Video Game Internships: Capitalizing on a Golden Opportunity
Photo: Vincent Ma
Many large game development companies offer video game internships for promising future developers. This can be a great way for students to try out different companies, learn what game development is really like, and get their foot in the door. Many of the larger game companies offer internship opportunities. A quick look at the web sites of the major console makers as well as the major publishers should turn up some opportunities for future interns to apply.
Later on I’ll be adding articles on how you can find, apply to, and increase your chances of getting one of these great internships. But first you need a reason to be excited about them! So in this post, I’m going to discuss the things a video game internship can do for you, and how you can take advantage of it once you get one.
An Extended Job Interview
If you want to work in the games industry, then your primary goal for the internship is to perform so well that the company just can’t let go of you — you want to receive a full time job offer. In this way, video game internships can be viewed as an extended job interview. Large companies cultivate these programs so that they can test drive potential game developers. There’s nothing like actually seeing how someone works to tell you whether or not they would be a good person to put on your payroll. Are they someone who works hard? Do they waste time all day checking email? Do they take initiative and add value to the game without being asked? These are questions that your manager and the company are looking to answer.
Many of the students I worked with during my presidency at University of Virginia’s Student Game Developers received game development internships, and we made sure they were aware that their performance was always under surveillance. Things didn’t look too good, because even though they had scored an internship at a large game company, the economy was down, and word was that hiring was on a freeze. Despite this, they worked hard and went the extra mile, and as a result, all of them received job offers at the end of their internships. Even though the companies were in a tough time, these students were too good to pass up!
Thus, because of this chance the large companies are giving you, you need to make sure that you put forth your best effort. This is your chance, your big break, to get into the games industry! Don’t blow it by slacking off now. Even more than your GPA, your classes, or your resume, if you’ve already gotten into one of these video game internships, then how well you work with and contribute to your team is paramount to whether or not they’ll end up hiring you. So work hard! Take initiative. Look for ways to go above and beyond your duties, and be aggressive in your contribution.
Taking Initiative
Initiative can be defined as adding value without being asked. If you are contributing to the team in ways that no one even thought to tell you, then you will be scoring huge points in the eyes of your future coworkers and superiors. This is vital in order to stand out.
To hit the ground running, talk to you manager and tell them that you want to do more. Do the tasks they give you, but try to go the extra mile. Did they ask you design the puzzle feature of the game? Try designing two kinds and seeing which one the lead designer likes best. Did they want you to implement a particular lighting tool? Do it, and then add some extra features. When you run out of work, make suggestions for other things you can do. Don’t be afraid to speak up and say, “I can do that!”
Next, when you’re given a task, always overestimate the time it will take, and then deliver early. Many students (myself included during my first internship) try to impress their managers by giving short estimates. If they think the task will take 5 days, they say it will take 4. This is actually the opposite of what you should do, because there is a chance that you might not pull it off, and then you’ll be seen as someone who can’t get the job done. In the workplace, estimates have a lot of trust put behind them, so it’s better to pad them and still meet them than to cut them short and then miss them.
If you did a great job and contributed to the team just as a normal full-time employee, then you will have a good shot at receiving a job offer at the conclusion of your internship. Or, at the very least, the company will be much more open to hiring you at a later date than they would any other unknown applicant!
No Offer? Go for the Consolation Prize.
Unfortunately, no every intern receives a job offer. Some are lazy slackers, but others just got in at the wrong moment. If this happens to you, don’t think of it as a waste. There are several good items that come from an internships that didn’t result in an offer.
First is the networking opportunities: you can still keep lots of doors open in the future via the people you met on your job. These coworkers, even though they may have only been with you for a few months, had a chance to really get to know you, to see how hard you work, and to know your passion for game development. These aren’t things that someone is likely to forget. Odds are that at the mention of your name they will remember how good of a worker you are for years after the internship. Thus, it’s important to leave your internship on a good note, and to be sure to keep in touch with former coworkers from an internship. This is as easy as writing a thank you card or an email when you leave, and then shooting them an email every once in a while after you leave the internship.
Second, you have some great experience to put on a resume. Don’t be shy, write it up! Talk about all the great things you did! And if your company was famous, then you have a fantastic stamp on your resume saying, “I’m a game developer”. Getting your first gig in the games industry is the hardest part; now you have a launchpad to go on to your next big thing.
Comments
3 Responses to “Video Game Internships: Capitalizing on a Golden Opportunity”Leave a comment, and if you'd like your own picture to show up next to your comments, go get a gravatar!
This is swell, and all, but what I want to know is how
can I actually get a chance as an Intern working with
a Video Game Company, without having to necessarily go
to University? I am just finishing some Coursework, but
I am looking to take a good period out to get all of
the necessary experience I want to become a Video Game
Designer. I have already completed a HNC ICT, & HND
ICT Course in College, and am starting to realise that
University is just not for me.
Is there a way to gain this experience after completing
two years of an ICT Course at College?
Hi Lightning, thanks for your question. Unfortunately, most companies are going to require that game developers they hire have a college degree from a major university, especially for Artists, Engineers, or Designers, the three major disciplines. If you are dead set on being a game designer, I would strongly consider pursuing a four year college.
However, if that’s not possible, then there is always the possibility of getting into the industry as a development tester, working hard and eventually moving up to a producer level. Jobs like that are usually available to people who live nearby game development companies, such as in the same city. Essentially you just want to try to get a job in the building doing something, and then you can work hard and go from there.
Best of luck!
I see. I do not mind starting as a Games Tester, as I
have been playing Videogames for over a decade, & would
prefer starting there as I need a chance at getting
more experience to even get into this field anyway.
Since I love Videogames, I will not have much trouble
working as hard as possible to get to the position I
want.
I will try, & complete the second Semester, then
decide whether I want to advance to the third Semester.
Thanks Brice for the advice!