For the third year running, Game Developer’s annual Game Career Guide, a special edition magazine devoted to helping aspiring video game creators and guided by the editors of the industry-leading Game Developer magazine, is being given away for free.

The special magazine -- like Gamasutra, a division of UBM TechWeb -- is now available as a digital version in web-readable and PDF downloadable forms, including over 100 pages of content.

The 2010 issue, with a special focus on providing its readers with clear methods to affordably start making games, builds on the success of last year’s edition.

The Game Career Guide's 2009 version saw more than 300,000 online page views from more than 32,000 people and a physical copy was distributed to over 30,000 people worldwide at major video game consumer and trade shows, including Penny Arcade Expo, E3 and GDC.

The Game Career Guide issue includes a version of Game Developer's famed salary report for entry-level jobs in video game development, and a major school directory list.

It also includes articles about getting started with accessible but powerful development tools like Flash and Game Maker by indie creators Adam Saltsman and Jessie Venbrux.

Additionally within are a rundown of the many popular indie game competitions available to developers, a look at a number of highly-regarded student games that became commercial endeavors, and more.

"This year we put an increased focus on helping prospective game developers make games as quickly as possible," said Game Developer magazine editor-in-chief Brandon Sheffield. "We added full tutorials for making a platformer in Flash, and a shooter in Game Maker, with resources for more advanced work."

"The best way to learn to make games is to make games, pure and simple," he said. "Going to game schools helps you refine your skills, learn in a supportive environment, and work in a team, but the basic building blocks of game development are available to everyone, right now, for free.

"I encourage all students and prospective game developers to give our free guide a read, as it includes tips on what to do once you've graduated from school (or simply want to make game development your 'job'), alongside potential salaries you could make in a traditional or indie studio, and much more. We look forward to seeing what the next generation of game creators will come up with!"

Other highlights of the 2010 edition include a postmortem of the DigiPen student game Igneous, lessons learned through indie and student projects, and a roundtable interview with student-to-pro success stories Kim Swift (Portal), Kellee Santiago (Flower), and Paul Bellezza and Matt Korba (PB Winterbottom).

The Game Career Guide is now available for digital download, and physical versions of the magazine will be available for free at notable game-related events over the next few months. These include GDC Online, GDC Europe, Game Developers Conference 2011, Montreal International Game Summit, SIGGRAPH, and a major distribution push at Seattle's Penny Arcade Expo in September.