10 replies to this topic

[Ga-Knomboe Boy]

Heyo, excellent mod, and I read the blurb about wanting a games design job.

Alex, in the past I've been offered work at a games studio I thought I'd just drop by and give some advice on trying to get a job at a games company; 

 

Firstly - There is a big difference between the Creation KIt and full development kits like Unity / UDK / Cryengine 3. Unity / UDK and Cryengine 3 essentially allow you to create any game. There are mdk's and sdk's for these engine available to the public so you can make mod's, total conversions or entirely new games. The Creation Kit (an mdk) allows you to make a mod of Skyrim, and at most a total conversion (which by definition, has never been achieved in Skyrim in its true sense). The truth is there are about a million people who can make maps and quests and so on, but only a tiny percent that can actually code. Generally studios seek developers according to the following skills with coder as the highest and map maker as the lowest. Coders are almost always the most desired as they are responsible with the systems architect for implementing the new engine / project and actually making it work. Demand for design jobs in games companies are usually as follows;

 

Coder / Programmer

Systems Architect

Character Rigger / 3d animator

3d modeller / 3d artist

Sound Engineer

Concept artist

Flash / 2d animator

Graphic Designer

Map maker / quest maker

 

Secondly - FIND OUT WHERE THE STUDIO IS! When I was initially asked to join a studio it was 10,000km away in a country which spoke a foreign language and I would have been tied to a contract that would leave me destitute if the studio had closed. Most developers are being paid by publishers that really don't give a s***. Usually the contracts will have been written by the legal team of the publishing body to try and give you the minimal wage and benefits possible. One of my friends is at Microsoft Studios, some are at Dice, others are Crytek, and another couple made there way to an activision studio before being laid off. The guys working at Crytek are having the best time as their job is essentially to make random stuff, test their creativity and see what the engine can do, and then if it can't do it, add it in. The dude at microsoft studios enjoyed making the games but said there was a dickload of reshuffling so he'd been moved through several incomplete projects and the job climate wasn't stable. The guys at Dice are generally under the pump and whilst very proud, rather stressed out, and secretive about what they've been up to. The guys who had worked at activision said the whole thing was soul crushing and there was no room for creativity (ps. they did not work on CoD, they were at Bizarre Creations I believe). So, just remember, publishers are asshats and more often than not the contract will be set up so they can lay off the studio or move you to a new project with little notice.

 

Third - Many developers laugh at mod makers. Don't take this the wrong way, but 90% of the applicants development studios will get are mod makers. Developers are constantly impressed by mods, but a lot of the time the quality of mods is suspect and the developer may simply see the mod as a facelift, or associate it with lesser mods. Applicants from indi-game makers are usually more well received as the indi game gives the developer a final product separate from anything else that was built from the ground up to show their creative capabilities in several fields. A mod usually shows the ability of the mod maker in a couple areas depending on the scope of work. However, as it is built on a foundation rather than from the ground up there will be confusion as to what the mod maker is actually able to do - can they make something new by themselves, or must they rely on existing assets and resources?

 

Fourth - Learn C++

 

Personally, if I was to try and get a games design job, even at Bethesda, I would crank up the sdk for Cryengine 3 and try and think of a gameplay idea which has not being done yet - eg a stealth game where you can blend into the shadows as a kind of puddle like Pride from full metal alchemist and you have move through the level using the shadows to avoid detection and solve puzzles.

Edited by Ga-Knomboe Boy, 11 August 2013 - 03:48 PM.