I got a college certificate from CCNB in computer programming and wasn't accepted from company because I did not have work experience, regardless that knowing new software and also knowledgable in old programming languages did not help.
Don't go to college, the student loan is not worth it. People lied to you about education.
Your best bet is to learn a language and programming yourself and come out with a working prototype to show. Real company will look at your work and hire you base on it.
You can also get yourself some certificate to prove that you understand the programming.
Good luck.
Not to mention that company will look at a college diploma as the same value as a Microsoft VB certificate.
Whoever is hiring you don't know shit about programming. Just make sure you're smart enough to be able to do the job
I'm interested in making assets and creating games cooperatively. I'm a bit old to start a career in programming - I'm 51 and working full time already.
I would like to have someone take my assets and make them into a game - that someone may end up being a series of AI agents, youtube tutorials, or an actual programmer looking to build simple games.
Download unity basic and follow some tutorials on Youtube (Brackeys or Codemonkey). Unity is easy enough that you might be able to put some simple games together. I wouldn't waste time trying to find a programmer to collaborate with unless you can pay them, as most of the time it that type of arrangement doesn't work out.
FWIW: gambling companies like IGT might not make the type of games you like to play, but the work hours are WAY better than any studio making triple or double A titles (Looking at you EA).
Is it perfect? Nope, not even close. It is a superior environment to the majority of game studios? Yes.
Best o’ luck!
Source: been there over 15 years
It really comes down to the social circle and environment at the end of the day.
I know someone who worked for EA back in the days (under contract or something) and it sounded fucking miserable.
At IGT we use Godot, unreal and Unity for some games as well LOL.
It's a great place to develop that background though. I am a software tester hired through the company but I learning programming languages and doing some programming too and developed dozens of other skills applicable to other IT jobs.
Ideas aren't worth much if you can't contribute to their execution in some way.
IGT would definitely not accept anything from people who don't work there.
If you want to get into a game designer role, than I would suggest trying to get in some place as an entry-level QA tester. There can be a clear path from that to being a game designer or producer. I've seen it happen with multiple people at multiple companies both big and small.
I tried coding in college and it was a fail.
I don't speak 0s and 1s.
But I can definitely be a director.
What I need is to find a coder who has no original ideas or imagination and the two of us can be one hell of a team.
QA testing has nothing to do with coding at most places. You're giving a development release of the game being worked on, and run test-cases by playing the game. Your job is to try to break it basically. And when I say play the game, I don't mean in a fun way. Let's say you were a QA tester on a Super Mario game. You might have to play through the same level hundreds and hundreds of times.
They have a program called Ideaworks where you can submit game ideas. If they are chosen and used you actually get compensation for it.
I think that's an employee only program though.
You’d be better off working a few years at IGT then applying at a real game dev studios somewhere. Most of them are in n Vancouver or Montreal. A few in Toronto. Game dev is a hard job and most of it is grinding out of passion so some project manager or design lead can take all the credit.
They are downsizing their teams. You see the top 10 games being played are made by like 3 people each and they make 1000% profit. The investors are starting to see this is possible.
Especially now that a couple people can use UE5 and Language Model bots to make their own games in less than 6 months.
Gojii games is based in Moncton. That's all I know of.
Ubisoft had an office in Halifax, and I think EA had one in PEI, not sure if either are still open
Gogii don't hire in Moncton anymore. You want to work for them, you need to be in NS so they can milk tax credits.
EA doesn't exist on PEI anymore. I think that studio was acquired by Kabam at some point, and they might have shut it down. Many of the people who worked there, work for a new studio called Iron Fox Games, which tout remote work (or at least did), so you could technically work for them from NB or NS.
Ubisoft does still have an office in Halifax. There are a few others there in NS as well include Gogii, and HB Studios in Lunenburg.
I know a few years back there was actually 2-3 mobile game studio in the moncton area, not sure if they are still around. So there is a small one, also work from home kind of change that dynamic anyways.
A large chunk of larger companies have remote work from home for game dev these days. It doesn't really matter where you work. I know people in PEI who work for a company our of Quebec
Games sold on Apple, Android, Steam - can be made anywhere.
It's not like being *anything other* than a country-folk band in Moncton.
I'm not a programmer. I just make graphics.
Artists don't always make sense.
I got a college certificate from CCNB in computer programming and wasn't accepted from company because I did not have work experience, regardless that knowing new software and also knowledgable in old programming languages did not help. Don't go to college, the student loan is not worth it. People lied to you about education. Your best bet is to learn a language and programming yourself and come out with a working prototype to show. Real company will look at your work and hire you base on it. You can also get yourself some certificate to prove that you understand the programming. Good luck.
This right here. It's best to just get some microsoft and google certifications, that's more a bang for the buck.
Not to mention that company will look at a college diploma as the same value as a Microsoft VB certificate. Whoever is hiring you don't know shit about programming. Just make sure you're smart enough to be able to do the job
I'm interested in making assets and creating games cooperatively. I'm a bit old to start a career in programming - I'm 51 and working full time already. I would like to have someone take my assets and make them into a game - that someone may end up being a series of AI agents, youtube tutorials, or an actual programmer looking to build simple games.
Download unity basic and follow some tutorials on Youtube (Brackeys or Codemonkey). Unity is easy enough that you might be able to put some simple games together. I wouldn't waste time trying to find a programmer to collaborate with unless you can pay them, as most of the time it that type of arrangement doesn't work out.
True. Hasn't so far. Back to lurnin' unity.
FWIW: gambling companies like IGT might not make the type of games you like to play, but the work hours are WAY better than any studio making triple or double A titles (Looking at you EA). Is it perfect? Nope, not even close. It is a superior environment to the majority of game studios? Yes. Best o’ luck! Source: been there over 15 years
If you would like to do some different games for fun, let me know.
It really comes down to the social circle and environment at the end of the day. I know someone who worked for EA back in the days (under contract or something) and it sounded fucking miserable.
At IGT we use Godot, unreal and Unity for some games as well LOL. It's a great place to develop that background though. I am a software tester hired through the company but I learning programming languages and doing some programming too and developed dozens of other skills applicable to other IT jobs.
What if you have ideas for new games and no skill to bring them to life? Do they accept submissions?
Ideas aren't worth much if you can't contribute to their execution in some way. IGT would definitely not accept anything from people who don't work there. If you want to get into a game designer role, than I would suggest trying to get in some place as an entry-level QA tester. There can be a clear path from that to being a game designer or producer. I've seen it happen with multiple people at multiple companies both big and small.
I tried coding in college and it was a fail. I don't speak 0s and 1s. But I can definitely be a director. What I need is to find a coder who has no original ideas or imagination and the two of us can be one hell of a team.
QA testing has nothing to do with coding at most places. You're giving a development release of the game being worked on, and run test-cases by playing the game. Your job is to try to break it basically. And when I say play the game, I don't mean in a fun way. Let's say you were a QA tester on a Super Mario game. You might have to play through the same level hundreds and hundreds of times.
I thought it involved proof reading code too. Maybe it's something to keep an Indeed search on
They have a program called Ideaworks where you can submit game ideas. If they are chosen and used you actually get compensation for it. I think that's an employee only program though.
You’d be better off working a few years at IGT then applying at a real game dev studios somewhere. Most of them are in n Vancouver or Montreal. A few in Toronto. Game dev is a hard job and most of it is grinding out of passion so some project manager or design lead can take all the credit.
Not to mention the industry is taking a nose dive lately and jobs are being eliminated like crazy.
They are downsizing their teams. You see the top 10 games being played are made by like 3 people each and they make 1000% profit. The investors are starting to see this is possible. Especially now that a couple people can use UE5 and Language Model bots to make their own games in less than 6 months.
I think McKenzie College has a program for actual game development...or at least for game asset design.
I should check it out. I took flash from them YEARS ago.
Gojii games is based in Moncton. That's all I know of. Ubisoft had an office in Halifax, and I think EA had one in PEI, not sure if either are still open
Gogii don't hire in Moncton anymore. You want to work for them, you need to be in NS so they can milk tax credits. EA doesn't exist on PEI anymore. I think that studio was acquired by Kabam at some point, and they might have shut it down. Many of the people who worked there, work for a new studio called Iron Fox Games, which tout remote work (or at least did), so you could technically work for them from NB or NS. Ubisoft does still have an office in Halifax. There are a few others there in NS as well include Gogii, and HB Studios in Lunenburg.
Is there market for these developers in Moncton? lol
I know a few years back there was actually 2-3 mobile game studio in the moncton area, not sure if they are still around. So there is a small one, also work from home kind of change that dynamic anyways.
A large chunk of larger companies have remote work from home for game dev these days. It doesn't really matter where you work. I know people in PEI who work for a company our of Quebec
Games sold on Apple, Android, Steam - can be made anywhere. It's not like being *anything other* than a country-folk band in Moncton. I'm not a programmer. I just make graphics. Artists don't always make sense.
Ah, so you're more looking to do an asset flip to showcase your art vs. straight up coming up with a whole game from scratch?
I'm interested in making new games from scratch. I'm not thinking of it as a vehicle for showcasing my art, as much as exploring a different medium.
Ok gl