[MUD-Dev] JOB: How to get into Game Design / Game content

[Taylor]

I've been a professional web developer for coming up on seven years
now.  I've become frustrated with the web industry as of late and have
begun to look into gaming, especially the online games. I originally
came into the web business from a theater background because I saw a
potential in the web for storytelling and digital performance. It now
seems to me that much of what I wanted to see out of the web in
general is happening in online gaming, and I'm trying to figure out
how to switch my career over.

I've worked at a number of high profile sites, and have worked the
gambit of internet jobs from HTML production, to animation, to
programmer, to UI design. I have good programming skills (mainly
javascript and flash actionscript, though I'm competent with many
server side scripting languages as well), and good writing and
presentation skills (I've written many articles and tutorials that
have been published, and I'm a regular speaker at web conventions).

I've also been trying to do my homework as to what I need to know
about game design. I've been lurking on this list for a while, reading
through the online information (thank you Raph), I've read a few books
on game design, and worked on a game design document with some
friends. I also attended this year's GDC and went to most of the
online gaming sessions (I was the big bald orange guy).

What skills and experience should I be trying to rapidly acquire to
get hired in the gaming industry? I think that my biggest barrier is
no gaming experience. Ultimately I'd like to get a job as a game
designer or as part of the content team for a MMORPG. I'm also
interested in working on the web site for a game, especially one that
is integrating the web site into the game.

Any advice on how to get my foot in the door? Are there any skills
that I should be trying to get a crash course in? Any advice for a
wannabe game creator?

Thanks.

--
Taylor                                 log: http://www.captaincursor.com/
taylor at taylor.org

"Everyone deserves to drive an automobile - even the very tall."








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