Advice on how to work on a videogames studio

A year ago I finished high school and I've spent the last year as a "sabbatical year" in order to know what do I want to do with my life. I've taken a couple of part-time jobs, I traveled, I've been with my family and friends, but mostly I've been playing videogames. Thing is, this last thing is the one I enjoy the most. I know that working on a videogame is not the same as playing it, but I think this is what I want to do with my life: videogames. I want to learn how to develop them, I want to direct them, I want to soak up the industry. So, my question here is: what should I study? What should I do? Is there anything you think is indispensable in order to become a videogames developer? Is there something I should *have*, as a talent or attitud or something, that's gonna help me fulfilling my dream?

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Originally Posted by matteomir

So, my question here is: what should I study? What should I do? Is there anything you think is indispensable in order to become a videogames developer? Is there something I should *have*, as a talent or attitud or something, that's gonna help me fulfilling my dream?

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It depends on what you exactly want to do. Programming for development, testing and quality assurance; know how to think logically, then pick a system or engine (I am told Unity makes a good choice for beginners) and go from there. Modeling and drawing for art assets. Composing for soundtracks. Writing to build the world that your game takes place on, events and dialogue. And so on... all of them require talent to some degree, but that's a given when it comes to creative work.

For mobile games, don't forget psychology so that you can keep your customers as addicted to your shit as possible :)

There are a million gaming studios ranging from tiny to massive. I would suggest sending out a few impassioned emails to at least a dozen that have created games you truly enjoy. Don't just contact the big ones. Find smaller studios where someone is doing all of the things you mentioned above themself. Worst case, you get ignored; best case, you get to not only find out how someone turned their passion into their career-- but you may create a professional contact/mentor/reference in the industry.