Virtual Earth

There’s nothing like coming home after a hard day at the office to sit back and relax. And in some people’s cases to turn on their computers in preparation for a long night of Warcraft game play. If you’re not one of these people you might want to consider joining the crowd, or at least taking a peek into what it’s all about. And that’s where the demo Warcraft III download version comes into the picture.

With the free Warcraft III download you have the ability to find out what all the fuss is about, why so many people spend their lives in front of a computer screen (as opposed to a TV screen), and just why so many of your friends are recommending that you try it out for yourself.

Once you get the Warcraft III download demo to your computer, you can then experience all there is to Warcraft and finally be able to decide for yourself whether all your friends were right when they said you were missing out on life, or whether you want to go back to your nighttime hobby of reading instead.

To get the Warcraft III download you will first need to go to the Blizzard site and find your way to the Warcraft III download page. From there you will be able to read through and find what the system requirements are and whether you computer meets them.

You will then need to choose a mirror site from which to get the Warcraft III download. This should be done depending on where you are in the world. Your choices are, USA, Asia /Pacific /Australia, Germany, France, or a mirror site which serves the rest of the World.

Once the Warcraft III download is complete you will then be able to play the Warcraft III download demo. There are two missions which you can go on which will introduce you to the very basics of the Warcraft III game. When you complete these two missions you will then have a further three missions you can complete to finish off the Warcraft III download demo version of the game.

And if you still need convincing to get the Warcraft III download demo version, you might want to check out the various reviews which the game not to mention the download, garnered. In fact since its initial release in July 2002, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos has been just as much of a success as its predecessors.

James writes about strategy, tips and guides to transform any beginner World of Warcraft gamer into an Elite World of Warcraft Warrior.

Getting a job in the video game industry seems like a great idea to gamers: you get paid to help create or perfect the very product that you love to play. And while it does take a lot of work, a job in the video game industry can be very rewarding; but, how do you get your foot in the door and start down the path of creating these entertaining gems? You, my friend, need to get an entry-level position with a gaming company.

First, let’s discuss what exactly an “entry-level” position is: it’s something on the ground floor that usually doesn’t have the years of prior experience required of other positions; however, there are usually some requirements, like having a High School diploma, GED, or College Degree. Let’s face the facts: video games are a highly technical field, and you’re not going to get anywhere if you’re not educated.

With that being said, here are the Top 5 entry-Level Video Game Jobs:

Public Beta Tester – While not technically a paid position, by properly beta testing products you can help yourself stand out in your field. Now, I’m not talking about play testing – where you get to play around with a nearly complete product. No, I’m talking about true beta testing – where bugs need to be documented properly and recreated in a reliable manner. Even if this doesn’t directly lead to a job, it can help with the necessary experience required for a real technical position.

Internal Game Testing – This position is slowly being outsourced to other companies that specialize in the field of testing products, so if you choose this route be aware that you may never actually get to work in a gaming company, but a company that works with gaming companies.

The job is pretty simple: play a game, find bugs, report those bugs; but, the job is pretty tedious as well: you need to play one section of a game over and over in a designed fashion so that every possible action the player could take is covered and does not cause an undesired outcome (i.e. the game crashes). Sure, it’s not glamorous, but it’s a decent paying job and you get to sit on your butt and stare at a computer screen all day.

Technical Documentation – if writing programs or beta testing isn’t your cup of tea, or if you really excel at writing, then perhaps the area of technical documentation would be right up your alley: you’ll be writing most of the internal documentation covering a variety of topics from how to use a chunk of code to how to properly restart a game during beta testing so that no data is lost.

Jr. Programmer – If you dream of algorithms and fixing bugs, then the Jr. Programming position might just be for you. Granted, you’re not going to be writing the most complex pieces of code in the world, but you will be double-checking the work of Sr. Programmers and writing smaller chunks of code as a blistering pace. While you won’t generally get to spend a great deal of time actually playing the games, you will get to help create the backbone of the game.

Production Assistant – This position you might consider to be the “holy grail” of the gamer: you don’t need to muck with code, or test games until your thumbs fall off, and you still get to take part in the development of the game. The only problem, of course, is that you’ll be an assistant to a producer: organizing schedules, meetings, conferences, calls, and doing all of the mundane tasks that your boss doesn’t want to do.

Those are, what I would consider to be, the Top 5 Entry-Level Video Game Jobs. No, they’re not glamorous in the least, but at least they will help you get your foot in the door. Plus, they’ll help you decide if the Video Game industry is right for you.

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