Additional Information
In the world of video games, education counts. But sometimes it's not a
typical college or university degree that employers are looking for.
"The best education is to have played lots and lots of games," says Rick
Marazzani. He is the founder and general manager of a video game company.
"Someone who knows their games in and out is going to do better in our space
than someone who doesn't.
"The best education is to have played lots of games from lots of platforms,
from way back then to now. Having a PhD in Nintendo is probably more valuable
than having a PhD in history to get a job in our business," he laughs.
Cary Brisebois, senior programmer at a video game company, recommends going
to school and getting a formal education.
"As much as possible," he says. "I went to university and got a degree
in computer science, but you can also get a diploma from one of the technical
colleges. I recommend all young students who want to get into programming
games go to university and get the best and broadest education they can. In
my experience, it takes a lot of creativity and analytical thinking to excel
in this field, so the more education you can get to teach you to think, the
better."
Some universities and colleges offer courses in video game development.
It doesn't hurt to have some technical computer programming education.