Find out from an industry veteran exactly what you need to do to become a game designer, tester, artist, producer, programmer, writer, soundtrack composer, videographer, or sales/marketing professional. You’ll get full-spectrum coverage of positions available within the game industry as well as details on how a game is created--from start to finish--and much more.

"Ernest Adams has been around the gaming block many times; his industry insights coupled with the developer war stories should give any aspirant that extra edge to break into the game industry." --Jason Della Rocca, Program Director, International Game Developers Association

Practical Advice for Landing the Job You Want!

Join the fun! Learn how to become part of the excitement and creativity of game development--one of the hottest and most profitable industries today. Author, game designer, and producer Ernest Adams takes you inside the game industry, then delivers an action plan for you to break in--even without any game industry experience. Get great career advice and learn the different jobs that are available. Whether you’re a curious gamer, a student, or a career changer seeking immediate help, this handy guide provides the information and insider advice you need to land a job in the game industry.

• Learn how a game is built and published
• Understand and acquire the skills you need to get into the industry
• Discover the inner workings of the game business
• Get your foot in the door as a game tester or with other entry-level jobs
• Exercise your creativity as a game designer, artist, producer, or programmer
• Get the right education for the job you want
• Gain insightful advice from more than 20 industry professionals
• Includes hundreds of useful resources for job seekers

Find out from an industry veteran exactly what you need to do to become a game designer, tester, artist, producer, programmer, writer, soundtrack composer, videographer, or sales/marketing professional. You’ll get full-spectrum coverage of positions available within the game industry as well as details on how a game is created--from start to finish--and much more.

A Solid Book

This is the third book I’ve read regarding breaking into the industry. I am a Career Advisor for Westwood College and am always looking for resources to share with my students. Ernest definitely knows what he is talking about and has numerous good ideas for anyone who wants to work in the game industry. The book can be a little dry at times, but the positives inside out weigh that negative aspect.

Must Have for Everyone Interested in Game Design

This book is a perfect edition for anyone who wants to know how a game industry works, inside and out. Between talking about game design docs in depth, going through each job and what you need for it, and the indexes in the back that give you links to get you on your way, I reccommend it to everyone who wants to be in the business.

excellent resource - slightly misleading title

This book is an excellent resource for those looking to learn about the business of making video games. Ernest Adams succeeds in becoming your trusted mentor. By the time you have finished reading this you will feel as if you can just drop by his cubicle and fire off a bunch of new questions and listen to some more war stories. The title is a bit misleading as the actual "how-to-get-a-job-in-the-industry" content is withheld until near the end. When finally delivered it seems a bit thin. Get the book anyway because the war stories, inside info, and comprehensive overviews of the numerous roles within the industry make it completely worthwhile.

For true neophytes, primary, high schoolers, college applicants. Not experienced hobbyists or graduates

My quick review of Break Into the Game Industry - How to get a job making video games by Ernest Adams.

This book is a very light read and aimed specifically at real neophytes who enjoy games and are giving a passing thought at doing something in games for a living without much knowledge of the industry. If you’ve grown up with the industry and are doing the indie or trying to break in thing, this isn’t for you. Book can be pretty much read in one night, and for a lot of people there’s a lot you can skim.

However, I would recommend this book VERY STRONGLY as a purchase for high school or even primary school children researching this as a possible career path. It pretty much covers a lot of things you need to get started *early*. Don’t wait till you hit "working age" to start like I did. It’s the only book out there that really targets kids and not working professionals trying to get in. It spends an entire chapter (and more) on how you should plan your education, what to look for, courses that will help etc. This stuff is good stuff, not the usual BS from "How to choose a college" guides.

There is also a very good summary of publishing contracts in there, that might be unfamiliar territory for a lot of people. Even though it wasn’t new to me, I’m still photocopying it for something I can refer to if anything as a very good summary reference (I borrowed the book ).

Some of the best stuff is at the end in the appendices. There are huge lists of game companies and schools for anybody that is looking to apply at either. Book mentions that they are available at gamasutra as well but it doesn’t hurt to have a hard copy. There is also the IGDA curriculum framework in there too, something which I wish my current school would have spent more time taking to heart instead of just looking at buzzwords.

Bottom line is, this is still a loaner for the most part. If you’ve been highly specialised in one area, this book can help catch you up from a more generalist perspective. There are some great war stories in there as well, but I can’t recommend buying the book just for them. For anyone at primary school level, or looking at college this book should merit serious consideration as a purchase.

If only I had this book when I was starting out

Video Game design is a highly demanding, tireless, thankless, competative, ruthless, cuthroat profession, whose sucess stories wade in the sea of design hopefuls crushed by the neverending relentless expectations of this occupation. For those still interested, keep reading.
If you think you are ready to give this a shot, then buy this book. While nothing will prepare you for video game design like your first week of work, ( so called " Hell Week" in the industry) Adams begins to lay the foundation for the tough road ahead. If only this book had been around before, for instance when I was a gopher over at EA Sports in the early 1990’s, the heyday of NHL hockey and FIFA Soccer, the so called glory days when maverick designers created their own rules, coded at the seat of their pants and got paid the big bucks. I saw it all, saw the craziness, saw the mayhem, and then saw it get even worse. I would have been better off with this book, and so would anyone.

In the past decade, things have changed. Its a travesty that there has been a "brain drain" from the video game design sector in the past couple of years. We need the best and the brightest to design the future placaters of the masses. Now they are no longer interested in the field because of the crazy hacks that have taken over, rescinded the protocol and the bucked the accountability. Buy this book now.

NOT what i thought it would be....

I am an experienced computer professional, who decided to change professions, which also makes me a recent graduate of a 3D animation school(i graduated at the top of my class). I purchased this book based on mary-margaret.com’s(supposedly one of the best game recruiters) recomendation AND based on the other reviews listed for this book. I really thought this book would be informative. I was WRONG. This book was a huge WASTE of money. And I am not sure that the other reviews listed for this book are even from REAL buyers... I definately do not share their opinion.

This book was basically a waste of money, because it only gives you general information that most people already know. For example on page 189 the section "How to find a Job" starts. The first paragraph is a "its not what you know, its WHO you know." section. How is that supposed to help recent graduates or professionals changing professions?

In short, this book is NOT for professionals or graduates. It might be useful to high school students, who need might need to learn how to focus their career goals towards an game career... but even then i am not sure how it would help when they get to the position of actually trying to get the job.

TOTALLY DISSATISFIED, and WISH I could get my money back! This was a highway robbery at its best.

Great book

There a lot of books on breaking into the game industry so why would you buy this one? Hell, the overall gist is the same where ever you look - online, books, here, etc. 1) Build a folio, 2) Take any entry level job you can in the industry and be prepared to work your way up 3) if you can, try to meet people in the industry already.

If you want more indepth information than that however, this book is for you.

Why?
1) Everything is clearly broken down into sections very cleanly. Nice index and appendix makes it easy to reference.
2) Covers every possible angle - whether you’re young, a college graduate or already working in another industry and deals with your strengths and weaknesses
3) Well written and substantiated by interviews with industry professionals (from game designers to game industry job recruiters)

No words are wasted in this. Every word holds some meaning. I was suprised at the breakdown on minority groups, different ethnic groups and gender issues in the gaming industry. I felt this chapter alone (whilst not necessarily relevant to me) increased it’s target audience substantially by tackling a lot of issues that not a lot of authors have considered.

A lot of other books out there are a collection of interviews with various game developer professionals and often their answers are disjointed and do not answer the question directly, if at all. This does not make these books any "less" valuable, only a little bit harder to find the information you might be looking for.

If you want a nice, clean, crisp and concise book on breaking into the game industry, this is the book for you. My only gripe about this book was that I felt it was rather short (largely personal perception, I understand that). That said, it did cover everything you could possibly think of (short of building your own game company, but that’s a topic for another book I think) so do bear that in mind, hence my rating.

A Must Read for Aspiring Game Developers!

I found this book to be INCREDIBLY helpful! Ernest Adams has done a spectacular job of breaking down all the important aspects of the game industry. If you are thinking about getting a job in game development, this book will clarify your questions and give you a great head start. The reading is light, but comprehensive, and it is organized in a easy-to-follow setup. The information given in just the appendices alone is worth getting this book. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would!

Informative AND interesting. An easy read

On a scale of 1-10 this is easily a 10. Most books without a plot (that are just meant for information) are boring and hard to read. I was afraid that this book would be the same, but it proved me wrong. The book is very informative and at the same time very interesting. As an aspiring game designer I kept looking all over the web for information to answer my questions. This book had it all.