The Long Introduction

Hello internet!

Welcome to my first and only proper blog thing, where I’m going to spew my ramblings about working in the computer games industry. This is largely because I’m bored, and also because I thought it’d be a good way of keeping track of where I went wrong should I ever get fired. As well as that, there’s a slight chance that some unsuspecting potential games designer in-the-making could stumble upon it via the wonders of Google and benefit from a bit of insider info from someone who is admittedly naive and largely pretty ignorant about the industry, despite it being their dream of several years to land a job in it.

So to start off, here’s a bit of background about how I went from uni to getting my job. Sorry it’s a bit long.

A few months ago, I was the one googling for any tidbits of info I could get on exactly what a games designer does, and the best way to get into the industry. Considering I was in the third year of a Computer Games Design degree, it seems odd that I would still not know, but the truth is I really didn’t. Not a clue. I handed in a Games Design document for my dissertation that already makes me yak at how lacking it was now that I’ve worked in a games company for two months and seen how things are really done. At the time I thought it was pretty good. It was only when I gave a presentation on it that I really understood that it was little more than a concept pamphlet, by which point it was really too late. I wasn’t the most diligent student but I went to enough lectures to think I should have known what I was doing by this point. The only reason my document was even as good as it was (I got a 2:2) was because it was made to fit into the excellent design document template created by Doom designer Chris Taylor. Without that I’d have been completely lost.

I don’t necessarily want to get into a massive rant about the failings of my university, which I won’t name – as with the company and project I’m involved in and so on – in case anybody really does read this and I get spanked. I do love ranting. But for now I’m just going to concede that the course wasn’t great, but then I wasn’t the best student either; I tended to think I knew best and skipped more than I should have. The only thing I really learned from my 3 years of uni was that when you work for a games company they really DO stuff you with junk food. But only if you put the hours in. And my Games Design tutor did show us the Chris Taylor template. But everything else just felt pointless. Maybe if I’d had 100% attendance I would have been an expert on everything games industry-related when I left, but I seriously doubt it. I’ll probably rant more about that at a later date, though.

A brief summary of the events that led to me getting a job. I still believe much of it was luck, but I guess that’s true of landing a career in any industry you care to mention. I left uni semi-confident that I’d done okay… ish. I’d done a module to make a CV and portfolio so I had that ready to throw into the world, which I did. My friend found me a nice big list of all the games companies in the country (found here) and I emailed all of them that weren’t either a) designers for mobile phone games (snobbishness on my part, but I fucking hate those games. Except Johnny Crash Does Texas; that one’s class) b) MMORPG designers. I always checked the jobs sections of their sites first but rarely were there any design positions going, so I just emailed them speculatively. Recruitment websites such as Datascope were largely hopeless as far as I was concerned; every position seemed to require experience. Getting a foot in the door is definitely not easy.

This might be a good time to mention I also tried the Job Centre – I was signing on for the dole anyway so I thought if they were going to get me a job they could try and find me something I actually wanted instead of part time waiter work like they seemed determined I was going to do. My advice to anyone reading this is DON’T BOTHER. They can’t help you! The lady put ‘games designer’ in her computer and it almost melted. The industry is still growing up and the processes of getting into it are still changing (uni courses are only a few years old), and it seems they haven’t branched out to the job centre stage yet. So basically while they tried to get me something washing dishes in the Rusty Spoon to stop me scrounging off the government, I had to get off my own arse and bother games companies.

My emails consisted of the same formula of:

1. Dear Sir/Madam, you got any jobs?
2. This is me, this what I do, I’m totally great.
3. I’d love to work for your company, you guys are, like, sooo awesome cool.
4. This is my CV, this is my portfolio, please look. I’d LOVE to work for you.
5. Yours, me.

Lots of copy-and-pasting, changing the names around, adding a few bits when I genuinely DID admire some of their work. A lot of companies did get back to me quickly to let me down – some even wrote a REAL LETTER (WOW!) – others were a bit slower or didn’t bother at all. Same as any industry really. I got an interview offer from one company which I got really excited about, until I realised that it was for a Lead Tester position. Now, I’d written on my emails that I was interested in design work and possibly testing positions, but I’d also mentioned I was fresh out of uni and had no experience. So yeah, that was kinda no good to me, and I decided to save myself the trip.

Things were getting a bit bleak, when a friend of my brother’s, who works for the company I now work for myself (you can tell where this story’s going, right?) mentioned to him that design jobs were going. This was a rarity in itself. I practically broke my laptop in two ripping it open to get online and apply. I sent my CV and the usual covering letter, checked up on the games they’d made and added a few kind words about them (buttering them up never hurts, does it? Though you do look at yourself in the mirror later and hate yourself a little). A little while later, I heard back with the offer of an interview. I nearly had a stroke. My brother’s friend fed me tidbits of info on what the designer who would be interviewing me would be looking for, what his design philosophies were and what he’d worked on and so on. This was quite a help, and definitely where some of that ‘luck’ comes in. I grabbed hold of demos of the games and did my ‘research’, shit my pants a few times, and then it was time for the interview.

I hate job interviews, but this one went extremely well, I thought. I’m hopeless at selling myself but when I was asked questions I gave my answers as much enthusiasm as I could muster and just tried to stress my passion for games best I could. It wasn’t quite as forced as that, really… I actually felt very relaxed. It just seemed like a casual chat about games really. The fact that it was one-on-one was a big help; no doubt I’d have shit myself and died if it’d been a panel. But anyway… It probably wasn’t great that when asked what my salary expectations were I replied ‘anything’ – way to establish your own self-worth! Other than that I came out of there feeling pretty confident, having been told that I was a sure thing so long as nobody better came along. I guess that always goes without saying but it seemed nice to hear.

I didn’t get it. I was crushed.

Tiddy-boom.

So then my job hunt continued. I’d had my first taste of real post-interview rejection so I felt I’d matured a little (once I finished bawling, of course). I sent a nice ‘I understand’ email back to the chap who’d let me down, just to keep things friendly in case something came up. And a few weeks later, something did – I got a phone call from the company. I actually thought it was my friend, who was very late to meet me in town at the time, calling from her boyfriend’s mobile, so I answered the phone a little more haughtily than is usually recommended to someone about to offer you a job. I had another stroke. Another design position had become available on a different project. I paced back and forth in the doorway of an art supply shop while I was told what salary to expect and so on. I accepted, but he said he’d have to send the written offer and I’d have to officially accept that before it’d be in stone. I did just that, accepted over again, and said I’d start in a week to allow myself time to find a place to live. I would have asked for more time but I really didn’t like to keep them hanging and push my luck. So yes, I had a job. The fact that on the letter they sent me they’d put someone else’s name on the top (who, it turned out, had been the one to get the job I actually was interviewed for) was only a slight blemish on the good news.

So that’s how I ended up working for a games company. I’ve been there two months, and it’s been a real learning experience, but to be honest you deserve a prize if you’ve read this far without falling asleep so I’ll call it a day for now. I think looking back there’s nothing I can really suggest or advise in regards to getting a job… You’ve just got to keep trying and wait until you catch a break, I suppose. Hardly the most insightful pearls of wisdom, but it’s all I’ve got right now!

Until next time!