👩🏼‍🔬 📔 👉🏽 How to get to work in an international game dev: a tutorial from a 3D-modeler from Ulyanovsk, who became a co-owner of the studio 🚖 👩🏾‍🚒 👨🏿‍🤝‍👨🏼

COVID-19 will bring serious changes to the familiar world - and not only in the field of healthcare. Many will be faced with the need to seek a new job.

While people around the world wonder in horror what they will live on after the pandemic, game developers think: “It’s good that I chose this particular field of activity!”

Game development is an industry that has been growing for the past 30 years and is not going to stop, despite the cataclysms. Hollywood, tourism, air travel, restaurant business and real production are paralyzed due to the epidemic, and will come to their senses for a long time to come. Gamedev did not stop for a day - everyone is self-isolated and continues to work remotely.

At our 5518 Studioswork in full swing: customers are waiting for new heroes, artworks, 3D-models, levels, animation and other content. Our programmers and artists are more worried not about being left without work, but about how to cope with its volume.

Therefore, if you, the username, are just thinking about whether to turn your gaming hobbies into an interesting and satisfying profession, I will say: “It's time!” The competition in game development is already quite large, and the longer you doubt it, the more people will come to the industry from related areas, and from areas far away - when a pandemic leaves a bunch of people unemployed.

In this article I will try to dispel your doubts and concerns. I’ll help you decide on a specialization and tell you about the intricacies that you need to consider in order to get into the development of international games that millions of gamers will play in.

Why am I entitled to speak on this subject?

My name is Maxim Mikheenko, 15 years ago I lived in Ulyanovsk and mastered 3Ds Max from books, in 2007 I created model barrels for Fallout 3, and now I am a co-founder and executive director of 5518 Studios, which outsource 2D, 3D, animation and programming for large projects. Headquartered in Los Angeles, 70 employees worldwide. Most of them are from Russia.

We had a hand in creating such games as Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII, Borderlands 3 / DLC, DOOM 4, World of Tanks, Apex Legends, Fortnite, SimCity Mobile, Homescapes.

Today they are played by children, adults, severe peasants and prosperous housewives. But tomorrow they will want something new! Therefore, there is a place in game dev for you.

If you follow my advice, then you have every chance in the next 3-5 years to become a pumped specialist with a salary of 150 to 450 thousand rubles per month and pride in participating in the creation of 7 of the 10 coolest games of the year, for example . Well and with quarantine immunity.

Chased.

1. What if there is no specialized education?

Be self-taught. The game industry is developing rapidly, professions in it appear faster than the system of higher education. So people come to gamedev literally from everywhere! Programmers, as a rule, still already have experience in other areas of IT. But a person with any background can become a QA tester or an art manager. The main thing is that he knows how to work in good faith and quickly learn new things, and suit the employer as an individual and part of a team.

For example, when we hire new people at 5518 Studios, we don’t look at the “crusts”. We give a test task, and if the candidate has completed it well - we call for an interview. Test results and adequate behavior in a personal conversation - speak more about a person than a diploma.

2. Where to start?

2.1. From an informed choice

Focus: do you want to spend the next 10 (at least) years of your life on games - in the form of work, not entertainment? Game development is not a paradise for geeks and dreamers, but a very serious occupation.

Firstly, game dev is the most globalized and competitive industry. This means that you need to dig in. Because behind your back, 5-10 other Russians, Vietnamese, Brazilians and Indians always want to receive your salary. Therefore, you will not just have to sit the prescribed time from 9 to 17, half of which can be spent on chats and exchanging memes with friends. We’ll have to put a handful of ass and work hard productively - because in the international market they pay not for hours, but for results.

Secondly, all the wonders of the current entertainment sector, from special effects in the movies to the coolest games, are created by painstaking and, for the most part, routine work. If imagination draws you a fabulous work, where you create world-famous characters from the first day, fantastic weapons and revolutionary gameplay - it would be worth cooling down a little.

At first, you will need to do something much more ordinary. So it’s worth going to gamedev only if you have enough responsibility, a true love for games, and a great desire to make a contribution to their evolution - even if it takes several years to do the same work, observe very tight deadlines and constantly study a lot.

When a newcomer comes to us for an interview, from the first three notes we see: is it our person or not. The main pattern in behavior that serves as a stop signal for us is defocusing. When a person wants to make games, and at the same time open his own coffee shop, and invent a new way to earn a billion, he will not succeed in any of this. Even if he has a diploma from Moscow State University.

But if we see the economist Katya, and Katya says: “Dudes, I want to play games for the next 30 years. I bought a graphics tablet, a licensed Photoshop, and a tutorial on creating CG characters. I’m ready to draw 12 hours a day, ”and her eyes are burning - almost 100% of this will be good.

2.2. From training to practice

Getting into a game dev today is easier than ever. Even if your city does not have a university, you probably have the Internet. And there you will find textbooks and online courses, many of which are available completely free! You can master the basics of the profession without leaving quarantine.

Moreover, the lack of obvious outstanding talent is uncritical. The ability to quickly learn new technologies, responsibility, self-organization, self-discipline, and the willingness to plow - are often valued higher than the subtle mental organization of a genius and a nugget.

Mastery comes with experience, and even a modest middle peasant in 3-5 years can turn into a cool pro. Unless, of course, he will work a lot, really LOTS of work, he will not be afraid of routine, burning deadlines and endless edits. Yes, there will be edits, and we need to perceive them not as a “bad assessment”, but as normal feedback — to accept, understand and redo them.

In order to delve into the process of creating a game and hone skills, start by participating in the development of amateur, indie games. This is a great opportunity to gain practical experience, connections in the industry and the first work in the portfolio.

3. And when will the money begin to pay?

With basic skills, you can start with $ 500-1000 monthly. After six months of work, you can already apply for an internship in a good company. After another 3 years - if you will work stably on conscience and not fail to meet deadlines, you will reach the level of $ 2-3 thousand. A couple more years - and the salary will start at $ 5,000. It's about Russia. If you are invited to live and work abroad, these numbers can also grow.

However, recently IT-specialists who want to go abroad are becoming less and less. Most prefer to work for foreign companies remotely, staying in Russia. If there are always orders and a stable salary, this is a high standard of living.

Getting a salary in dollars in Russia, especially in the regions, you can live very well. The standard of living in Moscow, and even more so in Voronezh or Kazan, differs from the United States more seriously than the level of salaries. That is, a CG-artist who lives and works in conditional Kazan receives his 150-200 thousand rubles, can afford it much more than an artist who works in California and receives $ 7,000. The price difference for everything is colossal.

In Los Angeles you will pay with this salary at 30% of taxes, $ 2,500-3,000 to pay for an apartment, $ 1,500 for more or less high-quality food, $ 1,000 for car rental. And you also need to pay annually for honey. insurance. You won’t be able to eat at the cafe every weekend, go to the movies, and on vacation you have to save and save.

In Russia, our children live mostly not in capitals. Their housing is not in sleeping areas, but in the center. They go to decent fitness clubs, treat their teeth with good doctors, travel the world a couple of times a year, and not just to Turkey, marry beautiful Russian girls, have children, Corgis and cats, and enjoy their life.

4. What kind of specialists do the games industry need and how do I choose a job I like?

The more complex game worlds and characters become, the more interesting stories they get - the narrower each specialization in the gaming industry becomes. And today, gamedev has up to 100 professions!

I will only talk about those that combine demand and a rather low entry threshold (you will not need diplomas and many years of experience even for a junior position). All of them can be mastered remotely.

4.1. Programmer

What he does: brings together all the achievements of artists, animators, sound engineers, game designers. He comes up with how to translate all their ideas into code in an optimal way. It is on his abilities that ultimately depends on whether the game will slow down gloomily or whether it will be possible to play normally even on a weak computer.

What can:well versed in at least one of the two “engines” - Unreal or Unity. Is able to program in C ++, C #, and most importantly - understands the specifics of a game dev (TK is not 100% certain - you decide how to implement this or that feature; decisions need to be made quickly; code needs to be written so that hundreds of programmers understand it from around the world who are also working on this project).

To whom it suits: those who are ready to sit at the computer for 8-12 hours, hardly speak, think hard and enjoy it. For people with an engineering mindset, those who like exact sciences, algorithms, optimized processes.

How much is earning?In Russia and the CIS, from $ 1,000 - Junior, a novice developer, from $ 2,000 - Middle, with several years of experience. Senior programmer with good academic knowledge - $ 3-5 thousand per month. A cool specialist with knowledge of engines, front-end, back-end and the skills of a game designer can get $ 10,000.

But note one thing: everyone who went to programmers just for the sake of money, without interest in work, quickly burned out.

How to start? Learn various programming languages such as C # and C / C ++, Java, Javascript, SQL. If you plan to connect a future career with robotics and not only, knowledge of the Python programming language will not hurt.

The main thing is to practice all the time. Write your own games on popular “engines”, check the code on Github, look for mentors, ask questions to prof. forums.

4.2. Game designer

What he does: develops the rules of the game and game mechanics, comes up with "features", gameplay elements. He plays games at least 8 hours a day - testing individual missions dozens of times in a row and adjusting the parameters to the ideal. Writes TK for designers and programmers. If we are talking about a game designer who creates separate levels and locations - this means that he also makes level design.

What can: generate fresh ideas and understand the needs of the audience. Write an analytic table with 100 reasons why some game is popular or failed. To achieve a balance of complexity and playability in the game: so that the character does not die from a shot in the leg, but also does not remain unhurt after a nuclear bombing.

To whom it suits:someone who is seriously passionate about mobile games has already missed thousands of hours of gameplay and is ready to dive into it further.

How much is earning? On average, for 2020 - $ 1-2 thousand. A very experienced game designer - up to $ 3,000. Plus, often game designers receive a percentage of game sales.

How to start? To start testing games, you need a computer, phone or any other device where you can run these games, a plate in Excel and a joystick. Of the fundamental knowledge, a school course in mathematics, physics and geometry is enough. Here we need scrupulousness, thoroughness and an analytical mindset.

It is useful, again, to participate in the role of a game designer in some non-profit project - for experience and portfolio. Deal with Unity, Unreal Engine, Lumberyard, CryEngine engines.

By the way, good game designers often grow out of QA testers.

4.3. 2D artist and 3D artist

What he does: 2D - draw concept art, posters, maps, backgrounds for games, characters. 3D - create the entire "stuffing" of the game world: from the closet in the corner to the main characters, weapons and vehicles.

What he can do: push his fickle creative nature away and work according to the technical requirements, falling into deadlines. Today, invent a character from scratch, and tomorrow calmly make the hundredth barrel model, which does not differ from the present.

To whom it suits: 2D - for people with talent, art education and rich imagination. 3D - even to people without artistic talent, but with a good technical base in working with graphics. Those who like to immediately see the results of their work.

How much is earning? A junior 3D-artist in a realistic setting receives from $ 500 to $ 1,000, an environmental specialist - $ 1-2 thousand. Those who make characters, cool equipment and weapons - from $ 3 to $ 4 thousand.

The average path from $ 500 to $ 3,000 takes 3 years, but sometimes less. We have an example in our company when a person in two years has evolved from a factory worker to a leading 3D artist. Without specialized education. But he did his best every day.

There are also specialists who earn $ 50 per hour. For example, the top-level Hair Texture 3D Artist is a 3D hair artist for games. This is the one who is able to do the heroes of 3D games hairstyles that look realistic in the engine, but at the same time do not “slow down” the game due to the huge number of polygons and detail.

This is a very difficult technical task. Already having solid experience in CG, I developed hairstyles for three characters - it was much more difficult than a thesis. People who know how to do it brilliantly - there are about 20 people in the whole world, and $ 4,000 for them is rather the minimum bar.

How to start? Learn software: Maya, 3Ds Max, Zbrush, Blender, Cinema 4D, Modo, Photoshop, etc. Learn how to optimize processes and use all kinds of tools to increase efficiency and speed: for example, Substance painter, etc.

Always be immersed in the topic: attend gaming conferences, play all the latest and watch movies with cool CG, track trends in art and animations, the emergence of new technologies - using Artstation, Behance, Deviantart, Sketchfab, etc.

4.4. Animator

What does:enlivens the game world. He makes the water flow, the fire burns, so that the grass is crushed under the feet of the hero, and the hero himself moves as if alive, and not like a puppet.

What is able: to achieve a physically correct result when creating motion - using keyframing, motion capture technology and software.

How much is earning? On average, an animator in Russia receives from $ 1,000. In international companies - from $ 5,000.

How to start? Here, of course, it would be better to get an education: in the specialty "Artist of animation and computer graphics", "Animation and illustration" or the like.

But at least - to understand the software: Autodesk Maya, 3Ds Max, Cinema 4D, Adobe After Effects, etc. Understand the process of creating a video, and also, ideally, get an idea of the work of a screenwriter and cameraman. Read Animator's Survival Kit - a classic among books about animation.

Build a good portfolio: usually with low-paid or completely free orders.

4.5. QA, beta - tester.

What it does: tests the game for bugs. He plays all day, checking whether the game crashes in the process, whether everything is written correctly, whether the hero falls into the texture and whether all objects and characters behave as expected. About all the errors found daily writes reports (reports) to the programmers, so that they correct these misunderstandings.

What can:notice any little things, reproduce the typical user’s behavior model, perform the same game action in all possible ways. Independently write small programs to automatically detect common errors.

Who is it for: a perfectionist. One who wants to cut toys all day for money. But at the same time, it is scrupulous to simulate absolutely all possible scenarios of user behavior, notice any smallest malfunction, enter it into the report, and not disrupt very tough deadlines of checks.

How much is earning? From $ 300 to $ 1,500. For a senior QA tester, s / n can be both $ 2,000 and $ 3,000.

How do I get started?Learn the various tools for testing automation so that you have to do a minimum manually. Learn to use bug trackers and briefly, but clearly express your thoughts. Develop non-standard thinking. Learning to read someone else's code, to understand the files and structure of other people's 3D models.

Register for beta tests of games, analyze them, find as many mistakes as possible, write reports and make a portfolio of them.

4.6. Art Manager, Project Manager (PM)

What he does: acts as an intermediary between the art director and producer on the one hand, and numerous artists on the other. It monitors and structures the produced content, distributes tasks from the customer among the executors, controls the timing and correctness of execution. The link between art, people and budget.

What he can do: collect all characters, all objects and art that should be made into tablets, know who is responsible for what and when it will be released. Peacefully solve the problem if something is not completed on time or done poorly. Monitor cybersecurity. Finding an approach to everyone.

Suitable for: disciplined, organized people with developed emotional intelligence, who can find a common language with everyone.

How much is earning? From $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 per month. For large projects or a large number of artists run - $ 3,500 - 4,500. Plus bonuses for the results of the project. At least that's what we got at 5518 Studios.

How to start?Be able to use tools such as Shotgun, Slack, Basecamp, Jira, Trello, Google Docs, Photoshop, Monosnap, Microsoft and IOS software packages, etc. Knowing English (and good, when also Chinese or Spanish) is extremely necessary.

To begin to understand human psychology, to tighten communication and management skills: how to get everyone to do the way you need to make everyone happy.

Learn to always have a plan ready B.

If you want to work for dollars - rebuild your mentality

If you saw your future vocation in one of the professions, now you already understand in which direction to move. With a proper bit of perseverance, you have every chance of becoming a highly paid specialist in the gaming industry.

But, since I myself went this way a little earlier and stumbled more than once, I want to warn about some unobvious features of working with foreign customers. You need to keep this in mind if you want to earn exactly in such numbers and in the currency that I described above.

The USA is a legislator in the global gaming industry, so everything here works according to their rules. It is worth accepting them in order to become "your" in this party.

1. Be consistently productive. It is necessary to produce the ideal result that the customer will like, enter the game for a million users and make it better, not worse. Simply, be ready to work a) a lot, b) at a constantly high level. There will be no place to put off until later, a freebie and our beloved concept “it will do.”

We at 5518 Studio are considered “elite troops”, they come to us for an awesome result. We are well paid for it, but the requirements are very severe. At first, many newcomers have great difficulty adjusting to these rails - at work you need to work, not drink coffee; if you don’t have time to do everything in the allotted time, because the Internet has turned off or your mother-in-law has arrived, you do it on your day off; your result, which seems almost brilliant to you, may require corrections. Well and other horrors of capitalism.

2. Be positive. In the Russian mentality lies the expectation of a trick. We always expect the worst, assume bad intentions in our counterparties, and stay alert. Perhaps we really have enough reasons for this, but outside of the CIS this our attitude only harms.

If your American customer or employer sends edits for the fifth time, it’s not because he scoffs. No need to aggressively prove your case. Do not waste time. Just do as the client asks - clearly on the terms of reference and on time - he will appreciate it.

By the way, about corrections - the feedback text from American customers cannot be taken literally, as in Google translator. The habit of positiveness among Americans shifts the scale: they never scold it. But praise should not be taken too seriously. If they say to you: “Great!”, But they ask you to remake them right away - that's fine. But the restrained “Looks good” does not mean “satisfactory”. This means that you need to do 2 times better.

And, yes, your frowning eyebrows and a pained face during work will not make the leadership respect you. Rather, the opposite. In Russia, many filony with an expression of drama on their faces. And in the USA the most hardcore, heavy and serious tasks are solved with a smile and positive. This is worth learning.

3. Grow up. In Russia, relations between the employer and the employee are still being built on the principle of “parent-child”. In the West, an adult-adult behavior model has been adopted.

With us, if you work poorly, they will make 5 comments, then a serious suggestion, then a reprimand, but in order to get fired, you need to do something completely unbelievable.

In America, if you do low-quality work, they will simply tell you: “They did a great job!”, And they will never call again. They don’t have the task of teaching or re-educating you. But they have the right to choose someone in your place next time.

4. Even if you are a freelancer, outsourcer, remote worker - you are a team player. Many of our compatriots (I myself was so about 5 years ago) are used to thinking that management, customers and employees are such warring camps. But in the USA, in California, this is not so. In the development of games, lonely time has long passed. The model you will make, or that column of code that you write is a piece in the general “puzzle” that you need to assemble to make the client satisfied and pay everyone for the work.

At 5518 Studios, we have 3-6 months to correct these negative firmware in the minds of new employees. But in the end, everyone understands: no one wants to "throw" anyone. All work on the overall result, for an adequate price. If you do more or faster than planned, then you will get more. You do not need to "pull a blanket over yourself" and curry favor with the employer. And with colleagues, you can and should share know-how and information.

5. Follow the deadlines. We Russians love to procrastinate to the last, and then add an “action” to life in the form of a burning deadline - to feel like a hero. In the USA you will not be respected for this.

But if you do the task gradually, and report to the employer at each stage of the work, you will be evaluated as a responsible rational worker who does not put off everything at the last moment. And it’s easier to make corrections, if necessary, during the course of the play - as long as there is time.

By the way, in America there are no such long New Year holidays and such reckless May holidays. And when they work, we have night (a completely different timezone). Another reason to competently build your working time, and learn to say no to barbecue on May 1. Well, or look for purely Russian customers.

How to get to work in an international game dev: a tutorial from a 3D-modeler from Ulyanovsk, who became a co-owner of the studio

Why am I entitled to speak on this subject?

1. What if there is no specialized education?

2. Where to start?

3. And when will the money begin to pay?

4. What kind of specialists do the games industry need and how do I choose a job I like?

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