what's an ideal summer (temp) job to gain experience? I'm a college student who's interested in pursuing a career in video game development, but do not live close to any major video game development companies. I'm looking for a summer job I could take that would help me gain experience in the field (and look good on a resume once I graduate). Any ideas?
If you want to be a programmer, get a programming job somewhere that uses similar programming languages that game developers use.
If you want to be an artist, do graphic design work somewhere. Graphic design that requires interaction would be ideal (web design). A workplace that needs 3D modeling work would preferable.
If you want to design games, consider relocating for the summer to a place that has a video game QA (quality assurance) group. I've read over and over that most designers/producers started out in QA. You could also consider spending your summer creating your own game in Flash or something. If it is really good, that will probably be enough experience to get you in the door somewhere.
There are books and magazine articles that focus on how to get jobs in the game industry. Look them up on amazon or google. Also, check out gamasutra.com for video game industry news.
If you're aiming to have a career in video game development, make sure you have a backup plan. "I want to make video games" is almost on par with "I want to be a movie star" these days - the field is PACKED with extremely experienced programmers, designers, and artists. Sad to say, fresh fish like you are at a serious disadvantage.
But if you insist anyhow, pick an area and really go after it, whether it be art, 3D modeling/graphics, programming, etc. Just make sure you pick up some other skills along the way that you can market yourself with if/when it falls through.
Sorry, not an upbeat post at all, but its really the truth.