game design work, bullshit!

When I read penny-arcades guest article, by Chris Avellone at Obsidian my hope had returned -perhaps I have a chance!
"- Oh, and Obsidian's hiring designers, so it's been on my mind a lot lately, since we started with one designer (me), now have like, 3000, and apparently need 3000 more since we just love designers. So if you think you can do design and meet these requirements, please drop us a line at the link above."

3000 game designer! Hell, I maybe just in luck!
Well, I checked out their website (link above) and read:

" Before applying, please note:

• Applicants must be willing to relocate to Southern California.
• Applicants must be passionate gamers with the drive to make the best games possible."

Hey, I thought, this sounds awesome! I'd love to relocate from the cold northern part of the world (yes, the exotic country Sweden) to Southern California! And I'm quite the passionate fellow with the drive to create the best games ever.

So, as anyone, happy to see a sign of light in the dark world of gaming industy, I kept on reading.

"We are searching for an experienced and talented designer..." and "-At least 1-2 years game industry and game toolset design experience"

What the ****! As always...experience, how stupid of me. How the hell can you have enough experience to create games when everyone in the industry wants EXPERIENCE befor you can get a job? It's an evil circle. Hey, I know, I'll lie to them! or not...

Well, whats a game designer student to do? Okay, so I got a break, I began creating a 3d real time strategy game with a couple of classmates for a school project.

Even though we were totally undermanned we created of one of the best games (7 other games were created). We created the game in less than 10 weeks. Two programmers, three designers, and four graphic artist. All other groups had a lot more members. Digital Illusions (DICE) watched our presentation and game demonstration and a few other game companys, etc. too. And were impressed....of the grafics. A few more weeks and we would have been able to implement the primary and fun gameplay elements, but with only two programmers -this was hard. In our design fase, we had correspondense with a game designer at DICE, who seemed to like our gameplay plans and solutions. BUT here the game development ended. The Lead Artist left our group to (probably) work at Massive Entertainment, another artist applied to Massive too, probably got at job too. One programmer left to begin working too, etc. etc.

Okay. So here I am. Now, I have no clue what to do. Wanted to start my own company, with my friends, but...what can I say. Now I've been kind of lost, what are my chances really? Write for a game magazine? design cell phone games? design other software products? Become a professor in Game Design?

So, good news always comes when you least expect it to.
Well, "good news" - at least a breather anyway - for me was the fact that I have a bigger chans then before to succeed in getting a job in the trade of game design, or something in the line of games at least. It seems like a relative to me heard that I study game and (or?!) software design
and apperently have contacts in Silicon Valley. And he wants me to make contact with him, and try to get me hooked up when I'm finished with my studies...if I got talent. Hell, I'll do anything to get a chance.

Whatever happens in the future I want to start my own company, and this could be one way to get experience enough, but to get experience, I have to find a way to get it...

Hell, I'm gonna have me a tallboy now and enjoy my summer vacation.