Valve's advice on getting an industry job: "Give yourself one"

Breaking into the gaming industry isn't as simple and straightforward a process as, say, establishing a reputation as a ruthless flamethrower-wielding mercenary. But you're not limited to knocking on the doors of large studios to get your break. At the Eurogamer Expo today, Valve writer Chet Faliszek offered would-be developers this simple piece of advice: "Create something."

"I'm being serious," he said. "There are no gatekeepers. There are no requirements. There is no prior experience that you need. Just make something."

Faliszek suggested budding indiesmiths seek feedback on their work through forums and developer communities as well as heightening their exposure through submissions to gaming portals such as Greenlight, Kongregate, and Desura.

"How do you get yourself a job in the games industry?" he said. "This is the answer: You just give yourself one. It's that simple. You're in control of your own destiny. Make your resume and ship it to the world. Take whatever ideas you have, whatever computer you have, whatever software you have, and scope it down to something you can ship. Start working on it. Every day you come home from work, work on it some more. Show it to your friends. Talk about it. Get feedback on it. Playtest it. And when it's ready, release it. There, you just gave yourself a job in the game industry."

Eurogamer recorded Faliszek's entire talk at the Expo, should you want to see more.