Can you live your childhood dream as a grownup?

[Dionysos]

I'll give you a shout when I'm so ace practically everyone will want a piece of me, and we can duplicate what happened to Tripwire (Red Orchestra).

All kidding aside, I really doubt whether I would want a job in the big game factories nowadays. The most important thing though is to follow your passion, even if it leads you to some place you didn't imagine beforehand; better to "aim high and fail than to aim too low and suceed".

[nub]

In my opinion, making games should have always been done with love by people who have always wanted to make them. Corporations like Activision are just a plague in the industry; a perfect example of corporate poisoning. Sure they're successful, but they aren't a true game developer. It's just another money-mongering powerhouse.

I've been thinking about pursuing game design ever since I picked up on Hammer Editor and Fruity Loops Studio. I branched out from level design to sound creation to texture art, and just now, 3D modeling. I'm trying to be a jack of all trades...minus programing...

Do I have any doubts about it? Honestly I think that if I'm to get in to the industry, I would rather start my own independent team of dedicated people rather than join an existing dev team. However some people here that are already in the industry would probably advise otherwise, for experience I guess.

I dunno...I guess I'll just wait and see. Maybe if game design doesn't work out, I can just get a steady job then make some music albums on the side.

[Phott]

Do I have any doubts about it? Honestly I think that if I'm to get in to the industry, I would rather start my own independent team of dedicated people rather than join an existing dev team. However some people here that are already in the industry would probably advise otherwise, for experience I guess.

This is how I feel about it, I want to have a job in the game industry, but releasing my own title with a small team.

[RefaelBA]

Games, to me, convey an experience, the take the player and put him in situations he'd never experience. And if it's telling a good story then it's really a work of interactive art. Take Mass Effect for example!

There was a time when people made text adventures in their garage. That time, you could be innovative, creative, and modest, and make it just because your game kicked ass. It didn't change much for years to come - even Half Life started out as a mod for a tweaked Quake 2 engine (which by the way, is the reason Valve ever started using the .bsp format for maps!).

I wish I could find a team of really dedicated people like me who would make a great game just out of love. But I'm the only one in my proximity! I've searched long and wide and found nobody else.

[Dionysos]

...
I wish I could find a team of really dedicated people like me who would make a great game just out of love. But I'm the only one in my proximity! I've searched long and wide and found nobody else.

Just keep on dedicating yourself to it, maybe even if that might mean moving. We really need more devs with that attitude. I actually feel the same way, even though I'm not yet in a place where I could start up something like that.