Before I went through my time playing Mario Kart Wii at Nintendo, I prattled on about taking risks as a video game developer; where the God of War team spent millions of Sony’s dollars, and still had doubts about the sheer awesomeness of Kratos’ bladed ballet of blood. But the “no risk, no reward” tactics are all part of the rich tapestry woven into the industry. Well, unless you’re making a sequel, or your company’s marketing department is making all of the gameplay decisions. And at a risk of over-utilizing this inapt medieval metaphor to a teeth-clenchingly trite conclusion, you need to thread your own needle if you’re hoping to join those working on, or parasitically feeding off (in the case of video game reviewers) the latest and greatest video games.

I tumbled into the video game industry just after finishing a University degree in History, in Sheffield; a town famous as the setting for the movie The Full Monty. As no-one was particularly eager to see my flabby torso or other flappy bits, I used my very first credit card, and imported one of the very first PlayStations available in Japan. It cost me $2,000. And that’s with the wrong video cables, no power adapter, and without Ridge Racer or Battle Arena Toshinden. I imported, and played Ridge Racer – unfortunately in black-and-white – until my hands cramped, my eyes turned a strange shade of pink, and my thesis was two months’ late. I then hooked up my PC to a serial cable, and played Deathmatch Doom with my housemate, who’s now the Editorial Director at GameSpy. At this point, I’d like to give thanks to Ken Kutaragi and John Carmack for planting the embryonic alien in my brain that hatched, and piloted me into my first video game job.

• PlayStation + Ridge Racer + Battle Arena Toshinden in 1995:
•          $2,200 in student loans.
• PlayStation + Ridge Racer + Battle Arena Toshinden in 2008:
•         $30 if you’re lucky.

After somehow managing to obtain a History degree, I realized that my aimless wandering towards a teaching job could be circumvented into writing about the second wave of video games on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. I made a Doom map that was published in PC Zone, a feat far less impressive than it sounds as it was bundled with 299 other maps, and stuck to the front of the magazine to be peeled off and stolen from newsstands. Back in my parents’ house, I realized I needed to get my particular brand of waffling prose into the hands of a video game magazine editor. So I wrote a fanzine. On paper. With screenshots scanned from imported copies of GameFan magazine “A what?” you might be thinking. But this was back when the internet was wowing us with Ascii characters and the latest in MUD text adventures; there were no blogs. I created the fanzine entirely in Microsoft Word, called it “PlayStation Frenzy”, a name that still causes douche chills each time I think about it, and sent it to every publisher in the world.

Nowadays, a career in the video game industry is a lot more straightforward; you can send links to your hilarious and satirical video blog, and start making millions the Zero Punctuation way. Or you can go to college and (as I recommend in my Video Game Careers book, which I’m hawking incessantly over the forthcoming months) choose a pertinent degree, parlaying that into a career in video games. Me? I got rejected dozens of times, until one man; an Editor in Chief called Richard Leadbetter, summoned me to his London Doom Base one dark and overcast September day, and offered me a chance to work on my first magazine. My hapless exploits at this magazine, showcasing more difficulties of breaking into this industry, will be revealed next time.

Just finished: A couple of chapters on creating some of the most fearsome Spore creatures the galaxy has ever seen.

Currently: Leafing through my copy of the Mario Kart Wii Guide. On sale now!

About to: Check on all the various Phases of the Spore game, and model a critter on Great Cthulhu, if my tentacle allocation allows.

As my time tearing through Mario Kart Wii continued, I began to experiment with the five different control types in the game. All of them offer excellent maneuvering for your kart and characters, and first in my hands was the all-new wheel, in which you slot the Wiimote. Although this gets tiring (perhaps due to my daily 12-hour marathon karting sessions), it’s also arguably the most fun, as you steer using the wheel as expected, and use the Wiimote’s d-pad to throw items back or forward. This is important, as accurate banana trajectories can win or lose a race! As I continued to test out the different gameplay modes, I also noticed that my Ghost times (which are saved after you complete a Time Trial race) were accompanied by a wheel icon; showing all your rivals just how hardcore you are!

Also hardcore? This INSANE shortcut through the craziest Rainbow Road course ever seen!

Although the Wii Wheel was one of the most novel ways to steer around the twisting turns of the 32 different courses, there were other options that were just as entertaining. My personal favorite was the good old Nunchuk and Wiimote combo, with the Nunchuk responsible for steering, and a quick flick of the Wiimote when you wanted to perform a Trick. Tricks are another all-new feature to this game, and you’re able to attempt one as soon as you hit the air from a ramp or other jump. Execute a Trick, and your character tries a stylish flip, or does the splits, before you land with a quick turbo boost of speed. This is another great way to gain the edge on your opponents! I also enjoyed the classic GameCube controller, which really allows you to enjoy a control scheme you’ll be familiar with if you played Double Dash.

As my time at Nintendo continued, I sped through and memorized more and more of the tracks. To ensure there’s more than enough choices for everyone, Nintendo has incorporated 16 “retro” courses; tracks like the classic Ghost Valley 2 from the Super Nintendo, or Peach Beach from the Gamecube, and mixed them into different cups. This allows you to retry pre-existing courses that usually have less in the way of jumps and bumps, or select the newer courses with more undulation. Of course, there are 16 brand new tracks to figure out as well, and all of them offer a ludicrously large amount of fun. Some are truly frightening too; try completing the all-new Rainbow Road without a major twinge of vertigo! As I continued to play the game, I began to unlock some truly spectacular secrets….

Next time: I finally get to grips with the real racing lines, and burst some balloons in the frantic Battle Mode!

Purchase the only Official Mario Kart Strategy Guide HERE!

Hello. My name is David Hodgson, and I’m a Prima Author. I’ve been writing guides for ten years now, having cut my teeth on a variety of publications both in the US and the UK. I’ve watched the birth of the internet. I’ve met my wife over a Street Fighter II (Championship Edition) arcade machine. I’ve failed to purchase Google stock before the IPO. I’ve been given Gamers.com stock weeks before that website imploded. I’ve helped launch over 15 video game-related magazines and ventures: Let’s quickly check how all of them are doing right now… yep, they’ve all shut down. So, I’m certainly not the first person you might think of asking for video game career advice. Or the fiftieth, even.

The ghosts of magazines past: Incite, GameFan, Gamers’ Republic, The Metal Gear Solid Official Mission Handbook, and Maximum Magazine.

Unless the question is “how do I get a job I love in the video games industry, and not make the same series of hilarious miss-steps that you did?” In which case, I can help you with that. The first plan of attack is to pick up my new book (now in its second edition), which I’m almost embarrassed about recommending in such a direct manner. But not that embarrassed: It’s called Video Game Careers, just in case you were confused by the old title; Paid to Play. The second plan, for those without $14 burning a hole in their pocket and no access to amazon.com, is to come back here next Monday, when I’ll continue this blog with a series of devastatingly accurate methods of becoming the next Hideo Kojima. Or David Jaffe. Or Will Wright. Or, yes even the next Morgan Webb.

Meanwhile, here’s what I’m feverishly working on:

Just finished: Crafting amazing racing lines for all 32 tracks for the Mario Kart Wii guide.

Currently: I’m finalizing the second edition of the Video Game Careers book.

About to: Complete my first chapter of the Official Guide to Spore.