PixlBit

All game developers in the making need to find out what Bethesda and Valve think is key to getting into the industry.

“How do you get into the games Industry? I don’t know. How do you make a game? Make a game.”  Chet Faliszek of Valve offered this obvious but important advice to aspiring game makers during a QuakeCon panel on modding.  With the release of Steam Workshop and Skyrim editing tools, the modding scene has gotten a bit more attention lately, and with good reason.  Apparently the modding community continues to be an integral part of finding and training game devs. Nick Breckon and Joel Burgess of Bethesda along with Matt Scott and Faliszek of Valve filled an hour with plenty of advice for aspiring game designers and tons of appreciation for the existing mod community.

Faliszek emphasized that there are scads of options out there for people to try their hand at modding, including simple hats for Team Fortress 2.  These small projects will give you the chance to learn tools, upload your wares to the community and learn to filter feedback from the harsh critics on the internet. Scott added that it’s going to take a lot of practice to make something you are happy with, and to expect a lot of failures along the way.  He reemphasized this point later by talking about how the beginning of working on a game like Left 4 Dead can be discouraging because so much of the team’s first efforts turn out to be terrible. 

There is little difference in modern development between a game developer and a modder, according to the panel.  Burgess echoed what Todd Howard mentioned earlier in the day - that all applicants to Bethesda have to submit a mod as part of their selection process.  If the panel is a true representation of the industry and you’re looking to get your foot in the door, you’d better go finish up your Dragons in Drag mod for Skyrim – stat!