Questions about the game industry
vertex
Hello,
I am 23 years old and live in Canada near Toronto. I have been thinking of pursing a career as an Environment Artist for games (through self teaching) and as well as working on 3D art for film/television shows. While I do want to pursue this field I do feel quite a bit of hesitance on my part due to the nature of this industry. After reading the article about Ageism by David Mullich (https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidMullich/20140822/223945/No_Consoles_For_Old_Men_Ageism_In_The_Game_Industry.php) I worry that by reaching my 50s I will not be able to secure any work within the industry due to my age. Do any of you have any insight on this?
How good is the game industry in Canada? I know that Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are CGhubs with a lot of studios but, I wonder if it is possible for me to stay in one city for long periods of time without having to relocate or is that very unlikely?
Thank your for your responses.
I am 23 years old and live in Canada near Toronto. I have been thinking of pursing a career as an Environment Artist for games (through self teaching) and as well as working on 3D art for film/television shows. While I do want to pursue this field I do feel quite a bit of hesitance on my part due to the nature of this industry. After reading the article about Ageism by David Mullich (https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidMullich/20140822/223945/No_Consoles_For_Old_Men_Ageism_In_The_Game_Industry.php) I worry that by reaching my 50s I will not be able to secure any work within the industry due to my age. Do any of you have any insight on this?
How good is the game industry in Canada? I know that Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are CGhubs with a lot of studios but, I wonder if it is possible for me to stay in one city for long periods of time without having to relocate or is that very unlikely?
Thank your for your responses.
Replies
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Game_Industry
They seem to be the inverse of the West, where they try and keep senior talent.
Only thing you have to look out for is a language and culture barrier.
I don't know how the game dev scene is like in Toronto, but I will say, try and be open to moving if you have to. It's an odd feeling at first, and a bubble that might be hard to break, but once you take that leap, especially if it's for a job that's worth it, give it a shot. Working remotely can be a possibility if the studios you apply for offer it. There's also many avenues that bridge in between games/film.
Maybe look into Secret Location (it's their company name). I know they work on film and media, but are also working on a VR game. I think that's something other media/vfx studios are doing. The film/vfx company I use to work at, Legend 3D, has been doing that more, and they have a branch or office in Toronto, I believe.
As far as age, I really don't know myself how that's like, as the years go by. I do like meeting artists that's worked or been in games years back, not even 2007 back, more like 1997, where so much has changed since then. It does make me wonder too, if the route eventually leads to being a Lead or more on the Managerial side, working in a different field or related to games, or teaching, I don't know.
and yeah, i don't think moving to Asia would be a good thing or at the very least something that I am capable of doing when I get to that age.
Have any of you guy worked with anyone (Environment artist or something along the lines) in the industry who was 50 and older?
http://polycount.com/search?adv=&search=ageism&title=&author=&cat=all&tags=&discussion_d=1&discussion_poll=1&comment_c=1&within=1+day&date=
@WMKHAN13 I can't think of any off the top of my head. I don't think I've worked with any 3D Artists that was 50 or older. Maybe a VFX Artist one time that was around that range, but I don't think I even asked.
To your question about the game industry in Canada,
Montreal and Vancouver have more AAA studios, Toronto has I think 3 AAA studios, but only 1 is large and influential enough to give you the stability you want at a significant price cut in the GTA.
To give you an idea of the competition there are 10 game dev schools in toronto that provide an average of 80 students each on the art side alone every year.
These programs have been operating for a number of years so there is a large deficit of students without work to begin with.
Add to that the fresh graduates, self learners, contract freelancers, seniors prepared to take a price cut and well its a pretty challenging industry.
For Toronto, there is the NXT showcase which you could try if you are currently enrolled.
Around 2-3 people on the art side officially get apprentices if they win.
Then there are others that get in through contacts etc.
Not to say portfolio doesn't matter, but there is such a massive pool of candidates that it is difficult to predict if your work will ever get picked up unless its shown to the right people by someone on the inside. And the mad competition within makes that a challenge as well.
You might consider getting in through QA (which is also competitive) and then moving into an art/animation position should the opportunity arise in the future.
The game developer age group is much younger in Toronto than the other two cities, so the pay and responsibilities are structured accordingly
(They could be higher due to the governments support and the overall profit markup of the industry but then this is a capitalist business so I guess it comes down to supply and demand and how much you value humanity.)
Also I personally find Toronto's game dev industry far more political than say Montreal or Vancouver. Or rather perhaps the politics in those other cities aren't as visible because there are more studios accommodating a smaller supply of game developers.
Its just the way the free market works I suppose especially when the government is involved.
The take away from all this is, make sure your art and what else you're passionate about gives you satisfaction. Don't base your happiness on getting a job and some semblance of stability because of how much your paid. Times change.
You may need to relocate, or you keep your head buried in the sand and god willing they don't lay you off.
Toronto's housing market is very expensive so I doubt a game dev salary is going to allow you to earn enough to lower the duration of your mortgage.
If you plan to settle in that capacity, prepare to pay those bills for the remainder of your working life.
I must point out however that the indie scene in Toronto is pretty strong and comparable to Montreal. There are funding opportunities available from CMF and OMDC if you feel ready to start your own studio.
In some ways I sometimes feel that that might be a better option if you have the skills to see it through.
Thank you Eric,
The info I am getting is mostly mixed with some saying that 35 is considered to be "old" in the industry and yet I have seen posts from other artists being in their 40s and are still working in this industry. I've also read that the number of older artists in the industry is practically 1% compared to all the others developers in the industry.
As well as many game developer on similar articles on ageism has stated that they do share worries themselves since they have reach 40 years old.
However, from these forums it seems to me that older artists move on to freelancing or other 3d industries (vfx, film/television animation, architecture visualization and so on). I'm thinking maybe freelance would be a better choice to go into rather than aiming for a studio.