Alexander J. Velicky, who created the Falskaar mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, has joined Bungie Studios as an associate designer. So the argument that the best way to score a job with a game development studio is through modding still stands.
Writing on The Elder Scrolls forum, Velicky stated that, “Of course, all of this leaves me with one corny ‘life lesson’ that I’d like to extend to all of you. Never be afraid to try. I set my sights on a professional design job pretty early, I lowered my head, charged forward, and rarely looked back. Of course, I ensured what I was doing had a reasonable chance for success from time to time.
“But the most surprising of all, is who I’ve ended up with. I applied to many companies, and Bungie was in my, ‘Huge company that will completely ignore me.’ category. Well, they didn’t and look what it got me. Bungie is an awesome company with an amazing team, and I’m very lucky that they’ve decided to give me a chance! Never be afraid to try. I spent the time it took to apply and the rewards are proving to be greater than I could have possible imagined.”
If you haven’t heard of Falskaar, then imagine a brand new world for Skyrim that adds 20+ hours of gameplay, is balanced for all character types, features new characters, quests, dungeons and much more. Check it out here.