3 Ways to get into the Gaming Industry

So lately I have been seeing articles about how it can be difficult to get into the gaming industry. While some of these articles have valid points, it's not as hard as it may seem. Now, before you get ahead of yourself and start applying to EA, some things need to be explained. Firstly, the term gaming industry is a loosely thrown around phrase. There are now many layers to the gaming industry all having their own importance. Of course the first, and obviously most important, layer is development. This consists of everybody who directly work on the game. This also includes art directors, artists, and people who work on the game in the concept phases. Second there are the testers who work and influence the game indirectly. Third there are editors who write about the games, giving other gamers news, previews and reviews about their favorite games.

This isn't every aspect of the gaming industry but these are the sought after positions for a gamer. Of course there are positions like publicists but this position is not always filled by a gamer. Here are 3 common ways that people get into the one of the aforementioned layers of the gaming industry.

1. Game Testing
Yes if you didn't guess this is probably the easiest way to get into the gaming industry. You don't need to look any further than this site to get started. As a tester you will be playing unreleased games for extensive amounts of time for a paycheck. Read more about it at the sign up sheet.

2. Make an indie game
This is a pretty difficult way to get into the gaming industry if you have no prior knowledge of game design. If, on the other hand, you have some training or a lot of free time on your hands to teach yourself. You can create a flash game or make your own game program. If you make your game viral and it gets popular as freeware or flash, then you can take steps to get funding and or start charging for your next game.

3. Make a website
If you love to play games and love to talk about games then you might love to write about games. If you create a web page (or blog) or act as an editor for someone else's web page then you can use this as your resume to move to a bigger website. Places like IGN, Gamespot, Cnet, Destructoid etc are always looking to hire someone regardless if you majored in English or writing in college. A lot of editors from the major websites even go on to developing for games. Either way it's a step in the right direction.

Although testing is most common way to get yourself out there. There are tons of different ways that were and were not discussed. If playing games is your dream start taking steps in the right direction.