Ask HN: How can a web Senior SWE move into a good game-dev or game-related job?

4 points by llll_lllllll_l 166 days ago | 10 comments

Looking for any kind of advice (links to good job boards, company names, people to contact, blogs to read, general tips) about migrating to the games industry.

I'm a senior software engineer, working on random web stuff forever, and I want to work in the games industry. I'm not in a rush, so anything I can do between now and the next two years I'll consider. I have some constraints though: I would like to stay remote, and have a "safe" job (I say that because I've heard many stories where people are hired to make a single game and are fired right after launch, which would be too risky for me).

Gaming has been my passion forever, and I even make some minigames in my free time. Right now I'm just trying to mix things up, to put my engineering skills into something I might like more. I understand that's a bit naive, but I have no reason not to try.

Ocerge 166 days ago |

I know the remote aspect is important to you, but having done this exact switch (general backend services dev -> backend dev for a big game company) this requirement is almost certainly going to hold you back. The field is bleeding jobs and there are plenty of people who will go ass-in-seat 5 days a week. Outside of that, there are a surprising amount of roles that generalist SWEs fit into that don't require any experience. It's been a very comfortable foot-in-the-door for myself, at least.

llll_lllllll_l 166 days ago | |

Yah, I'm expecting that problem. Ty!

UK-AL 166 days ago |

The game industry inherently unsafe. Studios go in and out of existence constantly.

colesantiago 164 days ago |

Please continue to make your minigames in your free time and don't step into the games industry unless you know what you're getting into.

I have friends in the games industry who also went into it because when they wanted a job to make and play games, and now they are extremely unhappy and depressed.

Low pay, crunch times, constant strikes, layoffs, micromanagement is all there in this industry.

Unless you own or found a games studio, being an engineer in games industry isn't what you think it is.

VirusNewbie 166 days ago |

I know a handful of non game programmers who just applied and their combination of enthusiasm for games and general engineering chops got them jobs at Blizzard.

GaryNumanVevo 166 days ago |

Not to disappoint you, but a career in the games industry will be vastly more difficult than a typical SWE role. You'll be expected to crunch for a game's launch with no guarantee that you won't be laid off after. There's a steep pay decrease for roles with the same YoE.

Skills wise, I would recommend spending a few years learning C++ at the least, try developing an engine from scratch, build an ECS, build some basic multiplayer implementations. I wouldn't expect much of your web experience to transfer, and you would most likely be joining the industry as junior.

Stability wise, if you have any backend experience, applying for infrastructure SWE roles that handle online services for video games is an alright bet, but that job market is quite small.

VirusNewbie 166 days ago | |

I live and work right near Blizzard, and so I know lots of engineers in the game industry.

Blizzard pays a lot better than a lot of random webdev shops. It's not FAANG money unless you're a superstar and then the comp is more in the form of one off retention grants.

The hours don't seem bad most of the time. Crunch comes but it's not frequent. YMMV.

llll_lllllll_l 166 days ago | |

I see, makes sense! Thank you

andsoitis 166 days ago |

have you applied to jobs advertised in job listings by game studios (large and small)?

llll_lllllll_l 166 days ago | |

not yet, I'm just starting. In the past (like 3 years ago) I've sent a couple of CVs around for specifics companies. Mostly the ones I was playng a game (like Rare for Sea of Thieves).