I got my level design job last year and some sacrifices were made in the process but not financially.
I earn a lot more than I did in my last job so that's a bonus for me.
The biggest decision was relocating.
The amount of decision making involved is enormous, especially if you've got a wife and kids.
In my case my son was in his final year of Uni and he already had a bunch of plans for himself anyway.
It was at that point I started seriously thinking about giving the games industry a crack and I'd already done quite a bit of contract work on the side for various projects.
Jay Harrison (remember him? - guy who got all of us CBP guys together to do the bonus packs?)
Well he was in the process of signing up with DICE in Stokholme in Sweden and he recommended me to them and guess what?
They flew me out there for interview and they then asked me back for a second interview and this time flew my wife out with me as well - how cool is that?
Trouble is I didn't land the job and that was an incredible let down because I really thought I'd nailed it.
Anyway, after that I decided to get a web site up and running.
My maps and other stuff were dotted around all over the internet so I had to just get it all together in one place and make it presentable.
I learnt Maya in about 4 weeks and knocked out some half decent stuff.
Anyone who's interested, this is my website and the one I used in interviews.
http://lruce.planetunreal.gamespy.com/
Haven't updated it in a while but I only used it as a way of presenting my work.
It's nothing amazing and there are far better sites with more work and better quality but I thought £uck it, I'm going to give it a go so I joined up with a games recruitment agency (I used Datascope) and within 2 weeks of signing up I had 3 interviews lined up and other agencies were ringing me.
I was like WTF?
I had interviews with Media Molecule who were in production with Little Big Planet for the PS3 - Kuju in Sheffield (now Chemistry) and Evolution Studios/Sony here in Cheshire.
I took the Evolution Studios job because they had just finished Motorstorm for the PS3 and they seemed the coolest at the time and they made me a great offer - so I took it.
Left my other job of 15 years+ (that was a hard thing to do) and relocated to Cheshire for 6 months on my own while my wife kept things ticking over on the other side of the country (that was also a hard thing to do)
My wife had to put in a transfer for a new job within another government department but that worked out fantastic and she loves her new job so bonus there.
My son rents my other house in my home town with his girlfriend and I bought a new house up here at the beginning of the year.
It all worked out exactly as I intended but only after I'd made the effort.
This time last year I was stuck in my old job not knowing what I wanted to do.
Go figure.
Lruce