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couldnt resist : MSN majoring in videogames.

Joao Sapiro
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Joao Sapiro sublime tool
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/elearning/?article=majoringinvideogames

snatched this from cgtalk in general discussion , i thought you guys would be enterteined by the read.

EDIT : oh yah , some quotes :

"There are two types of testers at a publisher: functional testers and certification testers,"

"So what's a typical day in the life of a gaming professional? Ask Adam Noce, 24, who graduated with a four-year degree from the Art Center College of Design. He now works as a game tester for Buena Vista Games and as a freelance game-design consultant."

"colleges face the challenge of keeping pace by creating new programs of study for those eager to break into the competitive industry."

"Tom Sloper, a game development consultant and president of Sloperama Productions, has seen both sides of the equation: from the days when simple game concepts such as Pong or Asteroids were in vogue, to the rapid development of massive video game projects (think Zelda, Resident Evil, or even the extremely detailed Madden football series)"
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  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    "It's possible to get a job without a degree, but it's that much harder because you have to build a portfolio and a body of work that will get you hired."

    OH NOES!
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  • Xenobond
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    Xenobond polycounter lvl 18
    Uhh.... Since when was being a game tester turning out a salary of $50k/year?
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  • Toomas
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    Toomas polycounter lvl 18
    "There are two types of testers at a publisher: functional testers and certification testers,"

    actually that might be true to some degree, i think by certification testers s/he means the people working for console companies who test the game to see if it meets the requierments set by console manufacturer.
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  • Jarrod1937
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    Jarrod1937 polycounter lvl 15
    yes, i actually contacted msn about the misinformation in the article when they first showed it... looks like they didn't take my advice.
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  • Mark Dygert
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    Mark Dygert mod
    [ QUOTE ]
    "It's possible to get a job without a degree, but it's that much harder because you have to build a portfolio and a body of work that will get you hired."

    OH NOES!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I hate to break it to them but you have to do that regardless...
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  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    I guess the theory is you build a portfolio via the process of doing your degree, which is directed by pros to help you produce the material you need. thats how the *theory goes. The truth is probably closer to 'directed by semi-pros who dont care that much about what happens to you when you get booted out the door;
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  • rawkstar
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    rawkstar polycounter lvl 19
    So where's the misinformation in the article? I don't think that article is bad at all, its a hell of alot more accurate than your typical "oh i'm gonna write something about games, ok a buddy of mine was talking about it and i overheard something let me put that in there" type shit.

    they said typical entry level job will get u about 50k (entry level doesn't necessarily mean tester), from what i hear in California thats typically true, and its about half that here in Texas lol smile.gif
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  • MikeF
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    MikeF polycounter lvl 19
    i'm attending an art school now, and there really is zer0 time to work on your portfolio, so just because i'l have a degree in a year or so doesnt mean i have an upper hand on everyone else in terms of content. More than likely i'm going to ditch every bit of work i've done in my program, thats not the kind of stuff that should be going into a formal presentation of your abilities.
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  • Paul Jaquays
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    Paul Jaquays polycounter lvl 18
    "Entry level" in the game industry is misleading. In a sense, there are few "entry level" game developers. The skills needed to make games (not test them) are rarely even properly taught at the upper levels of university coursework, let alone to folks attending community colleges or technical schools. I had to explain that at length to folks trying to set up an "entry level" course major at a local community college for an ambiguously defined position called a "game technologist".

    There are schools that can teach game development and have a track record of success moving students into the game industry in development positions (as opposed to QA or certification testers).
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