You know that most maps of the earth are incorrect, right?
If you weren’t aware – most maps you’ve likely ever used are not 100% accurate
and to proper scale. This is because, well, it’s incredibly difficult to
represent something three dimensional and spherical in a flat two dimensional
plane without any distortion.
Most modern maps you’ve used were likely created with the “Mercator Projection”
– developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1596. However, this method of
representation does create significant distortions, such as stretching out Greenland
to be the size equivalent of Australia when it’s actually three times smaller!
Much like most maps aren’t perfect, neither is my new book Quit Aspiring, Vol.
2. However, just as we’ve used imperfect maps to navigate for centuries – I
feel confident saying you’ll be able to navigate a game audio career from
the information in this book as well!
That’s right – after a long wait – you can now grab a copy of Quit Aspiring,
Vol. 2. Here’s three reasons why I think you may be interested:
- The book is packed with a ton of great career information
- It’s the only game audio career book written from the perspective of a
hiring manager - It has 40+ entertaining stories to go along with it
It may sound obvious that a book has a lot of great information…
But, it does – and I tried to tackle some seriously difficult subjects for you.
Here’s a short example of some of the chapter titles:
- How long will it take for me to land a job in game audio?
- Am I too old to get a job in game audio?
- How to demonstrate AAA games experience when you have none
- How to actually enjoy networking
- Why introverts are superpowered networkers everyone should be envious
of - Why most people craft bad resumes/cover letters
- How much money should you ask for?
- What’s it actually like to hire someone?
That list isn’t at all comprehensive, there’s over 40 chapters of information,
and no matter which version you grab, you’ll get two text versions (.pdf and
.epub) as well as a .mp3 audiobook version. If you go splurge on the “premium
edition” you also get 4+ hours of video content including an hour long mock
interview session.
I put this all together so as to have a compendium of all my thoughts on the
subject of breaking into games – but I also don’t know that there’s anywhere
else you can get all of this information compiled in one place for AAA games.
It’s also written from a unique perspective…
A lot of people have asked me what the difference between the first “Quit
Aspiring” book and this new one is – simply put, it’s written from a different
perspective.
I wrote the first volume as I was breaking into the industry. I was cataloging
my experience, my opinions, and sharing information a lot of people had asked me
questions about. I also spent a significant amount of time getting feedback
from industry peers and veterans, which is included in that book. Quit
Aspiring, Vol. 2 is different – it’s just my thoughts this time, after having
been in the AAA space since 2016 and having been a hiring manager numerous
times as well as a part of countless interview “loops”.
I partly wrote this volume to catalog that experience, and also because hiring
and getting into the industry is rarely discussed in a formal, “compiled”
setting where the role of the hiring manager is discussed. You may know that
hiring managers are busy, or applications barely have time to get noticed – but
why is that, and what can you do about it?
In Quit Aspiring, Vol. 2 – that’s the kind of thing I go over. So this isn’t a
replacement or update book, it’s more of an add-on or sequel with even more
information from a different perspective.
Finally, it’s got some ridiculous stories…
You may not know that pistachios are hazardous, explosive material, that the
high five was invented by the Los Angeles Dodgers, or that technically
there’s a small area of land where murder is (again, technically) legal
through a loophole.
Not only that, but, all of these stories and countless other ridiculous ones are
related to game audio, too!
It’s said that concepts are easier to remember and lock into your brain when
you’ve got a memorable story or visual example to associate it with. In effort
to help you tap into that, every single chapter of the book has some sort of
fun, wild, ridiculous, or zany story to go along with it.
Along with all of the great information, I wanted you to be super entertained,
too!
“But Adam – I’ve been looking for a game audio job for a really long time and I
hear that AAA studios aren’t hiring much right now. Will this actually help me?
What gives?!”
If I could promise you that you’d get a job just from buying a book I wrote – I
would obviously be wildly successful and writing books all the time. That being
said, regardless of the climate of the industry or available employment
opportunities, this book was written with the idea of equipping you as much as I
can.
As I write in the book, part of breaking into the industry can be having
perseverance. And yes, as of writing this, the tech, gaming, and entertainment
industries are more contracting than expanding. That being said, lots of
companies approve their hiring budgets at the beginning of the year, which makes
now an ample time to be ready (whether positions open up soon, or
not). At the end of the day, your choice to invest and ingest this is up to you
– and if you’re not in the right place, I hope you don’t buy it!
Alright, what are the three reasons you may be interested in Quit Aspiring,
Vol. 2 again?
- It’s jam packed with good information
- It’s written from the perspective of a hiring manager
- It’s got some incredibly entertaining stories
While most maps we’re used to may be somewhat distorted…
Quit Aspiring, Vol. 2 was written such that you can end up just making your own
and navigating your own path to a game audio career anyway. There’s no one
“right” way to do it – never has, and never will be. But I hope to have
equipped you with the ability to fully chart your own course.
And now that this is done…
First – go grab your copy here. Second, I’m doing a launch/release stream on Twitchat noon pacific today! Third ,I’m diving back into making audio
plugins on the side! If you want to follow along, I’m streaming on Twitch,
posting on Instagram and Threads. Check it out if you’re interested!