A Day in the Life: Video Game Developer

After viewing many of the “A Day in the Life” video segments about mass media careers I found the video on video game developers the most interesting. The title of video game developer is a broad area of work that offers many specialisms within the industry; these specialist titles range from quality assurance tester, programmer, video game marketer, audio engineer, artist, producer, all the way to editor (Prospects, n.d.). This career appealed to my love of video games, my interest in innovated technology, and through offering me the ability to specialize in the areas that interest me. I have recently become interested in the process that goes into developing a video, the type of technology that is used, and I would enjoy being able to try different areas of video game development in order to discover the one that would fit me the best. If I decided to become a video game developer I would first need to obtain a degree in a computer-related field (Study.com, 2015).

Besides having a degree in a computer-related field I would also need to have other important qualifications that are essential characteristics of a video game developer. Video game developers must have good communication skills so that they can effectively impart their video game visions to other people, understand the desires of consumers, and communicate effectively with other video game development departments. In order to become a video game developer I would need to improve my communication skills; the best ways to accomplish this would be a combination of education and practice. I am currently working towards the education part through my minor in communication, and for practice I would acquire a job in an area that would require good communication skills; for instance I could procure a job in customer service.

An important qualification for a video game developer is passion, according to “A Day in the Life: Video Game Developer, Activision”. Passion is what drives a video game developer to assist in the creation of a quality product. For me I would say that while I enjoy playing video games I have no idea if I would be passionate about developing them. The best way for me to work on developing a passion for video game development would be through acquiring more knowledge on what it truly means to be a game developer. I would do this through researching the different specializations of game development and then explore the one that interested me the most. For instance, if I decided that I was interested in specializing in marketing, then I could email a video game marketer and ask him or her questions on what the career truly involves to get an insider’s perspective.

If I decided to focus on becoming a video game marketer than I would need the qualifications to become a marketer such as a degree in marketing, good communication skills, advertising skills, social media knowledge, and an interest in marketing in general. The qualifications that I would need to acquire would be advertising skills and social media knowledge. Both of these are tied together because in today’s digital era advertising involves using social media. To meet this qualification I would evaluate my own current social media usage and determine ways that I could improve my social media usage to benefit myself. I would become more active on social media and use it for college, scholarships, and a job search. Considering that a job in advertising could potentially put me in the public eye it would be important that my social media accounts remain uncontroversial; to do this I would continuously monitor my social media to make sure that I do not post anything that could become a problem for me later in life.

A Day in the Life: Video Game Developer, Activision [Video Segment]. (n.d.). Pearson.

Prospects. (n.d.). Games developer: Job description. Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.prospects.ac.uk/games_developer_job_description.htm

Study.com. (2015). Game Developer: Job Description, Duties and Requirements. Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://study.com/articles/Game_Developer_Job_Description_Duties_and_Requirements.html