By Tom Sloper
Today there are high barriers to getting into the game industry. An entire generation
who grew up playing video games is now entering the workplace. And a lot of them
are talented and hard-working team players.
The competition is stiff to get in, and the game companies can be choosy about who
they hire. With the economy the way it is right now, it's tough everywhere. You
have to use a fresh approach to get a job these days -- especially in the game biz.
Frequently Asked Question: "I've got a degree, I've got a portfolio (demo reel,
sample code, as applicable), I've tried everything. But I can't even get a measly
interview! What am I doing wrong?"
I've put together a checklist that aspiring game developers can use to improve their
chances of breaking through the barriers to entry. (Note: I used the term "developer"
deliberately, to encompass aspiring designers, programmers, artists, producers,
testers, etc.)
My words here are based on my years of experience at reading resumes of artists,
programmers, musicians, and associate producers, from the point of view of the guy
who does the hiring. (In case you didn't know, I was a producer at Activision for
12 years).
Barrier-Busting Checklist
Note: this checklist is in alphabetical order...NOT order of importance.
1. College Degree
2. Cover Letter (passion, creativity)
3. Email
4. Location, Location, Location
5. Networking
6. Perseverance
7. Portfolio, Demo Disc
8. Realistic Targeting
9. Research
10. Resume, CV
1. The Four-Year College or University Degree
You must have a college degree. And not just a two-year or three-year degree.
You need a four-year degree. The diploma is one of the strongest tools against those
barriers to entry in the game biz.
Of course you're going to hear about guys who got in, and moved up, without a degree.
But those guys are the exceptions. And those guys aren't trying to break into the
biz in today's climate. Don't pin your hopes on being an exception to the rule.
2. The Cover Letter
I heard someone who worked with racehorses talking on NPR as I was working on this
lesson. He commented that he liked to watch a horse in its workouts, just like someone
involved in sports likes to see how a boxer or a team work out. This racehorse guy
said he wants to see how athletic a horse is, to see its spirit, how it moves.
This made me think of a parallel to this lesson. An interviewer wants to know about
an applicant. How knowledgeable he is, to see his passion for games, how he works.
One way to show these things (since a college graduate's resume is by definition
pretty sparse) is with a great cover letter. If you're applying for a creative job,
the cover letter is a tool you can use to show off your creativity. You can put
stuff in a cover letter that doesn't belong in a resume.
If you are aspiring to work as a tester, designer, or associate producer, you have
to have excellent writing skills. Programmers by their very nature as engineer types
normally have writing skills sufficient to do the job. This last tip is aimed mainly
at artists, whose "right-brain" nature frequently makes them much less skilled at
writing.
My tip for artists is: get a friend to help you with writing your cover letter.
The cover letter needs to use good grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Since in
an artist's job it's rare that writing skills are that important, it isn't cheating
for an art applicant to have a friend help with the cover letter. (Whereas the aspiring
designer, tester, producer, and programmer must write their own.)
- It should be composed only of your very best work - with your
knock-their-socks-off stuff up front to make the best possible first impression.
- Your reel or disc must have your name, address, phone number,
and email address on the reel or disc itself, AND on the jewel case or slipcover.
- Concentrate your samples on your strongest area. If you're really
good at camera movements and shot editing, then focus on that kind of footage. If
you're not that great at animated characters, then don't put any of those in the
demo reel.
Sample Code
If you want people to hire you based on programming ability, they need to see that
you write clean code with clear comments. They don't need something complex that
might take a genius to read and figure out what your routine accomplished.
Make sure you comment your code so anybody can pick it up and figure out what a
routine does. You'll probably also have to write some code as part of an application
test.
Demo Discs
If you have a game level that you've modded, or a demo game that you've created,
and you want to show it off on a demo disc, here are some tips.
- Use a standard CD, not a DVD.
- It has to work smoothly. The interviewer doesn't have time to
install, configure, download drivers, hunt for DLLs, change the registry, navigate
websites. Pop it in and it works. If you can't pop it in and have it just work,
then think twice. Maybe three times.
- It must have your name, address, phone number, and email address
on both the disc and on the jewel cover.
8. Realistic Targeting
The barriers at the big publishers are much stronger, wider, and higher than the
barriers at smaller game developers. Do your research. Know the difference between
a developer and a publisher.
If you've been getting shot down by the big publishers, stop frustrating yourself
and lower your sights. Go for a position at a smaller development company. They're
all over the place. Do your research.
If you've been applying only for "Game Designer" openings, and getting shot down
left and right, then lower your sights. Apply for realistic (less "sexy") job openings.
You have to get your foot in the door and prove yourself before you can become a
"game designer."
I sometimes hear from wannabes who hope to get a job working in the game studio
of a famous Japanese game maker like Square or Nintendo. I always tell them, "plan
to go to college in Japan. Learn how to read and write Japanese fluently." That
just makes sense, doesn't it?
Smaller barriers are easier to break down than bigger barriers. That's just common
sense.
9. Research
I said above (Location, Location, Location) that if you live in Nowheresville you
need to do research on where the game companies are, and move there. That's not
the end of the research you need to do. It shows the game companies that you're
a hard-working person if you walk in having done your homework.
You have to know about the company you apply to. Play their games. Read their website.
Learn the names of some of the people by reading their game credits. Be prepared
with answers to the usual interview questions, and be prepared with good questions
about the company.
Know what kind of job you're going to want to get. Read game credits. Read articles
about game development - look for articles online, and get Game Developer magazine
(I think you can subscribe on Gamasutra - do your research!). Join the local IGDA
chapter. If there isn't one, start one yourself.
Practice for the interview. Know about the typical interview questions, and be prepared.
You can Google "typical interview questions."
10. Resume, C.V.
Of course you have to have a resume or C.V. Here in America we call them resumes.
In the U.K. they call them C.V.s.
If you're a recent graduate, it wouldn't be unusual for your resume to have nothing
on it but your education. That's okay. Your other stuff, the things you did in your
spare time on your own out of your passion for games, goes into your cover letter.
Conclusion
You have to stand out from the crowd to be noticed, you have to shine brightly to
get hired, and you have to work well with the team to keep the job.
Tom Sloper is a designer and producer of video games, best known for his work on
the Shanghai series of games for Activision. An engineering designer and modelmaker/draftsman
by training, Tom began his video game career in Southern California in the late-1970s.
He designed games for the legendary Vectrex game system (Spike, Bedlam) and other
platforms at Western Technologies and Sega Enterprises before joining Atari Corporation,
where he was involved in revitalizing the 2600 and 7800 game systems.
Tom is currently a global consultant for game developers, publishers and educational
institutions. To learn more, visit Tom's Web site at www.sloperama.com.