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WIGI Conference Notes Part 2 - Breaking In: How to Acquire the Skills and Get that First Job
... continued from Part 1 ...
Panelists: Jen Sward from DigiPen, Amy Bendotti from Monolith Productions, Suzanne Kaufman from Sucker Punch
Moderator: Ellen Beeman, Microsoft Corporation
There are a number of ways to break down my notes here since they moved up and down the panel. Since you, dear reader, are likely interested in just one or maybe two particular types of work within the game industry, I'm going to break them down by topic, but first I'll start with the more general discussion. Before I continue, I'll point out that whenever a job in games is announced, 100 to 1000 people apply. You have serious competition.
In all of these, there's a tendency for people to be so desperate to get into games that they apply to companies saying they'll "take anything." Apply for the job you actually want. If you say "I'll take anything!" this is not considered a plus when applying for work any more than it is in dating and smacks of desperation and not having thought things out. Instead, show enthusiasm and be specific about the type of work you want to do.
When looking for jobs in games, networking is important. Also, check out the IGDA, surf the company sites to see if they have openings posted, go to the GDC and bring your portfolio, check out Gamasutra, the AWN, womengamers.com, IGN, CGChat, and CGTalk. Cold calls actually can work BUT don't do them if a company specifies not to. Instead, if cold calls aren't allowed, call and ask for an "informational interview." Such an interview involves you actually interviewing them to learn about the company and the type of work you're interested in. Doing these can be a good way to make a lasting contact or two in the industry.
When you find one you want to go for, apply as soon as possible since so many people will apply that the positions can get filled quite quickly. Make sure that your skills/experience matches their stated requirements AND that they can see this in your resume and cover letter. Cover letters are actually important here, use them to make it clear that you meet every specification in the ad. Generic cover letters are a bad idea as well, tailor the letter as much as you can.
Portfolios come up often in the job-specific sections. Hardcopy portfolios are the way to go if you're going in person, but it is also very useful to have a Web-based one for when you mail out applications or need to take your physical portfolio with you and want to make sure they can refer back later. Make sure your Web portfolio is simple to navigate and, really, as easy to use as possible and in a form that can be printed out if necessary so no crazy colors and backgrounds. If this was a team project, give a list of who else was on the team in the Web portfolio, it's just polite, and there's a chance that the interviewer knows and likes someone you worked with. This also lets you show what exact aspects of the item you were involved in.
Also, for team projects, always list the number of people on the team. A team could be two people or fifty. During an interview, expect to be asked what went wrong with the team dynamics. Apparently no one answers "nothing, it was perfect." Heh heh.
If part of your portfolio is a game sample, don't send them the full game. Send a movie of the game, and if they want to see more, give them a link to go to where they can download the full thing. This courtesy helps to protect the folks at the game company against viruses, trojans, and the like, as they'll only take the risk for something they really want to see.
As far as the resume, there "had better" be a change every month to three months. This doesn't mean changing jobs!! Instead, if you're not working on a project at the moment, take the time to upgrade your skills like learning a new language, toolset, hardware platform, or something else. Then place this information on your resume in the otherwise empty slot. And for the love of all that is sacred, become familiar with the games put out by a company you're applying to! Apparently this is a huge problem, and don't wait for an interview, as you may be called for an impromptu one on the phone and don't want to look like an idiot.
When it comes to job recruiters/headhunters, these can't usually help you with the entry-level game industry jobs. If you have no experience outside your schooling, focus on what you learned there and how you used the
required skills in the course itself. However, experience should always be highlighted over school. Internships are also possible to gain experience, or landing a brief contract to come in quickly and help on a project that needs more people for a month or so. April and May are the months to ask companies about this. You can also include willingness to consider this type of work when applying for other jobs there, in your cover letter.
Art
Pull together a portfolio of five to ten pieces of your own work that reflect the type of art job you're applying for. Not just that, take a look at the style(s) of games this particular company builds, and choose pieces that/those style(s).
Art and design positions may not have education requirements at all. Instead, for art, fine art skills are incredibly important. Much more important than toolsets. For example, for character animation and design you'd better have anatomy down cold. Schools suggested reflect the location of the conference, Vancouver Film School in BC, Canada and DigiPen in Seattle. It doesn't hurt to get into art shows.
Also show that you know how to "leave your ego at the door." Team chemistry among game artists is invaluable. You have to care about the designer's vision and living up to that as much as possible instead of being determined to do everything your own way and to your own vision. Also, you need to be able to take criticism well.
When asked how to convey that you are "coachable," it was suggested to list teamwork skills and how they were used on particular projects on the resume if possible, and to mention them in the cover letter as well.
Programming
You actually do need a BS in Computer Science to even be considered, though of course there are no doubt exceptions to this rule. Knowledge of C++ is essential. Knowing how to use the toolsets commonly used by game programmers--and this company in particular--is a plus but you also should be able to build your own, such as graphics engines. It is important to do some team projects that you actually finish. Also, just as artists have portfolios, a code sample should be included that reflects the type of work you're applying for. Heavily comment it, more than you would normally do on the job (twice as much). Everyone knows you won't comment it this much at work. You're partly demonstrating your ability to communicate what you've done.
If you get an interview, you will have to take a programming test. This test is designed not only to test your knowledge, but also your ability to perform under pressure. Knowing the industry and how games are made from start to finish is useful to demonstrate, along with your ability to keep up with new technology--new game hardware and software, new tools, and so on.
There was some amusement during the discussion of the fact that game programming is heavily team
oriented, so it is vital that those applying for these positions be able to get along with other people and communicate well. It was recommended that programmers practice talking to people to help with this.
Types of work game programmers might specialize in include database programming, scripting in house languages, physics, networking, Web technologies like Java and Flash, and building art tools. There's an overlap with Quality Assurance here as well, as there are automated testing and other tools that can be built by either programmers or QA people with programming ability.
Quality Assurance
A popular starting point since there is no experience needed. In your cover letter, indicate a strong love for games and willingness to do repetitive work. QA people have to play games and portions of them over and over and over and over and ... Note in the end of the programming section, the discussion of QA/programmer overlap. Some QA people are tool builders.
Producing and Design
These are not entry-level positions except for perhaps level design. Some companies have a junior
position track for this career target, but it can be hard to rise within the same company. Producers need a certain inner calm. Those going for level design positions should have a portfolio of created levels to display.
Writing for Games
There are two types of writing in games. There's non-fiction writing such as tech writing (manuals), and there is fiction. For fiction, build a portfolio that shows versatility and variety. MMORPGs in particular need continuous storyline writing. In this particular area, do not send unsolicited material, as legally the companies can't look at it in case they might get accused later of stealing your ideas. There is an advantage in having been published outside games. A good way to get noticed is to post a lot of game-related fiction in the official game forums.
... next part to follow later ...