How do people end up working in jobs like video game production for a company like Sony?
Many video game producers started with game testing. Mike Giam, senior producer, is one of those people. He is partly responsible for games like Twisted Metal and Jet Moto.
The job of a game tester is to test the game in every possible scenario you can think of. You just play a complete game from the inside out. This is not for everyone. You may not survive this job if you can’t play a game you hate for a month straight. If you can do that, then you are fully capable of doing this game tester job.
The other way to enter the gaming industry is through the customer service department of companies like Sony or EA Games.
Tim Bogenn, who works for Sony, just discovered his job by accident! He was using a temp agency because he was out of work and they asked him if he liked to play video games. Of course, this took him completely by surprise and he responded with an enthusiastic yes.
Tim then moved on to a phone interview being held for his future video game job. After going through that interview, Sony saw potential in Tim and they let him in and started training him. He ended up starting his job as a customer service representative.
As a customer service representative, all you do is answer phone calls from customers about PlayStation products, such as warranty questions or hardware issues. Basically, when people have a question, they dial the 800 number or the number on the product, and that would be you who would answer the phone if you had this job. So you would answer questions about PlayStation or whatever they called a person for.
As a Sony employee, Tim knows what it takes to break into the video game industry. He says the best and most common place for future employees to start is through customer service like him or through the game testing department. Both are seemingly low-paying jobs in the video game industry, but that’s how you get in. After which, he can move on to become a game designer, programmer, 3D animator, test manager, or whatever job he’s looking for in his company. So there is still hope for you if you want to make it big in video games.
