Recent research from HBCU Connect, Commissioned by Microsoft, out of 200 respondents, nearly 95% of HBCU undergraduates and graduates nationwide said they were interested in a career in the gaming industry, with 34% of respondents saying they were particularly interested in the program I understand what you are saying. management, 24% interested in engineering and 18% interested in game development.mark of the week National Historically Black College (HBCU) Week Held annually in the United States in September and led by the White House Initiative, it promotes educational equity, excellence, and economic opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Colleges (HBCUs) and promotes the United States of America for these institutions. HBCU’s impact on American culture to recognize and commemorate its contribution to
Games are a major form of entertainment, but so far – Only 2% of professional blacks in the video game industry, compared to 13% of the U.S. population.Working with members of Xbox’s Black community, Xbox seeks to improve stats and close this gap by facilitating black and youth pipelines across the gaming industry. Introducing: Project Amplify – Black voices within Xbox to inspire, educate and motivate young people across the country to pursue careers in the gaming industry through real-life storytelling by Black leaders and employees across the Xbox ecosystem A video series intended to expand on the .
project amplification Featuring 14 Black employees from across Xbox, each will share advice, insight into their current role, and highlights from their experiences in the games industry. This video series aims to educate young people about the diversity of roles within the gaming industry, but focuses on some of the black people who work in these roles every day. On behalf of the community, co-leaders shared their personal stories in a video series.
- “Growing up, I didn’t really have a vision of what my career would be like. I decided to go to college because I thought it was a way to ‘get a good job’ and escape poverty.” But even my freshman computer science major had a very shallow knowledge of the opportunities the tech industry offered me. Through my college experience and internships, I learned just how big the world is—how many companies, careers, and pathways there are to find or create a job you love. I want you to know that nothing is impossible or out of reach, and start pursuing your passion early. – Q Muhaimin, Product Manager
- “In the early days, I was more focused on what not to do versus what i can do. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned to turn my passion for gaming into a career. I am so grateful to be celebrating 10+ years of my dream career. project amplification It gives people dreams and inspires them to take action towards their goals. As my coaches and mentors say, “Don’t play to lose, play to win.” – James Lewis, Senior Business Development Manager
To kick off this initiative, Xbox partnered with the 2022 Revolt Summit x AT&T to host a two-day event (September 24-25) featuring on-site industry panels and networking with members of Xbox’s Black community. Reach students and game enthusiasts through opportunities. .
Additional resources:
Learn programming basics and C# with the following tutorials.
- Introduction to C#: Tutorials with sample projects ranging from “hello world” to OOP concepts such as numbers, loops, some basic data structures, and inheritance.
- C# 101: A video series along the same lines as the written tutorials.
Once you’re familiar with the basics and C#, try the Unity course.
Download the tutorials to learn the basics of Unreal Engine:
Learn about game design:
Some game designers at Xbox Game Studios find these two GDC (Game Developers Conference) presentations very informative and inspiring for anyone interested in game design.
Learn about the game development process.
Narrative tools to start:
- twine: An Open Source Tool for Telling Interactive, Non-Linear Stories
Art tools to start with:
- GIMP Also Kurita A great free resource to start learning how to use textures
- Get started with 3D modeling with blender
