game news
outlets and even doing some consulting work on a 'serious' military game. Eventu-
ally, I was approached by an established game studio and signed on as an Associate
Producer/Designer. While the duties of the job are highly varied, my skills as a writer
consistently come in handy.
Matt Forbeck, Freelancer
I started out in tabletop games, which is still what I'm best known for, and I write
novels, too. I've won a lot of awards for it and even served as president of a fairly
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