Professional Practice
Professional Practice
Getting into the games industry
Who Am I
Level designer with 7 years industry experience
Currently working at Playground Games on an unannounced title
How Did I get here?
Student – University of Lincoln
Studied Games Computing between 2004 and 2007.
Began focusing on level design in Source/Half Life 2
Level Designer – Frontier Developments
Worked here between 2008 and August 2011.
Worked on ‘The Outsider’
Level Designer – Playground Games
Started at PG September 2011
Worked on ‘Forza Horizon 1 + 2’
Why work in the games industry?
Driven by passion
A unique meeting of Art and Technology that’s changing all the time
Work alongside talented people from a variety of disciplines
Opportunity to express yourself creatively, and get paid for it!
Getting a job in the games industry
Understand what employers are looking for
Differentiate yourself from the competition
Target your applications
Present yourself well in interviews
What employers want
Ability and willingness to learn – NOT what tools you know.
Good understanding of core design process
‘T Shaped’ People
Enthusiasm
Standing out from the crowd
Competitive industry, many more applicants than jobs available. Graduate positions are especially rare.
What you can do:
Strong Portfolio of independently created work
Finish a small game yourself
Make industry contacts via social media and events
Applying for jobs
Target your cover letter specifically to the company your are applying to.
Your CV and Portfolio should be structured for the specific role you’ve applied for.
Only show your best work.
Always apply!
The interview
Don’t wear a suit
Make sure you’ve played all the games the studio has made
Be prepared to answer questions on why you made something
Have good questions for them
Things to do
Play lots of games (critically!)
Watch ‘lets play’ videos (critically!)
Make things constantly – you don’t have to finish everything as long as you learn something
game jams
Things NOT to do
Focus on learning toolsets not general process
Have a portfolio consisting only of University assignments
Spelling mistakes in CV / Portfolio / Cover letter
Not playing the games made by the studio you’re applying to
Dressing in a suit for interview
Questions?
crwilso@Gmail.com @Atomic_Banana
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