6/12/10
This lecture was given by Peter Akrill, another ex student of Bolton Uni now working in industry. He specifically works with game programming, so a lot of what he had to say is not applicable to myself as I have very little ability with coding for anything other than simple scripting, though I do plan to rectify this. Initially Peter worked for Traveller’s Tales, he paints a very different picture of the company to Arthur from the first lecture. Peter strongly disliked the working environment at TT and as such was not happy there, however the environment at codemasters is apparently much better structured, and he is much happier there, and as such he gave it a shining review as it were.
Mostly this particular lecture was about 2 things, the roles of members of any one given development team, those being split into;
• Programmers
• Artists
• Animators
• Designers
And additionally, how to survive the tough hours when working in the industry, and what kind of workloads to expect. The impression I got was that the workloads would be huge, pressure would be constant during development time, and that I will be working an awful lot of overtime. While this is a little discouraging, I feel confident I can put in as much time as whatever project I’m working on needs.
Overall in this lecture, while I was entertained, I felt it was somewhat lacking in fresh information, but the suggestions on how to survive the pressures of working in the industry was good, but sadly the whole lecture seemed slightly off topic.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Lecture 6, Sony
29/11/10
This lecture was delivered by Dave Bromball, an ex student from Bolton Uni and Vicky, who works with Sony’s human resources team. This lecture was primarily about how to approach getting into the industry as well as what the actual rolls within industry.
The first thing they covered was the various rolls within the industry, these are set into 3 clear groups, coders, artists and designers. I obviously wish to join the last of these three, and the clear impression was given by both speakers that there are fewer designers than artists or coders by far, making it yet more apparent how competitive the job market I am intending to enter is. In addition to this they stated that the normal way to enter the design side of games development is via games testing. Various companies have promotion from within structures setup, designed to give testers a chance to move on to design, coding or art if that is their aim.
They also discussed some of the more important skills required to work in the industry:
• Communication: both written and oral skills are vital, I need to be able to communicate ideas and instructions concisely
• Documentation: this coincides with communication, but is not the same. Its vital to have an understanding of how to write the various documents the industry requires from its employees, as well as being able to make presentations using PowerPoint
• Knowledge: this specifically relates to industry standard software, such as max, Maya, and unreal editor, to be most effective, and be a desirable employee it is important to have a broad knowledge of software commonly used in the industry
This lecture presented quite a lot of information, and while most of it was echoing earlier lectures, there was still some useful information about the skills needed to be effective in the industry. It also cemented the idea that to get into the design sector I will first have to work my way through games testing, while this is a prospect I am dreading due to what I have heard about it being less than enjoyable, it is a necessary hurdle to overcome.
This lecture was delivered by Dave Bromball, an ex student from Bolton Uni and Vicky, who works with Sony’s human resources team. This lecture was primarily about how to approach getting into the industry as well as what the actual rolls within industry.
The first thing they covered was the various rolls within the industry, these are set into 3 clear groups, coders, artists and designers. I obviously wish to join the last of these three, and the clear impression was given by both speakers that there are fewer designers than artists or coders by far, making it yet more apparent how competitive the job market I am intending to enter is. In addition to this they stated that the normal way to enter the design side of games development is via games testing. Various companies have promotion from within structures setup, designed to give testers a chance to move on to design, coding or art if that is their aim.
They also discussed some of the more important skills required to work in the industry:
• Communication: both written and oral skills are vital, I need to be able to communicate ideas and instructions concisely
• Documentation: this coincides with communication, but is not the same. Its vital to have an understanding of how to write the various documents the industry requires from its employees, as well as being able to make presentations using PowerPoint
• Knowledge: this specifically relates to industry standard software, such as max, Maya, and unreal editor, to be most effective, and be a desirable employee it is important to have a broad knowledge of software commonly used in the industry
This lecture presented quite a lot of information, and while most of it was echoing earlier lectures, there was still some useful information about the skills needed to be effective in the industry. It also cemented the idea that to get into the design sector I will first have to work my way through games testing, while this is a prospect I am dreading due to what I have heard about it being less than enjoyable, it is a necessary hurdle to overcome.
Lecture 5, I-play
22/11/10
This lecture was given by Thomas Hulverson, who is a senior tester at I-play in Germany, a company which specialises in making facebook games. Facebook games, while not AAA titles, are a rapidly growing portion of the market, and since they require less creation time and assets than a normal game. In addition to this, games of this kind spread by going ‘viral’ this, he explained, is where the game circulates by people playing, then inviting friends to join, who invite their friends and so forth. And because the way these games generate money is by frustrating players to the point that they choose to spend money to advance faster, they have a high revenue potential.
In addition to this he explained the steps involved in developing a PC game of this kind:
• Project creation
• Sprint
• Sprint
• Sprint, first playable version
• Sprint
• Sprint
• Sprint
• Sprint, alpha testing
• Sprint, beta testing
• Content finalised, external testing & game balancing.
This lecture really opened my eyes to the potential of casual games, while they are not my personal preferred kind of gaming it is a big growth market, with a potential for fast profit, especially since small casual games can be built by small development teams, keeping production costs down. So I have definitely gained new insight into casual gaming, but it still remains a part of the industry that I do not see as an ideal place for myself, however the testing opportunities it offers while I’m working towards my goals are excellent.
This lecture was given by Thomas Hulverson, who is a senior tester at I-play in Germany, a company which specialises in making facebook games. Facebook games, while not AAA titles, are a rapidly growing portion of the market, and since they require less creation time and assets than a normal game. In addition to this, games of this kind spread by going ‘viral’ this, he explained, is where the game circulates by people playing, then inviting friends to join, who invite their friends and so forth. And because the way these games generate money is by frustrating players to the point that they choose to spend money to advance faster, they have a high revenue potential.
In addition to this he explained the steps involved in developing a PC game of this kind:
• Project creation
• Sprint
• Sprint
• Sprint, first playable version
• Sprint
• Sprint
• Sprint
• Sprint, alpha testing
• Sprint, beta testing
• Content finalised, external testing & game balancing.
This lecture really opened my eyes to the potential of casual games, while they are not my personal preferred kind of gaming it is a big growth market, with a potential for fast profit, especially since small casual games can be built by small development teams, keeping production costs down. So I have definitely gained new insight into casual gaming, but it still remains a part of the industry that I do not see as an ideal place for myself, however the testing opportunities it offers while I’m working towards my goals are excellent.
Lecture 4, Bruce Fitter
15/11/10
This lecture was from Bruce Fitter, a lecturer from Bolton Uni’s business department, and his lecture too was based around the business of games, as well as business in general to a certain extent. This lecture was very useful as much of the content is likely to be needed for the upcoming exam.
The primary topic was the different kinds of business, and what advantages and disadvantages each one brings;
• Sole trader
• Partnership
• Limited company
It became clear that while acting as a sole trader gives much more freedom and autonomy, working as a limited company boosts the company’s credibility a lot, and also opens the very important option of tax deductable purchases. He also explained how through that system there was a distinct advantage to rent equipment rather than outright buying it, as the rental cost can be written off as a business expenditure, and become a tax deduction.
The upside to working as a sole trader, as well to some extent the downside, is the ability to take director garunteed loans, which tie the money gained and the company to the name of the owner, meaning they cannot be skipped out on.
Bruce also explained what business plans are for;
• Explain the business objective
• How that objective will be achieved
• Explains how much funding is needed and what for
• Shows estimated profits if the plan works as it should
He echoed the sentiment of the second lecture, that business plans are important, but not the most important thing, and that projected huge profits are great, but if they are unrealistic potential investors are likely to pick up on this quickly.
Overall this lecture was good, and I learned a lot that will be useful for the exam, but since I have no plans to start my own business, it’s unlikely I will need much of this information in the future beyond that.
This lecture was from Bruce Fitter, a lecturer from Bolton Uni’s business department, and his lecture too was based around the business of games, as well as business in general to a certain extent. This lecture was very useful as much of the content is likely to be needed for the upcoming exam.
The primary topic was the different kinds of business, and what advantages and disadvantages each one brings;
• Sole trader
• Partnership
• Limited company
It became clear that while acting as a sole trader gives much more freedom and autonomy, working as a limited company boosts the company’s credibility a lot, and also opens the very important option of tax deductable purchases. He also explained how through that system there was a distinct advantage to rent equipment rather than outright buying it, as the rental cost can be written off as a business expenditure, and become a tax deduction.
The upside to working as a sole trader, as well to some extent the downside, is the ability to take director garunteed loans, which tie the money gained and the company to the name of the owner, meaning they cannot be skipped out on.
Bruce also explained what business plans are for;
• Explain the business objective
• How that objective will be achieved
• Explains how much funding is needed and what for
• Shows estimated profits if the plan works as it should
He echoed the sentiment of the second lecture, that business plans are important, but not the most important thing, and that projected huge profits are great, but if they are unrealistic potential investors are likely to pick up on this quickly.
Overall this lecture was good, and I learned a lot that will be useful for the exam, but since I have no plans to start my own business, it’s unlikely I will need much of this information in the future beyond that.
Lecture 3, Codemasters
1/11/10
This lecture was from Nick Rathbone, an ex student from Bolton uni, it was more specific than the previous two lectures, focusing on actually getting into the industry. He is currently employed at Codemasters working as a designer, specifically on Dirt 3 at present.
First he dealt with the issue of CVs, echoing fairly similar sentiments to the first guest lecture, that CVs need to stand out to be effective, he also emphasised that there should be no waffle. He said in addition to the CV, any time it is sent to a company it should be accompanied by a covering letter, this should be fairly limited in length, and much like the CV, should have no waffle. It should be formal and tailored to the company that is being applied for. He also stated that we should have both an opening statement for the CV, as well as a closing statement, detailing what games I play, and what I am currently playing.
Next he addressed the issue of portfolios, the primary task with a portfolio is to make it individual and easily distinguishable from other portfolios. The portfolio will of course give examples of my best work, as well as telling potential employers something about me as a potential employee. Everything on it should be as easily accessible as possible, documentation should be in PDF format where possible, and a combination of images, text and video should prove more effective than any 1 alone. Other suggestions were that we carry business cards with the address of the portfolio on it, as well as CDs or a flash drive with a copy of our portfolio on it for the ability to have it available with you at all times.
Finally he went on to the interview, this again mostly echoed information I have already received before, to sell yourself, pre-prepare knowledge about the company, and generally dress smart/casual at the least. In addition to this, we were told of the potential for a practical demonstration of designing skill during interviews, as potentially we will have a lengthy interview during which we would be asked to create something which conforms to pre-set parameters.
Overall this lecture was good, I gained some valuable information about CV and portfolio creation, as well as some information which will hopefully prove useful in interviews. Mostly it was reinforcing information I was previously in possession of, but the new information will all be helpful in future.
This lecture was from Nick Rathbone, an ex student from Bolton uni, it was more specific than the previous two lectures, focusing on actually getting into the industry. He is currently employed at Codemasters working as a designer, specifically on Dirt 3 at present.
First he dealt with the issue of CVs, echoing fairly similar sentiments to the first guest lecture, that CVs need to stand out to be effective, he also emphasised that there should be no waffle. He said in addition to the CV, any time it is sent to a company it should be accompanied by a covering letter, this should be fairly limited in length, and much like the CV, should have no waffle. It should be formal and tailored to the company that is being applied for. He also stated that we should have both an opening statement for the CV, as well as a closing statement, detailing what games I play, and what I am currently playing.
Next he addressed the issue of portfolios, the primary task with a portfolio is to make it individual and easily distinguishable from other portfolios. The portfolio will of course give examples of my best work, as well as telling potential employers something about me as a potential employee. Everything on it should be as easily accessible as possible, documentation should be in PDF format where possible, and a combination of images, text and video should prove more effective than any 1 alone. Other suggestions were that we carry business cards with the address of the portfolio on it, as well as CDs or a flash drive with a copy of our portfolio on it for the ability to have it available with you at all times.
Finally he went on to the interview, this again mostly echoed information I have already received before, to sell yourself, pre-prepare knowledge about the company, and generally dress smart/casual at the least. In addition to this, we were told of the potential for a practical demonstration of designing skill during interviews, as potentially we will have a lengthy interview during which we would be asked to create something which conforms to pre-set parameters.
Overall this lecture was good, I gained some valuable information about CV and portfolio creation, as well as some information which will hopefully prove useful in interviews. Mostly it was reinforcing information I was previously in possession of, but the new information will all be helpful in future.
Guest lecture 2, Angels den
25/10/2010
This lecture was given by Cameron Thompson, and was primarily about how to go about finding the capitol to start a business, and the various different ways to acquire funding, those being;
• Family
• Banks
• The public sector
• Venture capitalists
He explained that each of these, explaining the benefits of each, and while I currently have no intentions of going into business myself, the information on how to obtain funding should I change my plans is useful to have.
The business plan is another aspect he focused on, stating that depending on which kind of funding that we would be applying for, the plan would be more or less important. If applying from a bank, it would be much more important than if trying to attract the interest of a venture capitalist, and that either way the document shouldn’t read like an academic paper, as its purpose is to explain the goal for the company, without confusing the reader, so less technical language should be used.
He also re-confirmed that appearance in an interview is very important, that being clean shaven and well presented in an interview always looks better than the alternative, since I’ve always been advised that going to an interview overdressed is a preferable option to under dressing, this is information I have had reinforced.
As I said previously, starting a business is not currently part of my plans for when I finish my degree, but the information is still useful to have should I ever need it.
This lecture was given by Cameron Thompson, and was primarily about how to go about finding the capitol to start a business, and the various different ways to acquire funding, those being;
• Family
• Banks
• The public sector
• Venture capitalists
He explained that each of these, explaining the benefits of each, and while I currently have no intentions of going into business myself, the information on how to obtain funding should I change my plans is useful to have.
The business plan is another aspect he focused on, stating that depending on which kind of funding that we would be applying for, the plan would be more or less important. If applying from a bank, it would be much more important than if trying to attract the interest of a venture capitalist, and that either way the document shouldn’t read like an academic paper, as its purpose is to explain the goal for the company, without confusing the reader, so less technical language should be used.
He also re-confirmed that appearance in an interview is very important, that being clean shaven and well presented in an interview always looks better than the alternative, since I’ve always been advised that going to an interview overdressed is a preferable option to under dressing, this is information I have had reinforced.
As I said previously, starting a business is not currently part of my plans for when I finish my degree, but the information is still useful to have should I ever need it.
Guest lecture 1, travellers tails head designer
18/10/2010
The first guest lecturer that we had in was Arthur Parksons from Traveller’s Tales knutsford, where he’s the head of design, a role that I would someday like to hold myself, albeit not with TT. TT work on various games, primarily aimed at a younger target audience, including multiple Lego titles, such as Lego Star Wars and Lego Harry Potter. Arthur has been working for TT for about 12 years, and since his joining the company it has been purchased by Warner Brothers, and is now part of the WB group. While he is still a senior designer, he is still involved with base level work, such as writing design documents, something which I too have some experience with, and will as such keep the skill in practice for use in the industry.
Arthur informed us that while the credit crunch has helped improve the state of the game market, it is still very hard to get into industry with less than one percent of hopefuls successfully making it into a games developing career. This is, to a certain extent something I was aware of, and while the industry is highly competitive, new ideas and commitment will help lead me towards my career goals if I can maintain a high level of both. In addition to this, he stated that while graduates may join them with a 1st or a 2:1, they still won’t have all the skills required to work from the word go, and as a result will still require considerable training, which means that final degree grade, while important, is not as important as demonstrating creative ability and the intelligence to learn the new skill-sets required to function within the industry.
Because there are so many applicants for so few positions, he explained that there is very little time to read CVs, so something to make my CV stand out is very important, either a striking appearance, or scented paper, something he specifically mentioned. In addition to the CV and portfolio experience is very important, and often the deciding factor, as a result I will make sure to get as many experiences working with the industry as possible, while trying to find a more permanent position.
In addition to this information, he also explained some rather basic concepts relating to interviews, most of these were fairly obvious to me, as I have had several interviews before and am used to the routine, but some things which he mentioned I will be taking careful note of. Most of these relate to doing background research into the company, and knowing what kinds of games they make, as well as what releases are upcoming, and about the actual content of the company’s games. This all falls neatly under one of my own personal rules for interviews, which is to as far as possible, tell the interviewer(s) exactly what they want to hear, I’m a team player, love the company’s work, and want to give it my all for as long as I remain working for the company in question.
The prevailing opinion he gave on agencies is that with the industry the way it is, it is better to try and go it alone, rather than forcing companies to chose between me with an agency and anyone else not working for an agency, as agencies charge a percentage based on the salary I would be hired for. While I have used agencies in the past seeking non industry jobs, it is clear that going it alone in the industry would be a wiser move.
Arthur also discussed what looks best in a portfolio, that it is better to have few very good pieces than several mediocre ones. He also suggests showing diversity, something which I had already considered, and have put into practice, when complete my portfolio will have my 5-6 best pieces of work, and will show my skill with level design, 3d modelling, narrative and plot creation and game concepts.
I learned some useful information during this lecture, most of which I will go on to put into practice, on the whole it was nice to hear from someone who started in a similar position to the one I hope to be in come September.
The first guest lecturer that we had in was Arthur Parksons from Traveller’s Tales knutsford, where he’s the head of design, a role that I would someday like to hold myself, albeit not with TT. TT work on various games, primarily aimed at a younger target audience, including multiple Lego titles, such as Lego Star Wars and Lego Harry Potter. Arthur has been working for TT for about 12 years, and since his joining the company it has been purchased by Warner Brothers, and is now part of the WB group. While he is still a senior designer, he is still involved with base level work, such as writing design documents, something which I too have some experience with, and will as such keep the skill in practice for use in the industry.
Arthur informed us that while the credit crunch has helped improve the state of the game market, it is still very hard to get into industry with less than one percent of hopefuls successfully making it into a games developing career. This is, to a certain extent something I was aware of, and while the industry is highly competitive, new ideas and commitment will help lead me towards my career goals if I can maintain a high level of both. In addition to this, he stated that while graduates may join them with a 1st or a 2:1, they still won’t have all the skills required to work from the word go, and as a result will still require considerable training, which means that final degree grade, while important, is not as important as demonstrating creative ability and the intelligence to learn the new skill-sets required to function within the industry.
Because there are so many applicants for so few positions, he explained that there is very little time to read CVs, so something to make my CV stand out is very important, either a striking appearance, or scented paper, something he specifically mentioned. In addition to the CV and portfolio experience is very important, and often the deciding factor, as a result I will make sure to get as many experiences working with the industry as possible, while trying to find a more permanent position.
In addition to this information, he also explained some rather basic concepts relating to interviews, most of these were fairly obvious to me, as I have had several interviews before and am used to the routine, but some things which he mentioned I will be taking careful note of. Most of these relate to doing background research into the company, and knowing what kinds of games they make, as well as what releases are upcoming, and about the actual content of the company’s games. This all falls neatly under one of my own personal rules for interviews, which is to as far as possible, tell the interviewer(s) exactly what they want to hear, I’m a team player, love the company’s work, and want to give it my all for as long as I remain working for the company in question.
The prevailing opinion he gave on agencies is that with the industry the way it is, it is better to try and go it alone, rather than forcing companies to chose between me with an agency and anyone else not working for an agency, as agencies charge a percentage based on the salary I would be hired for. While I have used agencies in the past seeking non industry jobs, it is clear that going it alone in the industry would be a wiser move.
Arthur also discussed what looks best in a portfolio, that it is better to have few very good pieces than several mediocre ones. He also suggests showing diversity, something which I had already considered, and have put into practice, when complete my portfolio will have my 5-6 best pieces of work, and will show my skill with level design, 3d modelling, narrative and plot creation and game concepts.
I learned some useful information during this lecture, most of which I will go on to put into practice, on the whole it was nice to hear from someone who started in a similar position to the one I hope to be in come September.
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