An important part of developing a new game is to have appropriate aged individuals give feedback on how the game plays. Is it exciting? Is it too easy? Is it too hard?  What are the best parts of the game? You can help us make sure our games are fun.

Game testing is an important responsibility as well though. Each session is approximately one hour in length.  You will need to be able to come to our offices to play the game (near Albany, NY). You will need to tell us your opinions about the game. You also need to have some patience to play a game that is not quite yet finished, and have a sharp eye to see things that might be broken. Even with these things, it is a lot of fun, and can make a big difference in making the game fun!

Just click on, fill out and forward us the game testing form and we’ll contact you as necessary. Please keep in mind that we currently have a very full roster of over 200 testers so there is a waiting list.  The game testing form must be filled out by the parent or guardian of the game player if applicant is less than 18 years of age.

Vicarious Visions does not offer job shadowing. (also see next question).

Vicarious Visions is not open to the public.  However, occasional educational on-site group visits are offered.  The visits consist of a presentation which helps understand the programming, art, animation, and design aspects of creating video games. A tour of the facilities is included.  These visits are coordinated on a first-come first-served basis.  If you are interested, please contact Mel Holtzman.

It is our policy not to review, accept, or solicit any materials from third party sources for our current or future products outside of official business partners.

However, a couple of great resources you might try for information to get you started are www.Gamasutra.com and www.IGDA.org.  We wish you well in all your creative endeavors. There are also many good books on game development (which can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, etc.) as well as on game programming. 

Here are a few tips:

• Game development is really an interdisciplinary field.  There are programmers who specialize in various areas (computer graphics, physics, artificial intelligence, networking/online, user interface) as well as artists, animators, designers/writers, folks having some background in cognitive science/psychology as well as producers/project managers, musicians etc.  Lots of creative talent from all walks of life!
• Think about what aspect of video games you want to be in, i.e. programming, design or art. That answer would determine the pathway. You may have interests in all three areas, but it would be good to specialize in one and build a working knowledge of others.  If you wish to pursue a programming/software engineering track, you should definitely look at math/science courses as well as computer science courses. As a game programmer, you can specialize in many things - graphics, networking, physics, AI, gameplay/game mechanics etc. If you want to be a "low level" guy, meaning you get to write directly to the hardware (especially with assembly level programming), having some engineering courses won't hurt. But if you want to do higher level stuff, computer science courses may be your better bet.
• A computer science program with a few engineering courses sprinkled in there as elective is not a bad way to go.
• Make sure you spend as much time learning on your own - beyond the classroom, homework and class projects. This is key. Personal projects - especially game projects you can come up with shows passion, motivation, ability to deliver and the craving for learning more beyond what they teach in school.  School gives you the fundamentals. They don't teach you to become a great game programmer. You do that yourself.
• Your own demos will differentiate you from all the others.  What we love to see when we look for college grads is a solid resume (all the strong, hard courses, great GPA, from a good school) as well as personal game projects, demos etc.
• Many developers like VV have a co-op program. We bring in co-ops every year and that is a great way to get in on the ground floor to show what you can do.  Our co-op program has very strict requirements for getting in. At Vicarious Visions you'll be actually working on a high profile commercial game, not just sitting on the side doing busy work. And that gives you great work experience before you're looking for a full time job.

Good luck and all the best!

Vicarious Visions usually hires a number of programming co-ops each year.  The timing of the positions really depends on our project schedules.  Typically, a co-op will work full-time for a full semester (either spring or fall), plus a school break (winter or summer).  Students interested in completing a co-op with Vicarious Visions should send a cover letter and resume to jobs@vvisions.com.  Be sure to mention any game related school or hobbyist work you've completed.  Game demos are key!  Also, please let us know the time frame that you are available for the co-op.  Should we have an opening that meets your availability and qualifications, we may contact you for additional information and/or an interview.  We regret that we cannot individually respond to each and every applicant.

For further information about jobs that are currently available at VV, please see our Employment section.

Vicarious Visions currently does not offer any art internships.  We do, however, hire many recent graduates for full-time art positions.  So, keep working on that demo reel!  Vicarious Visions does occasionally offer Production Internships which are design related.  These positions typically are temporary summer positions.  Interested students may send their resume and cover letter to jobs@vvisions.com.

For further information about jobs that are currently available at VV, please see our Employment section.

At this time we are not in need of subcontractors for music or art.  If you choose, feel free to send any demos you have and we'll keep them on file in case the need for subcontractors ever arises in the future.

For further information about jobs that are currently available at VV, please see our Employment section.