Everyone dreams of doing what they love for a living. Although there are a few people who would rather save their hobbies for their spare time, some enjoy their favorite activities so much that they want to do them all the time. One of the most coveted professions is that of a professional video game player. There are boys, girls, men and women around the world who would kill to spend their days playing, analyzing and reviewing games. But, of course, it isn’t the sort of job that just anyone can walk into. There aren’t a great deal of employment opportunities in the industry, compared to other sectors. Although the gaming industry is one that’s flourishing, most roles don’t involve playing games all the time. But if you work hard and get good at what you do, you could become one of the lucky people who gets paid to do what they love.
Have a Backup Plan
First of all, don’t set all your hopes on making it big in the gaming industry. There’s nothing wrong with going after what you want, but you don’t want to end up destitute if it doesn’t work out. It’s not defeatist to do some other work while you try to get into the business; it’s just a realistic thing to do. Work on your gaming in your spare time and gradually move into playing games for a living. Just like any kind of self-employment, it’s best to ease into it when you’re beginning to earn enough to support yourself.
Become a Great Player
It’s not enough to just enjoy playing a game and think that you’re pretty good at it. You need to be prepared to spend an entire working day of seven or eight hours plugging away to get better and better. If you want to be a top player, you need to be prepared to work on your game, just like you would have to with any other craft or skill. Professional players have rigorous practice schedules to keep their skills honed, so you need to have the discipline to really work at getting better. Of course, most people who want to play games professionally are probably happy to sit and play all day for weeks on end. But remember that you’re not looking to play casually and just for fun.
Know Your Stuff
Your practical gaming skills aren’t the only thing that’s important to making it in the business. You need to do your research, so you know more about the wider industry and the professional gamers who have come before you. As well as knowing about the platform(s) you use to play and your preferred games, you can study other gamers. By watching their tactics and behavior, you can learn some new skills that will help you start playing like a professional instead of an amateur. Spend time working on things that you know you need to improve and keep honed, and use games that will help you target particular aspects of your gameplay. Each game has a specific set of rules and tests of skill in Major League Gaming, so you need to learn them for your preferred game.
Get Involved with the Community
Whether you play on an XBOX One, a PlayStation 4 or another platform, and no matter what genre you like, there is a community you need to be part of. If you want to participate in tournaments and improve your playing, you need to associate with other people. Playing alone will cause you to miss out on lots of great advice and support. There are several ways you can get involved with the community, from joining an online forum to forming your own team. Discussing strategies and other elements of gaming forms an important part of your professional development.
Build the Right Setup
You don’t have to have all the most sophisticated equipment to become a great player, and owning it won’t make you any better either. But creating a gaming setup that makes things easier for you will help you improve your skills, without poorly performing equipment getting in your way. You’re obviously limited by your budget, but there are plenty of ways you can set up your system to give you an extra edge. It could be ordering a custom-built laptop from chillblast.com, buying a gaming chair that makes you more comfortable or even just getting a new controller.
Forming a Team
When you want to start participating in tournaments, forming a team is your next step. You might already have some fellow gamers to build a professional team with or you might be completely on your own. Thanks to online gaming, you can find people to play with over the internet and communicate from wherever you want. You can use the Major League Gaming recruitment forum, which will help you find people to join tournaments with, whether you’re alone or already have a couple of members. You might have done plenty of practice on your own, but once you have a team you need to learn to work together. You can practice against other teams before you enter any official tournaments. Then you can start to enter online competitions to begin to prove your skill.
Playing on the Pro Circuit
After you’ve had lots of experience entering online tournaments, it’s time to move on to the Pro Circuit competitions, run by Major League Gaming. You need to attend live events to cement your position in the community, even if you perform very well online. Some live events get a great deal of attention, and a win at one could get you money and fame. A few of the top-performing professional gamers take in six-figure earnings, but it’s tough competition. People from all over the world participate in tournaments, so you need to be the best of the best. If you can prove that you are, you could be one of the lucky few that makes it big.
