Happy Birthday to...ME!

Yeah it's my birthday today. Hooray. Got a few clothes, lots of money, some dumbells for training and a sexy Nintendo DS! Yeah it's sexy! I'm 19 now! Hopefully the last two years will add some height to my body ^^



(Source: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=447)

(Anyone want to make me a real Portal cake? :)...)

Blog Update

Just to let you know I received Assassins Creed Directors Cut for the PC this morning. I will be writing a review and hopefully I will make the AMV I always wanted to make!

Stay Tuned!

*Edit* - Turns out I have to do a lot of work for a tight deadline so I don't have time to review AC just yet. It will come eventually!



Also after looking at my website statistics I noticed that a lot of people seem to come across my main site - 'habboi.co.uk'. Roughly 300 visited last week...

And it seems 22 visitors looked at my blog in the last two days and yet I haven't had a single comment :< It would make me a happy bunny to see at least one comment whether it is good or bad! ^^

Useful Games Industry Information Websites

Ah yes the Games Industry. I bet a lot of you want to work there! I do as well and hopefully someday we will all work there.

Back to the point perhaps you found this blog because you were looking for answers to your questions in regards to the industry...Well I think I'll point you in this direction:

Link

(Source: ChopperDave - www.interlopers.net - Date Used - 02 April 2008)

Thanks to ChopperDave and the other members a list of useful sites has been composed. You may at first be shocked by the large amount of links and personally I do suggest you read them all because you will get to know the industry a lot better and most likely your questions will be answered.

But the point of this blog post is not to link a huge list and tell the readers to get on with it...no...

I figured you might like to know what I think are at least the 'most useful' links...Enjoy:

First and foremost is the first link:

http://www.gamecareerguide.com/



I remember when I first joined. The site was a lot less flashy and the forums were very empty. In fact I think I was the 3rd member to join...Anyway this site is brilliant because it has so much information. It has a list of schools that teach different 'Game Design' courses and a news section with information such as professionals sharing their knowledge.

Sadly if you're like me and live in England then the list of schools doesn't apply to you. It's all American based and it makes sense since game companies in America hire kids as young as 17...Maybe even younger. What is also worth checking out is the Student Games section which lets you see the kinds of games students are making and perhaps the quality you need to reach in order to get hired. I'll tell you now the path to the Games Industry is not easy and you really need to reach the same quality as other new developers.

This site literally has everything you could ever need. But I find it best to look at other sites just for a mixed opinion. Seriously give this site a go. It even has a shop! Join the forums, read the threads made by new comers and learn!

The next site is: http://www.gamasutra.com/



First impressions? Quite crowded on the front page. If I were new to this I'd have a hard time navigating. Have they ever heard of paragraphing?

In my opinion this is the second most useful site. The reason is because it has a 'lot' of articles. It has so many that I am in fact using 3 to backup my decisions in my Games Design document coursework. Just like 'gamecareerguide' there is a news section which covers a lot of interesting topics such as game sales and rumours of new games. Oh and what's best is it also has a shop! (Think of all the game related t-shirts you could buy!)

For those looking for a job...You'll find the job section to be most useful. It has a 'job listings' page with offers from such companies as EA, Incinerator Studios, Midway, Pandemic, Activision and so on...

What strikes out as really useful is the 'resume' section. The nice folks at gamasutra decided to let designers upload their resumes which in turn get a better chance at being looked at by the big bosses. If you have a resume then get on there now and post!

In general there's so much information that it may result in your mind exploding so I suggest you go straight to the forums and check to see if others have asked questions that you may need answering. Research before asking people questions. You may find the same question is asked at least 3 times.

I suggest you give both gamecareerguide and gamasutra a look...they both have good points.

The next site is: http://www.gameindustrymap.com/



First of all I must tell you this is the first time I've stepped foot on this site. It's actually very simple to use and works exactly the same as Google Maps. My only complaint is that you can zoom in on your local area and you'll find a load of pins indicating where the game companies are and what games they created. The problem is there are so many pins close together that I sometimes forget the last one I clicked...That is why I love gamedevmap.com because it has a list of all the companies in your area with details on their games etc...I will say though that gameindustrymap has a larger list than gamedevmap (which seems to only have UK game companies.)

Overall why not give them both a look? It'll widen the list of available companies!

Next up is... http://www.wiredtalent.com/



Again this is another site I haven't seen before. It's very well made and is really only useful for those who are seeking a job. It does however have a few interesting articles which are worth looking into. Although most of the content is mentioned on the previous sites and in much more detail.

Now onto the next site... http://forums.mapcore.net/



Mapcore is one of my favourite game websites. A lot of talented individuals go there and share their work for feedback and it allows people like you and I to see the quality we should aim for. It has everything from people’s levels to prop models and a lot of games companies look around for talented people to hire...So get on there and post your work! Whether it is writing, drawings, 2D / 3D levels, models, code etc...

It's a really good place to receive feedback! A lot of people don't appreciate the power of feedback from say 10 people...Get your work out there! You will find you can improve anything...

The next site is different because it is not the site that is useful but the event that is advertises... http://www.gdconf.com/



Ignore this if you don't live in America or live outside America and can't go there yet due to not being old enough...

I myself haven't been but I hear that the Game Developers Conference is a must!..if you aim to work in the industry. They have so many seminars and presentations that it will blow your mind (or so I hear).

If you can then I do suggest visiting at least once in your lifetime...Heck buy a ticket for a friend and both fly to America! It'll be a blast! (Invite me!)

Now this next site is just IGN...They made a few interesting videos on how to get into the industry...Give them a look:

http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/articles/792/792352/vids_1.html

And that ends the review of what I think are the best sites in that list...Sure give the other sites a look! But most of them are just recruitment sites...

Hope this helped...It certainly will help me..I have lots of reading to do!

*All credit goes to ChopperDave, the members of Interlopers.net and the owners of the reviewed websites.*