We're all mad here.

"

So, let me ask you who is passionate about games? Right, of course everyone is. Well, guess what? Passion is pretty meaningless. Everyone has that same passion. You cannot count on your love for games alone to get you very far in the game industry. OK, so, how about ideas? Who has a great idea for a game, for innovative new gameplay, or awesome tech? Right, of course, we are all bubbling with ideas. Well, this too is pretty meaningless. There is no shortage of ideas. In fact, there’s always way more ideas than the industry can possibly ever deal with.

What matters? Execution! It is the ability – and talent – to take action on those ideas and passion. So ya, getting an education at Digipen certainly helps in that regard, but ultimately the paper is worthless if you don’t take action. You must never develop a sense of entitlement on account of your education. It is toxic. And, you need to be mindful that the majority of people working in the industry today do not have a formal game education. They are sceptical. They are probably a little scared too. But, luckily, more so that any industry, game development is a meritocracy. If you have the talent and skills to take action on your passion and ideas, there will always be a future for you in games.

And, by talent and skills, I don’t just mean coding or animation chops. A lot of what’s needed to be successful in games comes down to soft skills. It may in fact be the most surprising thing when you hit your first game industry job. Teamwork, communication skills, flexibility, prioritization, giving/taking criticism, continuous learning, focus, etc, etc. Leadership! You need to give these skills – and the people you work with - as much attention as your technical abilities moving forward.

"