Recently, in a small room inside the massive Moscone Center meeting complex, roughly 200 people crowded around a large table to conduct a challenging conversation about working in the video game industry. There was a single microphone, chauffeured from person to person by a sprinting staffer working the Game Developers Conference, which is running in San Francisco. Most people began talking before the mic got to them. Raucous banging, presumably from construction nearby, drowned out many attendees' comments.

On any given day, CEO André Thomas arrives at his company Triseum's office in Bryan, Texas at nine in the morning. While this is when Thomas gets in, his work day usually starts hours before by checking sales on the company's educational video games. On one of the days that Thomas and I spoke, he told me he had been "driving all day" to visit a university to answer questions and help students who were using Triseum's games.

He says he usually tries to leave his office around seven, and even after eating dinner with his family, he'll return to work for a few hours. In the past, he was Head of Graphics for EA Sports games like Madden NFL. Now, he runs Triseum, a company whose principal goal is to completely replace textbooks with video games.

Last week, former Valve writer Marc Laidlaw posted his version of what might be a genderswapped plot summary of Half-Life 2: Episode 3 on his portfolio website. Now there's a game jam based on the synopsis that lets Half-Life fans bring their sequel visions to life.

If you have ever wanted to pay $4/minute to talk to game developers on the phone -- and who hasn't? -- today is your lucky day, thanks to the launch of Callvention, a wild new website that will no doubt be used by many people.

Did you know some of the App Store’s hottest games were built by one-man teams? Take 2048 -- this swiping sensation was built by a lone programmer, and attracted over 4 million visitors in less than a week.

You don’t need a pricey game studio to build your own titles—especially with resources like the Game Creator's Ultimate Bundle at your fingertips.

Your boss just pulled you into another surprise meeting. You've got a case of the Mondays. And your raise got rejected. Why not leave it all behind and roll the dice on a new career in video games?