koam said:
I have a few questions relating to videogame dev jobs. I have all the qualifications needed to score a job in the field. In addition to that, I live in Montreal where Ubisoft, Ea, Gameloft and several other devs have dev studios.
My first question is, how much do they pay? I love videogames and I love making them (I've been a free lancer for years) so I'd love to enter the field. The problem is, I require a minimum of $45K a year (Canadian) in order to be able to pay off my mortgage. Now, last I checked, UBIsoft starting salaries where uber low, in the low $30K range. This was many years ago though and I don't know if they changed or not.
Second question, how bad is outsourcing? Where I work now, they're really into offshoring and nearshoring work for cheaper and due to our main client having financial problems and it looks like it will get even worse this year. I know that IBM in montreal and many other companies here are having major outsourcing deals going on and I've also heard about UBIsoft having a studio in China. Is it really bad or have gaming devs not been hit yet?
Lastly, how are the jobs in terms of enjoyment? I've heard the EA horror stories, especially relating to overtime compensation (and lack thereof) and I believe UBI is in a similar boat. I don't necesarly mind that if the jobs are fun, so how are they at least fun or are the deadlines and everything so frustrating that people get burned out easily?
Any help at all would be appreciated, thanks.
Long Time GAF lurker...First Time Poster.
I've been in Game Development for about 5 years now. The first year and a half in testing and the last 3.5 in production. I thought I'd give a shot at answering your questions. The other poster and the graphs give the statistics side so I thought I'd give the real world-side.
I'll admit though that the first thing I always try to do is actively discourage people I know from going into game development. Not because it's the worst job in the world or anything but it is truly one of those jobs that is uniquely suited to a certain personality type. I can really only speak intelligently for the production side of things. The make-up of an artist or an engineer is most often entirely differently from that of a production person (not always but more often so). You truly have to "love" the art of games as a production person or the eventual burnout and sacrifices you make will quickly drive you out of the industry.
As a designer I make about 55k a year. Where I live (CA) that isn't really much. That's without bonuses which can/will vary depending on where you work and which part of the country you work along with your experience. Engineers tend to make a bit more and can easily range into 6 figure territory. Management positions obviously start escalating from that point up. And obviously "rock-star" developers or those who have a track record for putting out top selling games make a great deal more.
On outsourcing, that's just really beginning to effect game development so it's a bit of unanswered question still as of now. I know projects where the art is outsourced. I know a lot of testing unfortunately nowadays is outsourced to other countries like India. As game development costs increase I can only speculate it will continue but I can honestly say right now it's not a big concern to me or to anyone I really know in the industry, although things change quickly nowadays I suppose.
As far as personal enjoyment, once again it's such a variable thing, that all I can suggest is you listen to what people who have done it have to say and come to your own conclusion. You talk to 10 different people in the industry and they will have 10 different takes on that subject. Yes you will work lots of hours...Yes working in the game industry tends to be harder on relationships than most other jobs I know of. And unless you are one of those developers who makes mega selling product, your compensation will tend to not equal people who sometimes have regular jobs where they work a hell of a lot less hours. I won't pretend that I sometimes dream of managing a drug store or something and working more or less regular hours and I know for a fact being payed often times much more than I make. Those are all sizeable negatives and which is why I tend to discourage people from going into it. You really have to love the hobby for the most part to put up with it. So it's a truism that if you life's ambition is to get rich there are far easier and more practical and realistic ways to do it than getting a job in the game industry. It's simple reality.
So why should you do it....Well when I'm not burned out and fried from the hours, or company politics, or just in a plain pissy mood, it's because doing one of your favorite things in life as your job is often good enough to overcome all that negative and actually make you want to get out of bed in the morning and head into work. I've had lots of jobs and this is the only one I can even come close to saying that about. That said I'm still prone to the occasional burnout episodes where I ask myself why the hell do I do this job.
Oh yeah, your stuff about EA and Ubisoft...Well all I can say is that there is mixed opinion on that even within the game development community. There is a natural trade-off that isn't distinct to just those companies. Basically the larger the company, the less input you have starting off and the less money you make. They balance this by "potentially" offering more compensation through bonuses because their titles sell more and somewhat more job security. Smaller companies often suprisingly offer a little better pay, with much more input but more of a workload and generally less help so you are responsible for more. The idea that only people at EA work a ton of hours in the game industry is a false one imo. They just are the largest and therefore the most visible company that has this practice.
Hope any of this was helpful for you and that it didn't come off too negative. I quite enjoy my job but I've seen too many people/friends enter the game industry bright eyed and bushy tailed and with unrealistic views to only leave it crushed and bitter....For what its worth these friend even when they get "regular" non-game industry jobs often eventually find their way back into the game industry or at least strongly try to....There is a strong addiction like quality to working in the industry that gets in your blood and is somewhat hard to break for those who really have it in them.
