Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

C H A P T E R 7
I NTERVIEW WITH MELINDA WHITE
Melinda White is manager of US Recruiting, specializing in enterprise application integration technology,
for SeeBeyond Technologies, Inc., a software developer located in Monrovia, CA. During her ten years of
experience in recruiting, she has worked on the front lines of hiring technology personnel for many game
developers, entertainment companies, and software companies. She holds a B.A. degree in psychology
and French from Scripps College in Claremont, CA. We sat down to talk about how to pursue career
opportunities in gaming and how companies perceive job candidates.
TM: How does the hiring process work for most game developers?
MW: Depending on their size, some have a very formal process, and some not very formal at all.
A large company like Electronic Arts uses a web-based system to track résumé submissions. When a
position becomes available, they can search the database for keyword matches and proceed to look
at job candidates. Smaller game developers tend to work at a much more personal level, holding on
to certain résumés and relying heavily on hiring friends and associates of the developers they already
have on staff.
TM: As a new game developer, trying to get that first job, do you think it’s best to start in the QA
department or go straight for a development position?
MW: This really depends on your background. It used to be that you could start in the QA department
and move anywhere in the company over time. This doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Developers
are looking for individuals who can demonstrate highly specialized skill sets and hit the ground running
from day one. Programmers need solid code samples, artists need compelling work on their reels, and
designers need finished levels with attached design documentation. If you have this material already,
then give yourself some time to find a position in your specialty area. If you’re still trying to build these
skills, you have a better shot at getting into QA, showing what you can do, and then making the move
toward your dream job from there.
TM: Do you see demand for testers regularly?
MW: It seems to be seasonal and somewhat sporadic. Obviously, more testers get hired when a
bunch of games are coming to completion. I concentrate more on placing software engineers, just
because of demand.
TM: Do you know of many testers who have moved on to other jobs within the game industry?
MW: Sure. Many have moved on. It seems to have always been the “proving ground” for many.
The difference now is the amount of specialized skill needed to break out of testing and into the other
job categories.
TM: What about pay and salary issues for QA?
MW: Many testers are temporary; hence they are paid hourly ($10 to $14) with no benefits,
although some have full-time regular positions with benefits. The pay isn’t as competitive compared with
QA test personnel in mainstream software, and the actual pay depends on your geographic location too.
For most, it’s just a position you take as a stepping-stone to somewhere else.
TM: How about programmers, artists, producers, and designers?
MW: I’ve known several developers that have worked in mainstream software companies, and
taken pay cuts to work for game developers, and then returned fairly quickly to mainstream software.
Working in games provides a grueling work schedule, but in all fairness that happens in mainstream
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