CAREERS & EDUCATION
From Issue #19
Video Game Designers
Making It In The Video Game Industry
by Ted Kritsonis
People who work behind the scenes in the world of video games aren’t household
names, but that doesn’t make their jobs any less enticing. Those who work long
hours and sacrifice a lot of time to create games out there have admitted they do
it because they’re gamers first.
UBISOFT GAMER, CLINT
Clint Hocking works at Ubisoft in Montreal and currently
juggles his duties as creative director, scriptwriter and lead
level designer for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Clint openly
admits that he “was a little lucky and in the right place at the
right time,” after a friend e-mailed him a link for a job opening
at Ubisoft. “I’ve heard terrible stories of how some of the best
designers in the industry took years to get their foot in the
door, but lucky ones like me sent in one resumé, and bang!
I was in,” Clint says. “I would say that the stories of struggle
appear to vastly outnumber the stories of the lucky ones like
me, but who knows? In the end, there are a lot of people who
want to be game designers, and who are sure they would be
great at it. But the fact is that it’s just as difficult and technical
as being a graphics engine programmer.”
Clint earned a diploma in visual fine arts at Langara College in
Vancouver, along with a master’s degree in creative writing at
the University of British Columbia. Clint also attributes his
experience as a writer and producer in independent films as
“something that probably looked pretty good on my resumé.”
“Way back when I was in school, there weren’t many schools
offering courses in game design, or even in 3-D art or
graphics,” Clint says. “But the most important thing I learned
in school was ‘how to learn,’ and in my mind, that is the real
value of an education as far as becoming a game designer is
concerned. It’s a career that will ask you to learn five years’
worth of new things every six months, and you have to be
prepared to absorb that information.”
Clint Hocking, Creative Director
for Ubisoft and one of
his concepts for the game based
on the script he wrote for
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.
ELECTRONIC ARTS GAMER, JUSTIN
For Justin at Electronic Arts, another
gaming company, the road wasn’t as
smooth, especially since he left a
multimedia school in his first semester to
go job-hunting. After canvassing all his
teachers, who were industry veterans, he
attended recruitment sessions hosted by
local companies. It was there that he
landed a job as a local game developer in
Vancouver. His next six years were then
spent trying to convince his bosses to use
his ideas in their games.
Now, he’s in his
third year at Electronic Arts as an
associate producer, working with an
eclectic mix of people. “The difference for
me, when
I look to staff my design team, is the life
skills. Can you negotiate? Can you boil
down crazy ideas into workable solutions? Can you recognize a
good idea — even if it came from that guy who chews with his
mouth open — and run with it like it's your own?” Justin says.
“It's all about loving games, loving creativity, and being able to
put your head down, and putting
a good idea on paper, in enough detail that the smart and talented folks can make it happen.”
When Justin started, the gaming industry was a lot different
behind the scenes as well as in mainstream pop culture
because the size and scope of games, in terms of money and
design teams, were a fraction of what they are now. He also
thinks current growth in the industry can provide many
opportunities for anyone with a creative mind and strengths
that range from Web design to creative writing. “It’s a tough
job to find, but it’s getting easier,” he says. “I started as a
gamer, and 10 years ago, my company didn’t have ‘designers’ — just artists, engineers and producers. Now, there are courses
to take specifically in game design, not to mention stuff like
the Internet — something I hadn’t heard about when I started.”
For getting into the business now, both Clint and Justin cite
their education as a key factor. “Having a broad general
education is pretty important because you can develop better
creative tools,” Clint says. “You never know what kind of game
you’re going to work on, so knowing a little bit about
everything is only going to help.”
Need for Speed Underground 2 is EA's way of delving into the glitzy
underground world of street racing by mixing souped-up wheels within a
gritty urban landscape.
FIFA Soccer 2005 from EA continues to impress Soccer game
players worldwide.
With FIFA Soccer 2005, you are able to challenge more than 350 official
licences, including 18 leagues, 40 national teams and 11,000 players.
Speed Underground and FIFA images courtesy of EA.
Clint Hocking and Splinter Cell images courtesy of Ubisoft.
