Journalism is an option, of course. Understanding game theory with educational background there helps but isn't totally necessary, to be honest. Art journalism is by its nature subjective, regardless of what people espouse about so-called objective reviews. A genuinely "objective" review is pretty worthless and wouldn't tell you much. Subjectivity is great, so long as you do it properly and make sure to let your audience know your situation. You need to be a decent writer and understand journalism itself. There's an ethics in games journalism joke here, somewhere.

Games alone aren't going to get you anywhere. It won't work on a resume. Think about your other interests and where they can get you. "Gaming" is as useful as being a "TV Watcher." You could get involved in the industry but that involves education and it will not be particularly entertaining compared to playing the game or watching a movie.

I largely agree with Nitwick. Artists generally should have knowledge of other parts of development - Programming, animation, writing, all of it. Same goes for any role, really. Artists should understand how animators work, assuming they're not doing the animation, and design assets appropriately. Writers need to understand the intrinsic mechanics well to create a narrative that fits the setting - A good ludonarrative, if you'll excuse the pretentious thinkpiece style term hah. Programmers, of course, need to understand the other roles to make it easier for them and work in tandem. Great, great artists could make poor game assets if they don't understand how the assets will be applied. Those are only a few basic examples, too. There has to be synergy between everyone and for that synergy to exist, they have to be on the same page.

As for youtube, consider trying a few genuinely unorthodox types of videos. Try a bit of performative art paired with a video essay, for example. Video essays are an up-and-coming genre and performative art is getting a lot of attention too. That stuff takes luck, though, but even smaller channels can do well for themselves - Noah Gervais isn't massive but his Patreon was basically able to fufill one of his dreams and he managed to repair an old Volkswagen bus and is currently living out of it on a long road trip while continuing to make videos. It is totally possible, especially with Patreon, which allows for smaller creators with a passionate fanbase to succeed. You don't need to appeal to the biggest group anymore, but you can cultivate a passionate one. Youtube definitely isn't something to go into expecting to get rich - Or any money at all off of, however. It'd be a potentially worthwhile hobby.

I agree with Knight's response to Jerboa, for the most part, but I don't think OP is genuinely screwed or anything like that. It might be difficult, but there are plenty of decent jobs to pursue with minimal education. Try looking into trade schools if that sort of thing is your forte. Think about your hobbies and how they might be used - Or, at the very least, what you'll get the most enjoyment out of.

Also consider any art you may be able to create to make some money off of, even if only a little bit. Think about unorthodox job options too. Do you have a good voice, or are you able to control it well? Consider voice acting. I'm certain there's more to you than video games and you can make something out of that.

Well I have a YouTube channel and while it is time consuming its fun and you can earn money off of it by monetizing or getting donations by fans. It takes some time before you really get noticed and honestly if you have some friends tell them about your channel and you can let your videos appear in the "recommended for you" section while others are watching videos and they may click on it. It's not an easy start but it could be worth it later on. Here's my channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCva-sd ... k7lTOx-Eew

You can't do anything with gaming knowledge alone.

I really doubt there's much for you to do if you aren't particularly great at a game, entertaining or well written.

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That said:
As a day-job, streaming on Twitch will likely be better than YouTube as its easier to break into, but if you aren't going to put the time into it like you would a normal job then what's the point of this post?

Apply for all the games testing positions you can, but you'll quickly find out it's very little about gaming and more about repeating the same task over and over until something happens ohwait that's gaming. (Requires a lot of writing)

Knightsunder
I mean, I'm a writer/pixel artist myself, and it's a very unfortunately true statement that the programmer/modelers are vastly more sought after in the industry, and are far and few between (good ones, that is). Maybe once you move into AAA work it starts to even out, but amassing the portfolio to work on something where you're paid well, as an artist/writer, is a monumental task.

In my opinion, OP is boned. Hopefully he finished high school or the EU equivalent.

Yeah if you want to make it in the industry you kind of have to be able to do it all if you really want to succeed. Versatility is pretty much key here.

JediJerboa
You can't even start writing any code until some characters, a plot, and concept art come rolling out.

Actually those can be added in later so long as you know what mechanics you want. Might not even be necessary depending on the game, a set of excellent mechanics may more than cover for a lack of art of writing, and likewise excellent writing or art may cover for a lack of mechanics.

Azrath I might start a YouTube channel as off hobby but for who? That is the question, if I post who will watch it, where will I post it to get noticed?

thats the curse of starting a youtube channel, you need to make a lot of effort early on

I am good at graphical design, using Photoshop and Corel Draw. I might start a YouTube channel as off hobby but for who? That is the question, if I post who will watch it, where will I post it to get noticed? There are many ifs unfortunately.

JediJerboa

lawrencebanks1998Wasting your time. You can't just say " my only skill in life is i play video games " , doesn't work like that.

etc.

Little harsh there, buddy. The name's Jerboa, JediJerboa, and I'd like to share a few bits of advice to ease your situation. While picking up a controller and playing the life out of game seems like a waste, applying some other talents and experience can turn it into a wonderful use of time. For starters, you'll definitely need to keep your mind sharp and study something relatable to what you want to do. If you keep yourself educated, you will be able to make great reviews on a game. For example, if you have a lot of knowledge on game genres, you can make a lot of judgement calls on the games you play from that genre, making you the perfect critic of a wonderful art form. And while you expressed concern about journalism, I'd much rather get my opinion straight from a reviewer's mouth. If you'd like, you can play streaming and YouTube card here, allowing you to reach out to so many more.

Also, I've taken a little offense on your comment on computers and programming. Without us writers and artists, a game's dull and uninteresting. You can't even start writing any code until some characters, a plot, and concept art come rolling out.

OP has already announced his lack of that oh-so-important education that is the crux to pure critique of video games. "Judgement calls" <-- what does this mean? Being able to decide whether or not a game is good, compared to others of it's genre? Again, that falls under the "lacks the education to do review work, according to himself".

I mean, I'm a writer/pixel artist myself, and it's a very unfortunately true statement that the programmer/modelers are vastly more sought after in the industry, and are far and few between (good ones, that is). Maybe once you move into AAA work it starts to even out, but amassing the portfolio to work on something where you're paid well, as an artist/writer, is a monumental task.

In my opinion, OP is boned. Hopefully he finished high school or the EU equivalent.

[deleted]

video game journalism?

Well the only ways to make money playing games are as a youtuber or streamer. And you already ruled one out and may as well rule out the other.


Basically video games aren't going to help you. You need to look elsewhere, like getting an apprenticeship or getting back into education or something.

You're done, mate.

Perhaps not quite. However, there's nothing too reliable for the use without trying to go into niche industries. Consider being a professional beta tester, perhaps? Assuming you have very good analytical and explanation skills to go with your toolbox.

Depends on what sort of knowledge you're talking about. If by knowledge you mean you've played a lot of games and are familiar with the gameplay/stories of all of them, that's not really much to go on since tons of people have that.

I would definitely recommend not trying to make any attempt to rely heavily on it until you have a stable career or reliable career opportunity to fall back on in case it doesn't work, which it most likely won't for at least your first few attempts.

If it were easy to make money off of gaming, everyone would do it. Tons try but very very few people ever get to the point where they can make any sort of living off of it to support themselves, and most of the people who actually can only ended up in the position they're in completely by accident or luck.

I think ya done goofed.