Watching Alice:The Madness returns, getting some lines down for an audio reel, and sipping on almond milktea. I have other things I should do, but I’m feeling lazy…

PAX is soon, I need rest.

<3 you all!

Spent this lazy Sunday afternoon filming a viddy for The Tester. We filmed Brigade’s video earlier in the day, and then started mine, only to realize that our DnD party was about to show up. We filmed the ending part x number of hours after the sun went down, so that’s why the video is a bit darker, but I hope you all enjoy it. It was fun to make! I will post a link when the viddy goes live on The Tester site.

On July 12, 2011 I was accepted into the FragDoll Cadette’s program. I’m still wheeling from the excitment of being one of the chose for this upcoming Fall 2011 class. Initially, I didn’t know much about the FragDolls, but after some research, I feel that this group of female gamers was what I was looking for this whole time.

So here is some background about the FragDolls from their own site:

frag /frag/ n. & v. · n. 1 number of kills. 2 a fragmentation grenade. · v. 1 to eliminate other players in multiplayer shooters (fragging).

rag·doll physics /ragdol fiziks/ n. 1 a program allowing videogame characters to react with realistic body and skeletal physics.

frag·doll /fragdol/ n. 1 a gamer girl with the skills to dominate in multiplayer shooters. 2 an unabashedly geeky female who is proud to love games and geek culture.

The Frag Dolls are a team of professional female gamers recruited by Ubisoft to promote their video games and represent the presence of women in the game industry. These gamer girls play and promote games at industry and game community events, compete in tournaments, and participate daily in online gamer geek activities. Started in 2004 by an open call for gamer girls with competitive gaming skills, the Frag Dolls immediately rocketed to the spotlight after winning the Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow tournament in a shut-out at their debut tournament appearance.

I actually got a chance to talk to one of the FragDoll Cadettes before applying. I was really curious to understand how exactly it worked and what opportunities being a Cadette offered:

How was it? I see that they are still taking applications, and was wanting to apply. I was wondering if you really felt like you got to be in-depth with the gaming industry other than just being a gamer. I’ve studied Software Engineering, Game Design and Development throughout my academic. I’ve gone to several game jams over the past couple of years, and am really into the development. I love playing and developing games, do you think FragDolls would be helpful in that sense?

She said something that I really took to heart, and I think we should all follow in our daily lives:

I am a cadette and it’s been going really well for me. I do think it is what you make it and it does open doors. Throughout my experiences with the cadettes I have been able to meet a good amount of producers and other devolpers, which was completely my goal in doing the fragdoll cadetteship. Not all the girls there want to get into development and so it is you that has to work at getting the connections.
How it works is you basically get to work an event. For the next session it’s comic con or PAX Prime, while working the events you can meet and work with the producers of the games that are being shown at the booth.
I it has really helped me out!

Her words really motivated me. I’ve worked very hard to stay in the game industry thinking that at some point some door would open for me, and in a way they have. I count myself lucky, but I never stop dreaming and looking forward to new goals! I plan to make my time with the Cadette ‘s worth every moment! Thank you FragDolls for showing interest in me! I won’t let you down. I won’t let myself down. Work hard, play harder! <3 xdv p.s. I just got my “official” Cadette forum sig bar

dabomb4eve asked: Hello. I saw "Ask us anything," so I'm going ahead with that.

I'm a video game lover. I'm also a programmer, and have a BS in CS. Now, I have always dreamed of a career in video gaming, but have not been able to find that window. What is the best way to get in there?

I've read that I should look into indie companies for entry level positions and internships, but have had no luck. What are some ways you recommend to go about doing this? And what other actions do you recommend doing?

Thanks!

Oscar C.

Hi Oscar!

I was actually going to start posting about my own journey of trying to get into the game industry, and what I’m doing right now. I too, love games, am a programmer, and have a BA in CS. Honestly, I can’t tell you a sure fire way on how to get in, but I can try and help share with you my own attempts and experiences of trying to make my way as well. So don’t feel alone in being confused about where to go.

I can say one thing for sure (at least at this point in time), network yourself and make contacts! Through my college professors, I was able to meet employers from local indie companies through our game design program. I met a couple of college recruiters at the job fairs, which brought me to internship with Sony and from there I jumped departments (thanks to my contacts!).

QA is also a great place to start. I did that for one summer, and made some good contacts from there. Colleagues of mine continued to work that department and eventually got promoted to AP (assistant producer).  Yes, it doesn’t take advantage of your BS in CS, but it’s a great way to get your foot in the door, and can lead to a great career path give enough handwork and dedication. I’m actually considering heading back towards the QA path because of the great career path into development and production department. 

Don’t get me wrong though, opportunity can come in all shapes and forms. Even though the department I’m currently in doesn’t lead towards my ideal career path, I’ve managed to snag a few opportunities to show off my skills in game design and development. So we’ll see where I can go from there *fingers crossed*

If your able to try to make it out to some popular conventions where you can network yourself. GDC (Game Developer’s Conference), and E3 have helped me connect to members of the industry, and fellow game lovers, programmers, and designers who are working their way in just like us!

So moving on from making contacts and networking yourself (but this also is a great networking opportunity), I highly suggest participating in as many Game Jams, Game Festivals, and Game Competitions as possible. It’s great on your resume! They will help you hone your skills in game development, and provide you with games you can use in your portfolio! Here on NewGame+ I’ll be posting information on these events, so check back often, but more importantly get involved!

Well, that’s as much recommendations as I can think of right now. I’ll keep you posted my own attempts and tips and tricks of the trade as I come across them. Good luck, Oscar, and do keep in touch! I’d love to hear how your own story unfolds. ^.^v

~xxdxvicious

p.s.

I don’t know if you saw this post earlier, but at E3 I asked a producer for Disney Interactive how he thought new people should break into the industry and this is what he said:

If you can program: write programs to show off that you generate bitmaps and render polygons. If you want to be a designer: get unreal, make quest, show your designs!

- Disney Interactive (Epic Mickey)