Last time: I wrote about getting my first job in the industry. This time: I’ll save my anecdotes about my time at the part fraternity, part sanitarium known as GameFan Magazine for a future blog, and instead explain what goes into a guide’s creation.

Part 1: Getting Into the Game.

When I actually leave the confines of my Doombase to interact with other human beings, it’s usually at the local game store, the question I’m asked most often (aside from “who the hell are you?” and “why should I care?”), is by the game staff, and goes something along the lines of “it must be great sitting around playing games all day.” I assume it would be, if that’s all I did. In fact, explaining that making a video game guide isn’t quite as straightforward as polishing off a game and then banging out some prose was the basis of writing that book I doggedly refuse to stop hawking: Video Game Careers.

For my job in particular, there’s a whole lot more than steaming through a game on a big-screen TV, sipping Iron Bru. Whether I’m checking every nook and cranny in a particular playfield, learning how to avoid overwhelming my Xbox 360 debug’s internal memory on a Beta version of a game, or going frame-by-frame through collected footage to showcase just the right action shot, every guide writing is a collaborative, crazy, but ultimately rewarding job. Next time, I’ll show what preparation goes into a guide, before the game even arrives.

Just finished: Writing a Chapter on Spore, and creating some crazy-looking vehicles.

Currently: Wading through a spectacular and massive RPG I can’t mention the name of.

About to: Spend ten weeks thoroughly exploring the RPG’s hidden hideyholes.

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.