   Yet another hopeful
  Hi. I'm new here (obviously), and while normally I'm an erratic forum-goer at best, GameDev seems like such a good resource and community that I'm gonna try and stick around. I want to be a game designer (content, level, system, it's all good). Right now I'm a student, and my goal is that by the time I graduate in two years I'll have an impressive enough resume/portfolio to make my way into the industry. Which is, naturally, the point of this post. I have a few questions, and any advice or direction I could get would be much appreciated.Right now, I'm working on prototypes for a card game and a miniatures skirmish game, and doing a lot of reading. My term ends in May, and I'd like to get a job doing QA/Testing or any sort of internship. The money isn't really important; it's just so I can get some actual experience. I'm in San Francisco, so I'm pretty well located, I think. But still, nobody seems to be looking for interns or testers, which doesn't wholly surprise me. So here's my first question: Am I looking in the wrong places? If I'm not, then what I'm wondering is should I be proactive and maybe email all the studios I can get an address for? Or should I give up on that plan for now and redirect my energy elsewhere?Secondly,I run a tabletop RPG using a pretty expansive world of my own devising, and a home-brew mechanics system. Should I treat this as a resource? My last thing is that I had been working on a 2d platformer that I thought might make a decent show-piece, but ended up stagnating because of programming issues. So how much of a priority should I make learning some programming? I definitely don't want to be a programmer, but I understand that having a working knowledge certainly wouldn't be a bad thing. Thanks!   
  Kov wrote:>nobody seems to be looking for interns or testers, Appearances can be deceiving, kov. But let's break this down. First, interns. It's not true that nobody's interested in having interns. But it could well be the case that you haven't found anyone interested in having a design intern. Programming interns can be useful. Art interns can be useful. Even level design interns can be useful. But design interns? Unlikely anybody would have much use for one of those.Secondly, testers. You've heard that the economy is bad, right? Beyond that, though. Every publisher needs testers, but those jobs are cyclical. Traditionally, the high test need is in late summer (not late spring). More facts: test jobs aren't necessarily advertised. They get enough applicants without needing to advertise. And a college student who wants to test for the summer (and can't stay around when the fall semester begins) is not an attractive test employee. >So here's my first question: Am I looking in the wrong places?You haven't said where you're looking.>should I be proactive and maybe email all the studios I can get an address for?Don't do anything that silly. Failure to get an interview doesn't validate resorting to unsound application practices.>Should I treat [my tabletop RPG] as a resource?The question is not clear.>how much of a priority should I make learning some programming? I definitely don't want to be a programmerThen you shouldn't torture yourself.>but I understand that having a working knowledge certainly wouldn't be a bad thing. Sure. Take a class. Don't spend more than a semester, unless you find that you enjoy it.   