Game Designer

We get loads of e-mails from people saying 'I want to design games for a living'. Great! But nowadays, you must realise it takes MILLIONS of dollars to develop a game, and therefore a developer or publisher is very unlikely to hire anyone on the strength of a desire to design games, a good idea, or even a 200 page document. Many companies don't even have pure 'game designers' as such - this would be a major responsibility for just one person. It's more likely to be a design team, overlooked by a senior designer.

A Level Designer, however, is an interesting and important way of getting into design, and finding gameplay creativity. Level designers are essential for level-based games - companies like us employ level designers and artists to work alongside each other. Basically speaking, the level designer would model in the gameplay, and the artists make the levels look beautiful - and there is obviously a creative overlap there too. A level designer may also be involved in design meetings for the games themselves - a way of making your mark! Good luck!

NB. If you're determined to get a job as a 'in charge of it all' game designer (at the type of company that employs that sort of person who is solely responsible for design) then you'd be best to e-mail them and ask about it. As we write our games more through team-based input, with a design group who focus the design, we can't really offer any relevant advice about getting that sort of job!

Level Designer

Level designers are an important asset to a games company, as they focus on gameplay, which is essential for playable levels. So how can you show you'll be good? Playing games is obviously a good start. Loads of them, of all different genres. As you play, take note of what makes the game good, what you find addictive. Look at styles and graphics and try to pick out what you like, and where good use has been made of the resources in the levels.

Note down what you find annoying and frustrating, and think how you could make these things better. Learn how games are made - even try talk to programmers and artists if you can, to see who puts what together in a game. Read up on the machines and technology - learn where the strengths and limitations of each format lie. Get an idea of all the elements that make a game - AI, handling, sound, music, storyline, etc...

Now start to think about your own levels using the above elements. If you can get hold of a Quake/Half-life editor like Worldcraft or something similar, try to build some levels suitable for a game - either that one, or try something different. Edit the enemies to behave how you would want them to. Make the level visually attractive, imaginative and above all, playable. If you find you're always thinking about ideas, sketching them out, and you live and breathe games.....you're making a good start! Good luck!

Producer

The following interview with PGR4 Producer Peter O'Brien was originally featured on gameproducer.net. You can read the full interview here.

Who you are, where you work and what are you working on at the moment?

My adopted name at Bizarre Creations is 'pob' (An abbreviation for my real name of Peter O'Brien) ... very English, very northern! Located on the North West of England, UK (Liverpool) I lead the Production of PGR4; you can sneak a peek here.

What inspired you the most, to become a game producer/developer, or did you just fall in to the position after a period of time?

I trained as a 3D designer; the aim was to create 'real world' Products such as furniture, social space, kitsch objects or sustainable products. However, the most valuable lessons formed around design thinking; the why, what, who and why again.

Still, frustrated with the limitations of 'real world' design and a lack or technical skill and conflict with what defined a 'product' I was inspired by Metal Gear on the PS1. Over time I realised where my skill set lay.

I was young (ish) and headed for London as a Game Tester at Sega Europe. Arriving just in time for the Dreamcast launch 'crunch'; armed with a creative ego and a 'how to' attitude I was a Producer managing European and Japanese titles within 18 months. The rise was a little quick but I remember sleeping under my desk and going offsite, shacked up in a hotel to help ship MSR ... you could say they were my game producer stripes. I don't regret a single day!

Not everyone can apply at a studio and become a producer immediately. What advice do you have for those out there who want to work for a professional game studio and eventually become a producer?

Production has many faces in our industry; there is little or no standardisation of the term so you will rarely receive the same answer where you most expect it. Skillset (in the UK) are trying to address this.

What are the most important parts in the job application? What kind of applicants have higher likelihood to get a job?

CV's are an ice breaker; but what it sounds like is crucial. Does it sound naive? Does it sound ill informed? Does it sound legible? Does it sound egotistical? First impressions count. A friend of mine used to be a recruitment consultant and it was common to simply remove two thirds off the top of a paper pile ... culled! I'm glad to inform you that smaller developers are not as radical as that in my experience. Qualifications are only a part of the criteria (small part); in Production, experience rules.

That said, the basics need to be there - legibility, what drives you and positional skill relationship based on experience or tools you would use in that position. Once in the interview situation, be natural; do not try to be what you think someone is looking for; learn to read people and adapt to the questions if necessary. If you are a natural communicator there should be very few issues, if you are not ... work at it.

I once bought a book on IQ tests because I knew the company would lay it in front of me ... I can't stand the stuff, it's a false measurement; but I did it and walked through that phase of the interview. Be committed; think every interview is your first. Another story I have is I once interviewed an extraordinary applicant but due to my lack of Production experience in hiring skilled programmers I allowed my impression to be overruled. This same coder, within a month, had two AAA companies bidding for him. What did I see in him? His ability to go after something, commit to something (if memory serves well he decided 12 months previous to be a coder and so gained and MBA in Maths and a Computer Science degree in one year while fathering children, working a job and coming home to a wife). Like I said, extraordinary; I am still in touch with him today despite never working with him.

As a game producer do you have any say in who is hired to your team, and if so what would you say the ratio is for new employees who are 1) experienced college graduates 2) new college graduates 3) those who don't have a degree but have demonstrated their abilities through independent/personal projects?

We have very talented and very experienced Leads and Managers as part of the Production/Development teams. As Producer I believe everyone can be managed, its part of what I do; it's more important that those working with new candidates warm to them and respect their work. I would never expect the final call on which tools programmer, environment artist or game programmer we should hire.

The flexibility I have is that I can be as involved as I need to be but there are others who are better positioned to make the call and the final say sits with our Directors, for us its about maintaining a company attitude and ethic.

We dominantly invest in experience but we review every CV. We invest time and effort in fresher days, recruitment agencies and word of mouth. We also take on staff in various project phases and since the MSR days; if someone stands out... they are offered a position. I don't want to estimate a split as I don't have all the information.

If somebody wants to get a job in the gaming industry, what would be his next step? Where and how can he find a job? (for example: what would be a good website or resource to check out?)

Skillset is pretty much a one stop shop.

Datascope hooked me up with a role at Hothouse and have continued to supply details almost monthly. Fortunately I am in a position to turn then down, despite some of the opportunities.

Its never a bad thing to contact developers directly; from a European perspective TIGA is a good place to start for contact details.

Thanks to the fantastic wikipedia, you can also get a global list.

There are many layers to most roles; the key is to prove you have the ability to contribute to a team. It won't always be easy getting a response, and expect rejection. You should learn from every experience and not fear a change of approach.

To summarize in one sentence - what a enthusiastic game developer needs in order to get a career in the gaming industry?

Measured enthusiasm which reflects a learned attitude about the role; understand the company you are applying to and prepare to adapt but be truthful with it.

Sound Designer

If any of you are looking for work in the audio side of the games industry you will probably have realised that these positions are very rare things indeed. Strange things do happen though (especially in these parts) and at some point we will probably need another audio person so here is an idea of what we will be looking for.

Sound design covers all aspects of making sounds for games. These will include foley and field recording, sample editing, creating audio for video and dialogue recording and editing. We will be looking for people who have qualifications or experience in as many of these as possible, but raw talent and passion for the job counts for quite a bit.

If a position became available I would be looking for a show reel that showed not only creativity, but also a good attention to detail. I would expect the show reel to contain such elements as a movie that the audio had been replaced with your own creation, and ambient soundscape built without picture and some examples of sample manipulation using DSP effects.

So to sum up...

If you want an audio job in the games industry, expect a lot of disappointment as very few jobs are available, and there are lots of people who want to do it already. If you do however manage to find one (the Hitman was obviously worth the money), then be creative and show as many of you skills off as possible in a show reel.

Good luck!