Getting a Job at a RPG Company (Looking for recommendations)
Finarvyn:
I have a regular job but have been published and have my name on a few RPG materials. The thought of designing games for a living has crossed my mind, but I don't think that many folks actually make enough money doing this to quit their regular job so I haven't really tried to make a career out of it. Yet.
A couple of thoughts come to mind.
1. Self-publish. Write stuff and get it played by people. Don't worry about making money on it, worry about getting people interested. Free PDF products and/or POD are a great way to get started. Once you build a name, you become more valuable.
2. Participate in playtests. When you playtest someone else's product, and if you provide detailed feedback, you get your name "out there" where companies might be interested in what you can offer. I've playtested rules systems and modules and have gotten "inside" looks at products well before they have been published, but most of this stuff is non-paid.
3. Participate in gaming boards. Like this one. Offer ideas and comments and let people get to know who you are. Be polite and helpful. Remember that your goal is to be noticed in a good way.
Like most things in this world, you have to "do your time" before you get noticed. Remember that you want to have value to someone so that they will want your services, and it's not just about desire.
Elizabeth:
Hi Escova!
I wanted pretty much the same thing you wanted, seven or eight years ago. I eventually got my current, awesome job making games full time at a company I love while having the freedom to do my own design stuff in my spare time. I did this by self-publishing games.
I made a blog post a while back about how to "break in" to the game development industry that more than a few people have found useful— perhaps you will too.
http://elizabethsampat.com/sex-lies-and-game-development/
Devon Oratz:
If you're asking how to get employed as an EMPLOYEE, I have no idea and I wish I did. Most publishers are too small to hire many employees, except for WotC; for them you'll need a lot of cache, and they'll probably fire you any way. On Christmas.
Mostly, they prefer to use freelancers, for tax purposes. If you want to be a FREELANCER, like me, that's definitely more within your reach.
Quote from: Finarvyn on March 03, 2012, 01:52:02 PM
A couple of thoughts come to mind.
1. Self-publish. Write stuff and get it played by people. Don't worry about making money on it, worry about getting people interested. Free PDF products and/or POD are a great way to get started. Once you build a name, you become more valuable.
2. Participate in playtests. When you playtest someone else's product, and if you provide detailed feedback, you get your name "out there" where companies might be interested in what you can offer. I've playtested rules systems and modules and have gotten "inside" looks at products well before they have been published, but most of this stuff is non-paid.
3. Participate in gaming boards. Like this one. Offer ideas and comments and let people get to know who you are. Be polite and helpful. Remember that your goal is to be noticed in a good way.
Like most things in this world, you have to "do your time" before you get noticed. Remember that you want to have value to someone so that they will want your services, and it's not just about desire.
In fact, I managed to get a job as a freelancer for Shadowrun without doing any of these things! Although from my experience the third one, especially, can't hurt!
Seriously though, I think there's one step that's most important and that for some reason people are the most hesitant to take. Here goes.
1. Ask
Okay, what I did is I wrote up a whole proposal on spec (for a full campaign book, which I spent years playtesting) and then submitted it, meticulously following their on-site submission guidelines, with the full understanding they'd probably reject it out of hand, and sent it in to them. I made it clear that I didn't just want to write this for them; it was my life's dream to write ANYTHING for Shadowrun, anything at all. They rejected it out of hand, like I expected, but the line developer was impressed enough by my writing to offer me a spot in the freelancer pool. The rest, I guess, is history?
Seriously, though, the hardest part, the part I struggled the most with, was just getting up the guts to ACTUALLY ASK TO WORK FOR THEM. So that is the part I recommend the most strongly. You won't know if you don't try.
Finarvyn:
Quote from: Elizabeth on March 27, 2012, 11:03:46 AM
I made a blog post a while back about how to "break in" to the game development industry that more than a few people have found useful— perhaps you will too.
http://elizabethsampat.com/sex-lies-and-game-development/
Nice blog post, Elizabeth. I have several female gamers in my group. While none of them have expressed interest in game design, they all love to play and seem frustrated that so many games are aimed at the males of the world. I adjust my GM style in the hopes that I offer the kinds of adventures they want to play, but it's nice to see more women in the design part of the process. :-)
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