CommentHey Mike, I’m currently a high school student with no idea of what I want to do with my life. I am however, interested in D&D in general, so I was wondering what kind of education or training is necessary to get a job at Wizards? Also, what kind of careers are available for the long-term?
Getting a job at WotC working on D&D is a pretty tough prospect – we have 15 people on staff, so competition is fierce.
In general, for the gaming industry a good mix of skills is useful. Programming is good for getting into video games, but even for analog design it’s a useful skill set for learning how to think about rules, their interactions, and building systems.
Math and statistics are useful for understanding the basics of probability. English and communications in general are very useful, especially for working with other people and learning to write clearly.
I’d also strongly recommend you attend GDC, PAX Dev, and similar events if possible. It’s helpful to have a sense of the current trends.
Finally, play lots of games and constantly design your own.
In terms of careers, there are a lot of roles you can fill. While game design and programming are obvious paths, project management, production, and so on are all worth looking at. People on the outside don’t understand how critical the people who simply make gaming companies function are on a day-to-day basis. from discussion AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.
Getting a job at WotC working on D&D is a pretty tough prospect – we have 15 people on staff, so competition is fierce.
In general, for the gaming industry a good mix of skills is useful. Programming is good for getting into video games, but even for analog design it’s a useful skill set for learning how to think about rules, their interactions, and building systems.
Math and statistics are useful for understanding the basics of probability. English and communications in general are very useful, especially for working with other people and learning to write clearly.
I’d also strongly recommend you attend GDC, PAX Dev, and similar events if possible. It’s helpful to have a sense of the current trends.
Finally, play lots of games and constantly design your own.
In terms of careers, there are a lot of roles you can fill. While game design and programming are obvious paths, project management, production, and so on are all worth looking at. People on the outside don’t understand how critical the people who simply make gaming companies function are on a day-to-day basis. from discussion AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.
