Instant Antagonists - Just Add Dice!

Want to write for games?

Think your art is ready for professional publication?

Long to be a part of the game industry, but not sure how to get your foot in the door?

Freelance writer/editor/game creator Jess Hartley shares her secrets for using conventions as an entry point into the professional game industry.

This product was inspired by a series of articles presented here on Jess' website to offer her experiences and advice to potential freelancers looking to make the best use of their time during the summer 2009 convention season.

The response was overwhelming, and encouraged Jess to write a more complete guide for those who would like to increase their chances of becoming a professional in the game industry.

Recently revised and updated with expanded information, helpful appendixes and more advice than ever before, Jess Hartley's Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional is available now for free preview or in PDF format for only $1.99

Includes 30+ pages of detailed advice and insider information about how to use conventions (and other face-to face situations) to your best advantage as an aspiring game professional.

Recently, I've had the pleasure of doing some game-creation work for Lone Shark Games, a fantastic collective of game-makers, event planners and all around fun-makers.

You may have encountered their work at Gen Con's Guardian 6 events or Puzzle Hunts.

Or, if you work for a cool enough company, it's possible they may have organized or invented games for one of your events.

You may have played "Unspeakable Words", or "CowPoker", or "Harrow" or "Key Largo", all which Lone Shark folk had a hand in creating.

You may have even read their work in Games Magazine (which I've been an avid reader of since my teen years) or in one of the publications they've done on poker, or in Hobby Games: The Best 100, which all three of the core Lone Sharks (Founder James Ernest, President Mike Selinker and Creative Director Teeuwynn Woodruff) contributed to.

Or maybe you've heard about the Wired magazine hunt for reporter Evan Ratliff - a "non-alternate reality game" where Evan hid himself among the 307 million other people in the US and dared the internet to find him. (The hunt showed up on CNN, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, NPR, the Miami Herald, the Seattle Times, Wired.com and a plethora of other mainstream media sources.) Evan was finally caught in New Orleans on September 8th, but during his 25 day "disappearance", Lone Shark coordinated the clues to find him, with Teeuwynn leading the hunt, editor Nick Thompson providing info and Mike making up puzzling clues in the background.

Chances are, if you're reading my blog, you have likely encountered Lone Shark in one way or another, whether you know it or not.

But, if you were present at Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle this year, you had a chance to encounter Lone Shark at what might just be their best and brightest.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike Selinker about games, gaming and the amazing party/game/event that Lone Shark created for Wizards of the Coast at this year's PAX.

Jess is scheduled to appear on a text-chat at RPGBomb.com on Wednesday, August 26th at 9pm EST (6pm PST).

She will be available to answer questions about any of the materials she's worked on, her new column "One Geek to Another", the articles she wrote on "GenCon for the Aspiring Professional" or freelancing and the gaming industry in general.

A free .pdf version of "GenCon for the Aspiring Professional" articles is now available.

Thanks go out to Adam Jury for his fantastic work on the .pdf.

Those who would like to participate in the chat are encouraged to sign up at RPGBomb now, as it requires a free membership to attend.

Signing up is simple, just go to http://www.rpgbomb.com and fill out the "JOIN NOW" form.

One of the most common questions that any person in the gaming industry is likely to recieve from those outside the field is "How can I get started...?" Aspiring artists, writers and game developers want to get their proverbial foot in the door, but don't know how. One of the best opportunities to make the face-to-face connections that can be a fast-track to working in the gaming industry is the gaming convention. With GenCon just around the corner, Jess wrote a series of  four articles on "GenCon for the Aspiring Professional". While the advice offered was focused on GenCon, it translates equally well to any convention or public contact opportunity.

• Part One - The Basics
• Part Two - Preparation
• Part Three - At the Con
• Part Four - Follow Ups and Follow Through

Questions and comments can be directed to jess@jesshartley.com.