Why Work? Be a Game Designer!

I am frequently asked about this wonderful business that I'm in. How did I get into it? More importantly how does someone else get into it? In spite of my claims to the contrary, the illusion that designing games is a wild and easy way to make a living persists, especially in commercials similar to this one.

Here's the bottom line. Any job that is worth paying a great deal of money for requires a modicum of skill. If you have a skill that is valuable to an employer, they expect you to use it. That's called work. The harder the work, the more you get paid. In other words, if you want a paycheck, you have to work for it. There's no free lunch.