The Game Industry itself.

Sorry I've been slacking off for a week. Life can get pretty busy while you're still studying. Yeah, I'll try and keep the updates going while I can. Who knows, maybe some of you reading this are inspired randomly to take up a similar quest for answers and money. Mostly money, as in my case.

Anyway, TONIGHT. We talk about the jobs in the game industry. Here are the articles this time round:

Robledo, R. (2014) What is a video game designer? Retrieved: April 3rd, 2014, from http://www.animationarena.com/what-is-a-video-game-designer.html

"ArenaMaster" (2014) Getting into the Video Game industry Retrieved: April 3rd, 2014, from http://www.animationarena.com/getting-into-video-game-industry.html

I'd like to note that Robledo speaks, presumably, from an American viewpoint, since he uses terms such as "college" and links possible education avenues to American colleges  when the "Degree in Game Design" link is accessed. (Link: http://www.animationarena.com/video-game-design-school.html) However, it does capture the general idea of how the game design process works.
Basically, Robledo states the basic role of game designers, as well as common misconceptions about them, one of them being "Brainstorming and coming up with cool concepts are what a Designer does 10% of the time. The remaining 90% is comprised of the execution of the ideas..." He then moves on to talk about the tools and skills necessary for successful game designers, such as time management skills, effective communication and technical & creative skills.
Personally, this does give me a bit more insight when deciding which career path to choose, as the game industry here in AUS isn't exactly booming, and nor are existing industries (see Hawthorne, M. (2014) Toyota to exit Australia, 30,000 jobs could go, Link: http://www.smh.com.au/business/toyota-to-exit-australia-30000-jobs-could-go-20140210-32cl3.html).

"ArenaMaster", as the alias at the time of writing states as the apparent author, in their article Getting into the Video Game industry mainly focuses on the aspect of video game artistry rather than the industry as a whole. By those means, "ArenaMaster" then discusses the necessary skills and tips required for a decent chance of getting into the art sector of the game development industry, which include daily sketching of things and learning how to use the right graphics tools for certain art styles.
Although I have little intention on joining this niche (or major, depending on how you look at it) part of the industry, it's still important to be aware of the different avenues of game design out there and the types of training and effort needed to remain competent in the busy world of jobs.

As I said at the start, I'll try and blog again next week, so stay tuned for more articular goodness. I wonder if Blogger also allows a comment system for these posts as well...

Peace. ☮