Well yes, initially I was considering Game Design and Development which I've been told sometimes works with a bit of programming. (similar to a position like Morello would hold) other then that, my art never excelled enough to work in that field. I've considered just trying for marketing and business area as well though I feel like thats a last resort position.

Programming and Game Design are mostly what I'm showing interest in.

Though working with esports or community relations wouldnt be that bad either.

I guess its like this

1) Game Design / Programming tied
2) PR / Esports (Public Relations)
3) General QA / Tester
4) Business / Administration / Marketing.

Though if it ended up being an international position then I would include Translations into the list as well.

edit: I guess when I see myself in the gaming world. I see myself in 2 different ways that I'd be most happy. One side: Behind the lines coding and making everything work. The other side: Coming up with ideas and fixes to an on-going (assuming its an MMO or game like league) game, or the general ideas that help form the basis of the game. (i.e. new characters, new weapons, balances, etc..)

Well ultimately only you can decide what would make you happiest, but there are plenty of areas that could involve lots of travel, including community relations, business, administration, marketing, sales, publishing, international content, eSports, public relations, third party coordination, and more.

EDIT: Note that if you are interested in being stationed in a country other than the U.S., but not necessarily traveling a lot once you're there, then your options are even greater. There are plenty of game companies in other countries. : )

Wonderful thread so far. Thanks to all you awesome Rioters for taking the time to answer our questions!

I have a double interest, programming and IT security. I've pursued both on-and-off as hobbies for the past several years, learning VB6 and dabbling in C++/Java on the programming side and hunting/analyzing malware on the ITsec side. I honestly don't know where I eventually want to end up career-wise, and that's messing with my plans since my course selection is starting to be decided by my major.

Could you guys give me an idea of what to expect in each position, and maybe some advice for choosing one over the other (or should I try a double major and postpone the ultimate decision until after college?)

Thank you!

Thanks again for all the replies. You have made yourself in my top Rioters list now, probably number one. If you ever find space on your friend list on league you should add me! (alt + 651 = ï)

I would love to travel as part of a job in gaming or as a permanent place as well so it shouldnt be an issue. I'd love to work with JRPGs and JMMO's coming to the US, so an inbetween company ideally.

That ... or my other job field is Astrophysics lol...

Then again working for a game company like riot and with league would also be a great job.

I like the idea of being able to do what you're doing right now. Helping the community on you're own time and still working a great job.

I was so confused. I was like, "where's the recursion, what the heck is f()?" And THAT is why I'm not a programmer. :-P

lol my typing speed has decreased since I started programming full time as has my accuracy. go figure. yay for the ide.

I have a question:

Do you think that software engineering (programming) is underserved in our grade-schools? I remember in High School taking a dip in trying to formalize my interest in programming with a comp sci class. By the middle of the term I was making a text-based game where one walked on a coordinate grid and randomly engaged in battles with monsters. Meanwhile, the rest of my class was making tic tac toe.

I wanted to do more after that class, but it simply wasn't offered. Without that sort of environment to keep me on track, my interests deviated elsewhere...

In the end, I've found that I definitely dislike reading others' code and debugging, two major things to programming. So, it may not have turned out to be a good fit for me anyways. Or, I might have learned to deal with both of them better had my education in the field been stronger. I was simply never offered that opportunity.

When I got to college, I found kids in the comp sci program that had MUCH better high school education on the matter. Considering I grew up in Massachusetts, it's not like I was attending backwards schools, but, at least, in this area, there just isn't enough of a national standard which is a shame.

*shakes fist*

Jeans are so damned uncomfortable. Cargo pants all the way!

I love problem solving. I hate math.

After completing a degree in math, I changed my major to Fine Arts because I can't ****ing stand the way math (and, in my experience, code) represents complex objects. I got to the point where I realized that a huge majority of my time dealing with mathematics was spent just trying to describe or perceive a problem that someone else was describing -- because I had to chug through each glyph one at a time in a certain order, using arbitrary rules for notation that someone long-dead dreamt up while high one afternoon. I asked myself why I sat through a seven hour (!) Calculus exam when it is very obvious that I solve problems every day without ever resorting to scribbling down arcane language on paper. A bit of re-inventing the wheel, e.g., "How do you navigate around town? Can you describe what you do so that a ****** (a computer) can do it?" and a bit of "Do you happen to speak Yiddish? Can you write Arabic? How about Cantonese?"

Maybe it's just bad luck that I haven't the patience to sit through a long rambling series of symbols when that isn't the part that interests me, but I haven't been introduced to any more-intuitive system for representing such things.

On second thought, I have: experience.

Experiential knowledge is held in such high regard precisely because it is so superior to text in a book / on a chalk board / in your IDE.

And that's probably why I love making and experiencing Art so much right now: it's problem solving using ways of thinking my brain is way better at dealing with than text. Have you ever solved a Rubik's Cube? Now write down an algorithm to do so and give that sheet of paper to your mother. Can she solve the puzzle using only what you wrote down? How about the girl at the cash register in Wal-Mart you saw the other day?

Do you think you could, without writing anything down, teach her to solve the puzzle on her own?

So I can't stand programming because I hate idiots, I guess?

@RiotSchmick

What are other popular/in demand openings in the game industry right now? In a general outline what are all the teams that really get to work on the game and make it their baby. (I know there can be a lot, just curious about the different overall aspects that might be overlooked)


I'm personally enjoying the tiny bit of programming (c++) I know so far so I'm going to head the programming route I believe but I also am in love with writing and trying my hand at art.

Also, you are one of my favorite rioters alongside Ironstylus. Would love to play a game with you sometime.