Looking for a Job in the Video Game Industry

Out of all the industries where jobs are currently available, the video game industry one of the most desired for a lot of people. To be able to create games and bring them to life on a regular basis is a dream for a lot of people, and you don’t only need to know graphic design to get into this industry. This article will walk you through all of the possible jobs you could find in the video game industry if you’re considering entering into this world.

Game Designer

Average salary: $105,590

Typical responsibilities and benefits: Game designers are responsible for bringing the games to life. They design the characters, rules, stories, levels, each of the challenges, and use different programming languages to make it come to life. If the game is compatible with different platforms, they need to make sure they

Game Programmer

Average salary: $84,280

Typical responsibilities and benefits: The programmer mostly deals with the code that makes the game appear well on each system or computer you choose to use. They’re in charge of making sure all the controls and actions do what they’re supposed to do to make the game playable.

Graphic Designer

Average salary: $44,672

Typical responsibilities and benefits: Graphic designers don’t often work on the games, but they do work on the visual branding for the company. This helps the company get the word out about the game and create marketing materials for different departments to use. This can also include the game logos and covers as well. If you’re looking for a graphic designer job in San Francisco, there are a ton of options available.

Voice Actor

Average salary: Wide range, from a few hours of work to $90,000/year

Typical responsibilities and benefits: The voice actors are responsible for bringing the characters to life and giving them a voice. They are usually not around for the whole designing process but come in to read the script once it’s written (and sometimes have to come back if the script changes).  You can find a lot of voice actor’s credits on IMDB as well since most voice actors are in the acting guild and do various side projects.  Indie developers tend to have lower budgets and are more likely to hire amateur talent, so build up a portfolio and it isn’t a bad idea to do some freelance pro-bono work to get some establishment and credits out there too.

Video Game Composer

Average salary: $50,000

Typical responsibilities and benefits: Video game composers are responsible for bringing out the sounds, theme songs, and emotions that each scene needs to portray. This can include the big and the small scenes, but it’s essential to draw a player into the emotions of what’s happening.

Video Game Writer

Average salary: $68,564

Typical responsibilities and benefits: The video game writer creates the plot and writes the dialogue. Good writing helps draw in the player and makes the plot feel believable. They usually work with the team to create the vision that everyone wants to have for the game and how players will interact.

Not all of these jobs require school, but they do require you to work on some skills so you can bring some new work to the table. If you want to get into this industry, there are a ton of internships in almost every major city and some remote ones so you can start getting your foot in the door. Building a solid portfolio is one of the best ways you can start to get into almost any of those types of jobs.