Cover -- Contents -- Question 1 Why Are You Doing This? What's this Book About, and Why Are You Writing It? -- Question 2 How Should I Choose a School? -- Question 3 What Percentage of My School Work Will Help Me Get a Job? -- Question 4 Lots of Stuff I Learn in School Seems Like It Has Nothing to Do with Actually Making Games for a Living. What Classes Did You Take that Were the Most Useful on the Job? -- Question 5 How Much Weight Do Studios Put on GPAs? -- Question 6 How Much Weight Do Studios Put on the Major or College Attended? -- Question 7 Why Should I Care About Video Game History? -- Question 8 Is a Graduate Degree (Such as an MFA or Ph.D.) Useful for Getting a Job in the Game Industry? -- Question 9 I Want to be a Programmer in the Game Industry. People Are Suggesting I Shouldn't Bother with More Complex Languages like C or C++ and Focus Instead on Languages Like ActionScript (Flash). Is that a Valid Path? -- Question 10 Is Getting an Undergraduate Degree a Waste of Time if I Want a Job in the Game Industry? -- Question 11 Is It Important to Play Games as a Student? -- Question 12 If You Could Add Something to a Student with Great Vision, What Would It Be? -- Question 13 I Want to be a Game Designer. Do I Need to Learn Programming or Computer Science? -- Question 14 Is It Better to be a Specialist or Generalist, in the Short Term or Long Term? -- Question 15 Is There Another Way to Get Up to Speed on Game Development, Other than Making Games? -- Question 16 What's the Best Subject to Make a Game About? -- Question 17 Where Do You Get Your Ideas? -- Question 18 How Do I Get My Games to Be More Fun and Not Just Tasks? -- Question 19 How Do I Make Contacts in the Game Industry? -- Question 20 It Costs How Much to Go to GDC? How Will I Ever Afford That?.

Question 21 Should I Get My Own Business Cards? What Should Be on Them? What Do I Do with Them? -- Question 22 When Should I Start Networking? -- Question 23 How Do I Get Game Developers' Business Cards? -- Question 24 When Should I Follow Up After Getting Someone's Business Card? -- Question 25 Is There Anything I Shouldn't Do When Following Up? -- Question 26 Should I Ask Developers to Review My Portfolio? -- Question 27 I Heard that a Lot of People in the Game Industry Use Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, and So on). Why? -- Question 28 What Else Shouldn't I Do When Communicating with Developers? -- Question 29 If I Change My Last Name (such as for Marriage) in Mid-Career, Does that Affect My Career by Messing with the Credits of Previously Shipped Games? -- Question 30 What Should the Front Page of My Portfolio Look Like? -- Question 31 As an Artist, What Are Some General Portfolio Guidelines I Need to Follow? -- Question 32 What Do Character Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 33 What Do Environment Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 34 What Do Modelers Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 35 What Do Texture Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 36 What Do Concept Artists Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 37 What Do Game Designers Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 38 What Do Game Writers Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 39 What Do Level Designers Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 40 What Do Programmers Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 41 What Should a Producer/Project Manager (or Someone Aspiring to Be One) Have in Their Portfolio? -- Question 42 What Do Sound Designers Need to Show in Their Portfolios? -- Question 43 Are There People Who Don't Need Portfolios?.

Question 44 How Many Images/Games Should I Have in My Portfolio? -- Question 45 When Should I Start Working on My Portfolio? -- Question 46 Have You Seen Any Stupid Portfolio Tricks? -- Question 47 How Do I Get My Work Out There So Someone Can See It? -- Question 48 Wait, Doesn't Everyone Say that It's Impossible to Be Hired as a Game Designer or Game Writer Straight Out of College, or as Your First Job in the Industry? -- Question 49 How Much Help Will Reading About Game Development Be in Obtaining a Job in the Game Industry? -- Question 50 How Much Experience Should I Have Before I Start Looking for a Job as a Game Designer? -- Question 51 I Talked to a Woman and She Was Really Excited Because She Heard I Was a [Insert Desired Position Here]. She Wanted to Talk with Me and See My Portfolio. That's Great, Right? -- Question 52 What's the Best Approach for Getting an Internship? -- Question 53 Where Should I Look for Jobs? -- Question 54 Should I Just Show Up Unannounced at a Game Company? -- Question 55 Does the Current State of the Economy Have an Effect on Game Development or Hiring? -- Question 56 How Do I Write a Good Cover Letter that Connects with HR and Developers? -- Question 57 How Do I Write a Good Résumé that Connects with HR and Developers? -- Question 58 They're Giving Me an Art/Design/Programming Test. What Is It and Why Are They Doing This? -- Question 59 The Design/Programming/Art Test Asks Me to Come Up with Some Game/Code/Art Ideas. I Don't Want Them to Steal My Ideas! What Should I Do? -- Question 60 Should I Try to Take a Coding Test Before I Am Solid in the Language? -- Question 61 How Early Should I Show Up for an Interview? -- Question 62 How Should I Dress for an Interview? -- Question 63 What Happens in an Interview? How Do I Handle It?.

Question 64 They Just Offered Me a Salary! How Do I Know if It's Good? Should I Negotiate? -- Question 65 Do Interviewees Ever Say Dumb Things? -- Question 66 Do People Still Expect Me to Follow Up After an Interview? -- Question 67 What Should I Do Before I Accept a Job Offer? -- Question 68 They Want Me to Sign a Non-Compete. What's That? -- Question 69 They Want Me to Sign an NDA. What's That? -- Question 70 How Do I Find a Place to Live if I'm Hired in a New City? -- Question 71 Is There Such a Thing as Taking a New Job Too Early? -- Question 72 How Will I Feel My First Day on the Job? -- Question 73 Once I Have a Job, Any Key Pointers? -- Question 74 What Do Entry-Level Employees Typically Do in Their First Few Months? -- Question 75 If I Enter in the Middle of a Project, What's the Best Way to Get Up to Speed? -- Question 76 If I Join a Game Company, Will They Make My Game Idea? -- Question 77 How Is Performance Measured for Raises, Bonuses, and Promotions? -- Question 78 What Is It Like to Work on a Big Licensed Title? -- Question 79 What Is It Like to Work at a Small Studio on a Series of Small Projects? -- Question 80 What Is the Scariest Thing About Being a Game Designer? -- Question 81 What's the Worst Thing You've Seen in a Game Development Meeting? -- Question 82 Will I Really Work 70 Hours a Week? -- Question 83 What Should I Do if I Hate My Job? (Or: How to Exit a Company Gracefully) -- Question 84 What Should I Do if I Hate Someone I Work With? -- Question 85 What Should I Do if I Disagree with Someone? -- Question 86 What Is the "Game Industry"? -- Question 87 Is There a Way to Get a Feel for the Industry Before Even Getting There? -- Question 88 Is the Game Industry a Good Place to Meet Someone to Date? -- Question 89 What Does a Game Developer Do? -- Question 90 What Does a Lead Do?.

Question 91 Who Is the Most Evil Person on a Game Development Team? -- Question 92 Have You Seen Someone Make It in the Industry with a Physical or Mental Disability? -- Question 93 How Much Money Will I Make Working in the Game Industry? -- Question 94 Do Small Studios Typically Have Health, Dental, and Savings Plans? -- Question 95 Which Programming Language Is Used the Most? -- Question 96 What Is It Like to Be a Woman in the Game Industry? -- Question 97 What Is It Like to Be a Minority in the Game Industry? Is Diversity Important? -- Question 98 What Is It Like Working as an LGBT in the Game Industry? -- Question 99 I Want to Send My Idea to a Game Company. How Do I Do This? -- Question 100 Is There Such a Thing as a Stupid Question? -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z.