A Moogle  🏳️‍🌈 💻 🎮 🎶 🇸🇪

Moreover, you should accept well in advance that, at some point at least, you'll wind up working on games you're not enthusiastic about, and that's OK. Everyone goes, "I want to work on Mario!" Nobody goes "I want to be a junior programmer on Barbie Magical Horse Adventure!"

But nothing's wrong with working on Barbie Magical Horse Adventure. As a programmer, you're not responsible for the design, or the art, or even the idea of the game. And lest you think I'm joking, @jimhejl can most likely back me up on this. Now? He's a Tech Director.

Point is, nobody in a position of hiring cares one whit *what* games you worked on. They care *that* you worked on them. That's a very important distinction to make: if you're cut out for the game industry, you will take pride not necessarily in the game, but in what you *do*.

Moving on from what you'll most likely be working on, let's talk pay. The game industry is not a path to riches, period, full stop. Unless you are *wildly* lucky, you are most likely not going to make the next Minecraft. It's just not statistically likely to happen.

In fact, if you want bank, go into banking or productivity software. However, working in the game industry *will* give you a rather reasonable paycheck. You will be able to support yourself, and a partner. And if the company does well, you just might get a good bonus.

If you want job security, the game industry is also most likely not for you, unless you quickly and markedly excel among your peers, making yourself invaluable. But that still won't save you from potential mass layoffs. Always have a plan B, a plan C, and a plan D.

Depending on the company you work for, you should expect to work upwards of 60-80 hours a week for a month or two at a stretch during the final push to get the game out the door. Having been there plenty of times before, I can honestly say it's not as bad as it sounds.

The main thing with crunch time is that if you're on a good team, it feels empowering to be there, with your teammates in the trenches right there with you, knowing that soon the world will see what you've been working on for anywhere from 6 months to 3-4 years.

The mark of a good studio is when the team gets a free order-in dinner for staying late. Superman Returns ended up a pretty lousy game, but the nights we got catered @BostonMarket during crunch *more* than made up for it. Those brownies were like crack.