Introduction

Which areas of Games Design are most accessible for graduates?

-Are some courses more valuable than others to employers?

-Is a Masters in games design going to improve a graduates’ chances of employment?

-Is one year of work experience offered with a Sandwich degree enough to obtain a job in games design once a degree has been completed?

Studio Practise & Business

Emily Knox

Introduction Studio Practise & Business

Emily Knox

My Experience

Four years of paid and volunteer games journalism work

One year of full-time work experience in game development

-Student start-up company in the Victoria Building, supported by Digital City

-Roles covered 3D art, texturing, animating (briefly!), games design, and PR

-Worked for ourselves, for clients, and under the wing of a larger company

Currently working for Newcastle-based Software Developer Palringo

Industry Opinion Studio Practise & Business

Emily Knox

Tom Beardsmore, Creative Director, Coatsink Software

“While I think that practice and study in the area will provide the frameworks any aspiring designer needs to do their job properly, I also believe that a lot of ability is drawn from desire and raw talent. I believe that the study of other areas can grant unexpected benefits and perspectives on game design. And when it comes to employability, I’d say a graduate’s portfolio and personality should speak much more for them than a qualification.”

“I actually have no game development-specific qualifications (embarrassingly!) and started out as a freelance writer. I did a bit of work on some screenplays with Northern Film and Media while studying an MA in Creative Writing and Screen-writing. Only after completing the MA did I enter the games industry – working for Blizzard Entertainment.

I’d say that it’s only with Coatsink Software that I’ve had real creative control as a designer though, and what came before was, fundamentally, experience in other areas.”

Studio Practise & Business

Emily KnoxIndustry Opinion

Nigel Kershaw, Games Designer, SCEE

“ …we do actively employ graduate designers, usually in a junior  position. As we get a lot of CV’s from design graduates we generally tend to employ those who have got a portfolio or level of knowledge above and beyond their run of the mill course work…”

“Generally we’ve got guys in our test department with all kinds of qualifications and life skills, but without any real relevant qualifications, QA is their only real foot in the door. Four of our designers here at Evolution have got into games design through this route, but you have to have a hunger for it and work hard.”

“I’ve always worked in the industry as a games designer, but when I started (1989) they were quite a novelty, so there wasn’t really much competition for the role. I didn’t really have much in the way of academic qualification to fit the role (having dropped out of a computer science degree after two terms ), but my circumstances were quite unique – the company that hired me wanted to do a computer RPG and I’d been running pen and paper RPG’s for some of their employees for a few years before then.  The industry has changed beyond comparison since then, and the ‘friend of a friend’ road into the industry is  very much lost to the cottage industry of the games industry past.”

Studio Practise & Business

Emily KnoxResearch Results

Industry Experience

Previous Titles

Number of jobs

-Most design jobs require candidates to have shipped a game title already

-Some employers ask that the title(s) you have worked on are in specific genres, such as RPG or FPS

-One title was usually enough, although this generally had to be AAA (as opposed to iPhone games, for example)

Research Results Studio Practise & Business

Emily Knox

Industry Experience

-Although the specific amount of experience wasn’t always shown, experience was always listed as a ‘plus’ or essential to the role

-Experience in a range of areas was useful, but experience in design or a lead position (such as lead artist) was very valuable

-On average, as with shipped titles, America asks for more from candidates than Europe

Number of jobs

Years of experience

Research Results Studio Practise & Business

Emily Knox

Important Skills and Qualifications

Number of jobs

-Proficiency with the Unreal Editor was frequently asked for, often as a requirement

-From around 80 jobs, a degree was only asked for in 9 job openings, usually as a preference rather than a requirement

-Results show again that the US generally asks for more from their candidates than Europe

Conclusion Studio Practise & Business

Emily Knox

The Value of a Degree

From Game Career Guide Survey 2010

-Games Design trends a much higher volume of employees with over 6 years of experience

-A Masters Degree provides no benefit for almost every area of game development

-Surprised to find the Unreal Editor was the most common requirement in Games Design. The software is available in Uni labs, but is not taught as part of my course (yet)

-Degrees are rarely asked for, but a good degree can still provide the skills needed, and may offer experience, but it is hard to say if the experience is adequate

Conclusion

The Job Marked

Studio Practise & Business

Eivind Shade Lie

We have looked at some of the big game companies of our choosing, and if you find the jobs, this is what was available right now.

Valve"We're always hiring for all positions. Seriously“They ask for experience and certain program experience, but they are known to hire “modders”. (Counter strike, Portal, Left 4 dead.)

Ubisoft2 jobs are dominant, but some of the openings are several years old. (spread out over the world)Level designer 18 positions“Game designer” 13 positions

Nintendo and Square enixNo actual jobs, but ask you to try to impress them.You let them know what you can do, and they might make a position for you.