You queue for every new console, bail on the pub in favour of beating a particularly tricky boss, and take a day off work whenever a new Mario game hits the shelves. You even have a GameCube. And a GameGear. And a Dreamcast. But what if playing games could be more than a hobby? What if it could pay the bills?
Playing computer games for a living is your dream job. But getting there needn’t be the stuff of nightmares. We’ve chinwagged with a games journalist, a top strategy guide writer, and a games tester, to get the real-life low down on what life’s really like, working at a joypad instead of a keyboard. Is your dream job is really as dreamy as it seems? Read on, and get the inside track.
Table of contents
We recommend you read through from the beginning, but if there’s a gaming career you’re particularly interested in, skip ahead with these links.
- Get in at the ground level
- You have to go all in
- Be a versatile writer
- The best and worst bits
- How much gameplay do you really get?
- What’s the earning power?
- Top tips
- Be prepared for a hard slog
- Fuel your ambitions with a day job
- You can do it anywhere
- The best and worst bits
- How much gameplay do you really get?
- What’s the earning power?
- Top tips
- Don’t be shy
- It might not be as competitive as you think
- You don’t need to be the most skilled gamer
- The best and worst bits
- How much gameplay do you really get?
- What’s the earning power?
- Top tips
The Strategy Guide Writer
David S J Hodgson is one of the most prolific strategy guide writers in the business, with nearly 100 published books to his name. He’s topped the Amazon charts, and can rattle out up to four strategy guides every year. He currently works as a consulting author for Prima games, and his most recent guide was the Fallout New Vegas Official Strategy Guide, which took a mammoth four and a half months to construct.
Fallout New Vegas though, was an exception says Hodgson. “The book was 550,000 words,” he says, “So I maybe did 10,000 man hours on that project.
“There are people who write game strategy guides for free, like GameFAQs, and the wikis, and that’s a collaboration of hundreds, sometimes thousands of people that happens in the months after the game comes out. What strategy writers deal with is a colossal amount of pressure: we’re writing a novel every two to four months, and it’s a novel that’s perhaps slightly less entertaining than a regular novel, because you’re writing an instruction guide to a place that doesn’t exist.”
Getting there
Get in at the ground level
“It’s the old janitor becomes the CEO story, only now it’s more like the tester becomes the slightly more senior tester” says Hodgson. In other words: make the tea until they let you write the picture captions.
You have to go all in
Hodgson estimates that there are only about 20 strategy game writers in existence. “There’s a colossal amount of burn out. It’s not about being laid off,” he says. “It’s because there’s a big difference between games journalism and strategy guide writing. You almost have to make it your calling, because if you don’t, you get second rate strategy guides, and you’re only as good as your last guide.”
Be a versatile writer
“Say there’s ten characters in a game and the developers have only written bios for seven of them,” says Hodgson. “That means you have to write three bios, which means you have to change your writing style to mimic their writing style. So if you’re writing about a super-mutant called Lily, you have to honour their writing style and match yours as closely as possible.”
Strategy Guide writing: The best and worst bits
Hodgson paints an often-gloomy picture of strategy guide writing. “Figure out the worst parts of being a tester, and the worst parts of being a writer, and combine them with the worst parts of a deadline. Bake that for a few years, read the Amazon.com reviews, and then lose the will to live,” he says.
“When you finally see the book in the store, there’s a feeling of euphoria, until you start reading the reviews.”
That might sound negative, but Hodgson loves his job, and says the thrill of getting a game and knowing you’re the first person to play it, never wears off. “If you’re a developer you only see your game for three years. If you’re a journalist, you see lots of different games, and you see them early, but you only see them for half an hour. I’m in the unique position in that I see a multitude of games, for a huge amount of time before they’re released, and that’s cool.
“If you want to become a strategy guide writer, the good news is you can be based pretty much anywhere. When I first started working for Prima, they were happy with me moving anywhere in the US, apart from Alaska. Just so long as I was a plane trip away from a development studio. I love it.”
Publishers time the release of strategy guides to coincide with game release dates. They’re supposed to go on sale on the same day as the game, capitalising on the majority of game sales which occur in the first couple of weeks. And here we arrive at one of the worst parts of a strategy guide writer’s existence: Because they work on the game as its being built, they’ll often be playing half-finished games. Choose this as your game-playing career path and you’ll have to deal with an ever changing game structure, and an ever changing save structure. Many times, you’ll have to start each game from scratch. How’s that déjà vu holding up?
How much gameplay do you really get?
Hodgson says that, progressively, strategy writers play less and less as a project goes on. For a four month project, the first month is 80-90% playing the game, but reduces the closer you get to a deadline.
“Overall it’s about 40-50% playing the game, 40-50% writing the guide, and then there’s the extra bits like taking the screenshots and doing the map,” says Hodgson, “although the map for a large RPG like Fallout: New Vegas takes a lot longer, because there are so many locations.”
What’s the earning power?
Want to get rich quick? Good luck. The wages paid to strategy guide writers vary wildly. Writing for websites such as GameFaqs.com will get you noticed, but won’t get you paid.
Get a job with a publisher though, and you could start seeing regular paycheques. “Currently, each three to four week project for a starting author, or someone with a couple of years experience, usually nets a few thousand dollars,” says Hodgson.
“Double that to 6000+ if you’ve had experience, and add more with further experience, then there could be additional monies if the project is a giant RPG that takes a longer amount of time.”
Hodgson says that once you rack up a decade of experience, you can command more again, but also notes: “You’re only as good as your last guide. Trust and competence are what guide publishers are looking for. Oh, and zero social life.”
Top tips
1) Take your favourite game and play it until you hate it
This is what Hodgson recommends you doing if you want to be a strategy guide writer. “That’s what you’re going to be doing for each strategy guide,” he explains, and if it sounds tough? Get used to it. “It’s the realistic side of it,” says Hodgson.
2) Think sharp, think logically
To be a strategy guide writer, you have to be “very analytical and logical” says Hodgson. “You can’t just say ‘Hey there’s enemies in here and you need to assault this room’, you have to cater for all the eventualities, and then strip away the eventualities that aren’t as important and focus on the optimal ones. That, times ten thousand, is what the Fallout guide is.”
If you fancy getting a tastes of what it’s like, Hodgson recommends taking Fallout, then looking at its 74 side quests. You’d have to write out all of those quests, and all the eventualities contained within them. That’s aside form the main quest, and then figure out and write down accurately where every single collectible is while undertaking them. Got a headache yet?
3) Be polite
If you’re lucky, you’ll get to talk to the developers a lot, asking for new builds and the like. However, the developers might not be so happy about hearing from you. “You’re going in at the worst possible time in their development schedule, and saying ‘Hi! I’d like to hassle you for about two to three months,’” says Hodgson. “And that’s the last thing they need. You have to be sensitive to their issues and work around them. It’s no good complaining about how much work you’ve got – they don’t care, and rightly so.”
4) Learn how to use debug systems
You do not need any sort of programming knowledge to be a strategy guide writer. What you do need is a knowledge of debug systems for consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. That includes command line prompts for debug menus, and you’ll also need to know how to ask for very specific information and game discs. Remember, you’ll be dealing with early builds of the game, so expect problems and expect them often.
5) Pay attention to detail, and be meticulous
You won’t make it as a strategy guide writer without intensive attention to detail. “You cant just pass something over because it isn’t very exciting to do. There’s a hard slog, if you’re writing 15 chapters and they all have to be done in a week, you have to get that done. You can’t go to the pub and drink beer, you have to go and write that.”
How detailed do you need to go? “You need to know what the rate of fire for an assault rifle is, but if there’s 20 different assault rifles, you need to know all of them. In Fallout New Vegas there’s well over 150 guns, and we had a statistics table which had the rate of fire, numbers in clip rounds, the spread of the shots, how wide they fire, the range of the weapons, and who drops these weapons.” In other words, you need to be a gaming Rainman.
6) Don’t panic!
“I still get a wave of fear when I start a game,” says Hodgson. “I get that and I’ve done almost 100 strategy guides, when you first get a game you don’t know how big the game is, and I don’t know if there’s five multiplayer levels or 50. I can guess, but you get paid a set amount of money either way.”
The Games Journalist
Damien McFerran is a freelance games journalist who writes for PocketGamer, Eurogamer, Retro Gamer, SFX and Electricpig, among others. he’s also editor in chief of NintendoLife, and has been writing about games for over a decade. We picked his brain on the skills you’ll need to become a games journalist.
Getting there
Be prepared for a hard slog
Most games journalists got where they are by writing for free, then getting a little paid freelance, and having that snowball into a full time career. It’s a slow process, and one which means you’ll have to work without pay, at least at first. Damien McFerren started this way, and built up a portfolio until he had enough quality work to get his foot in the door with freelance work.
“Although getting paid to play games is obviously up there with the notion of becoming an astronaut or a fireman when you’re 11 years old, actually getting to that point isn’t as straightforward as you might think. There’s a lot of hard slog involved, and if you’re not genuinely doing it for the love of the medium, then you’re likely to lose interest very quickly.”
Fuel your ambitions with a day job
McFerran still works a day job, and so works days and evenings and weekends. “I’d class myself as a freelance journalist first and foremost,” he says, “but I actually work full time in a completely unrelated job and my writing and gaming are done in the evenings and at weekends.”
You can do it anywhere
Thanks to the wonders of the net it’s easier than ever to do this kind of work from home – you can chat with editors over Skype or email, and it’s even possible to interview developers without having to set foot outside your door.
Games journalism: the best and worst bits
“I’ve always been a gamer, so getting involved with the industry I love is obviously the best thing about this job,” says McFerran. “You can never underestimate the appeal of working with something you’ve got a real interest in, and for me games are far more exciting than movies or music. Video gaming is a truly cutting-edge medium and I feel blessed to have lived through – and reported on – some of its most ground-breaking developments. And of course, getting free games is pretty great, too.
“They say that as soon as you’re paid to do something, it ceases to become ‘leisure time’ and instead turns into dull work. While I don’t entirely agree with that view, I have to admit that when you’re having to slog through a particularly terrible game in order to review it, the glamour of being a games journalist does fade a little. Also, staying up until past midnight in order to meet a strict deadline isn’t much fun – unless you consume endless cups of strong, black coffee, of course.”
How much gameplay do you really get?
McFerran reckons that when you’re reviewing it’s about 50/50, although that all depends on the game, and your word count. “Weekends is when I get to get some solid playing time in,” says McFerran, “although my working pattern changes all the time.”
What’s the earning power?
As a freelancer with a decent set of contacts and steady work, you can expect to earn at least £20k, and the harder you work the more you’ll earn, although payment can vary enormously between publications. Contrary to what you might expect, full-time staff writer positions in the games media industry tend to be lower paid than a freelance career, although they often come with more security, the luxury of paid holidays and lower overheads, since the company will pay for any equipment you need. That’s a blessing when a new PlayStation launches, complete with a beefy price tag.
Top tips
1) Be generous with your time
“There are literally thousands of people out there that are dying to become games journalists,” says McFerran. “While you might consider yourself to be talented, you’ve got to really shine to stand out amongst the crowd.”
2) Network
Once you’ve got your foot in the door, build a network of contacts that can supply you with regular work. McFerran says: “If you want stability then look for a full-time job with a website or magazine, but if you prefer to live a little more dangerously, then freelance work can potentially earn you more, because you have the freedom to write for a wide range of publications.”
3) Remember to enjoy it
Very few people are lucky enough to get paid to do something they enjoy. McFerran says that there are moments when he loses sight of this, but reminds himself of why he loves games and why he wanted to be involved in the industry in the first place.
“For me, I simply think back to the first games machine I truly loved: the Sega Mega Drive. I picture myself playing Golden Axe and Super Monaco GP on Christmas morning 1989, and it instantly reminds me of how much I love the medium.”
4) Be analytical
Next time you’re hammering away at a controller, try to think about why you’re playing it instead of just sitting back and soaking up the entertainment. “It helps to mentally pick out elements that you think work especially well,” says McFerran, “but also highlight sections that feel wrong or could do with some improvement.”
5) Don’t be a robot
“You have to make sure your reviews aren’t just an endless list of features,” says McFerran. “Games are all about feelings: pleasure, frustration, elation, sadness. The best games reviewers not only tell people whether a game is worth bothering with, they sum up how it makes you feel to play it. They translate their own experience into works, and this gives a much better impression of a game’s merits (and failings) than bullet-point lists.”
6) Open your eyes
You won’t always be reviewing this season’s epic RPG, and so you need to open your eyes to games beyond your own tastes. “Just because you don’t find the concept of raising virtual pets appealing doesn’t mean that Nintendogs is crap,” says McFerran. “You need to approach the game with a completely open mind. Although it’s hard to believe, there are still professional reviewers out there that give poor scores to games for no reason other than that they don’t like the genre, and that’s doing the reader a disservice.”
The Games Tester
Hayko Galstian has seen it all. He worked at SEGA, first as a regular games tester, working on games such as Medieval 2: Total War! before moving up the ladder quickly. All this before finishing university.
“I was a game tester then a senior tester,” he says. “I was on the route to be promoted to technical tester, and was there for a year and a couple of months. Within six months I was promoted to senior tester, where I was in charge of deciding what I needed to test.”
Getting there
Don’t be shy
Games testing seems to be the Holy Grail when it comes to playing games for a living. The steady pay cheque. The early access. The chance to influence a new title before it’s released. And Galstian says, on the whole, it’s pretty much true. “I always thought that there would be a high entry barrier, incorrectly as it seems. Thinking this stopped me from applying on a few occasions, because I thought I wouldn’t get picked.” Lesson one then? Apply! Now!
It might not be as competitive as you think
Along with the assumption that there’s a high entry barrier, there’s also the notion that there’s a lot of competition to get beyond the reception desk of a games company, on your way to becoming a tester. But according to Galstian, that’s also a misconception. “Companies give an impression that they’ve got this artificial barrier up,” says Galstian. “That you need loads of skills, and good writing abilities, but it’s not true – some games studios need testers really badly.”
You don’t need to be the most skilled gamer
While you need to be able to play games properly, and have the dedication to stick with a title all the way through, you don’t have to be the best player in the world. Galstian was surprised at the abilities of those inside SEGA’s inner sanctum when he first arrived. “Some people working there didn’t have that much skill, they just play games” he said. It’s fair to assume though, that you’ll need a burning enthusiasm for gaming.
Best and worst bits?
Without doubt, the best part of a game tester’s life is being invited to play great games before anyone else. There’s also satisfaction to be had in nailing bugs that would ruin the game upon release.
“Working on my first game, Medieval 2: Total War! was plenty of fun, because it was a good game, and we found some weird bugs” says Galstian. “For example, I found a bug where a medieval trebuchet would fire straight up to the sky with the shot landing a few minutes later on unsuspecting players.”
But would he recommend it to others looking for a job playing computer games? “Being a games tester is a good experience, but games companies often try to sell it as something it is not,” warns Galstian. “It is not playing games all day for fun, it is a proper job. However, having played games to death you will learn which factors make them enjoyable to play, and what makes you want to throw the controller. Give it a go, especially the night shift, it was really something!”
How much gameplay do you really get?
A games tester’s job is to ensure a game behaves exactly as its designers and developers intended. They’re the last line of defence, and need to be thorough. Galstian explains this sometimes means spending time checking boring details: “Most of it is playing games, but not in the sense that you [the average gamer] play games. If there’s a maze, we have to go through the maze to make sure you can’t fall through, touching all the walls, or driving a [racing game] course backwards checking for crashes.” All this, says Galstian, is simply “to make sure it’s all actually working properly.”
Games testers are given a checklist to make sure that every character has the right weapon and armour too, and that those characters interact correctly with every other character in the title. You’ll do this for every aspect of the game. If you’re bored by the minutiae of game design, this isn’t the job for you.
What’s the earning power?
Payment for games testers isn’t fantastic, and the shifts can also be awkward, although you’ll earn more for working unsociable hours. “I started work on the night shift,” says Galstian. “Four days a week from 10:30PM to 7:30AM at £7 per hour. That was about three years ago. When I got promoted to senior tester it rose to £8.50 an hour during the day.”
After this, Galstian says that wages can plateau, unless you can make the leap up to a language tester, translating and checking foreign text for different versions of a game.
Technical testers can also earn more. Their job entails checking details like game load times from an enormous document sent by the developers. Technical testing is more of a reliable career path, because you can work between games or studios. “Once you know it like the back of your hand those skills are transferable and you can take them to other game studios,” says Galstian. “One of my friends worked for SEGA first, and now he works for Rockstar Games.”
Top tips
1) Qualifications don’t matter
“Even if you think you won’t get picked, you should still apply… qualifications aren’t really set in stone, and the people working [as testers] are a really diverse group.”
2) You don’t need to know gaming history
While Galstian worked at SEGA he saw some people shown the door after it became clear they had no gaming experience at all. While you need some experience, you don’t need a comprehensive knowledge. “You don’t need to know the history of games but you should be able to play games,” he says. “Thinking ‘Oh I’ve played the Sims for a few hours’ does not constitute a good gamer”.
3) Be patient
“You definitely need patience, sometimes it actually won’t be fun. You’ll have to play the same level over and over again with the same character to check it doesn’t break – if you don’t [have patience] you’ll throw the controller at the wall and storm off.”
4) Another language can help
If you want to progress, and are fluent in a second language, you could find developers hammering down your door. Whenever a game is localised into a different language, it needs checking. This goes beyond gameplay and technical testing, and in effect you’ll be required to proof-read each translated version of a title.
5) Be prepared to work odd hours
Game testers never sleep. Or, at least, they never all sleep at once. Most developers run shifts to ensure a game is tested around the clock to meet release deadlines. Being flexible will help in the early stages of your career, and if you’re prepared to work through the night you’ll likely find there’s more cash in your paycheque too.
Enjoyed our guide? Fancy learning how to get a job at Apple? We’ve got that covered too.
Reporting by Jennifer Allan, James Holland and Ben Sillis
