Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

Building Game Worlds
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U L T I M A T E G A M E D E S I G N
TM: What do you like the least about the game industry?
MW: Two things—their hiring practices and the business itself. But this could apply to other businesses
as well; nonetheless, the games business epitomizes politics and volatility. In terms of their hiring
practices, game companies often have unrealistic requirements for tools and programming languages
that have barely been on the market, or they require esoteric experience for particular kinds of games
(for example, requiring a producer to have been a pro or semipro athlete to work on a sports game).
While they have these lofty requirements, it’s still just a buddy network. On many occasions in my
experience, I don’t believe developers have made good hiring choices. Regarding the business itself, it
has a cycle of hiring a team for a game, then not necessarily being able to use the team when the
game is done or is cancelled. It’s not a smart way of using their resources, nor is it rational as a
long-term business strategy. They may as well hire consultants, but this is a novel idea in games.
Games are cancelled for arbitrary reasons, which ultimately hinders the careers of all involved. It is
perceived that they [the game development team] are entirely accountable for failing to ship a game,
when the real reason for cancellation is often far beyond the team’s control. Your identity is established
by the game you shipped, or didn’t ship. You’re only as good as your last shipped game, assuming it
shipped. The industry has driven out the most passionate and legendary gamers and has become too
glamour-oriented. Finally, it’s not necessarily sensitive to the female market (Barbie and Lara Croft are
not the healthiest role models to female game players) and females working in the industry.
TM: How important is reaching out to others or networking in finding a game job?
MW: It’s essential. The games industry does not necessarily reward the most qualified, so they do
overlook a lot of very talented and well educated people who are passionate about games and can
contribute to great game development. It’s definitely about who you know. A lot of positions are not
advertised either.
TM: What’s the best advice you would give a new game job candidate?
MW: Get ready for game reality to bite you! You will meet a lot of people that share your interests,
and you will also work with people who have their own agendas, and who probably shouldn’t be
working in games. Keep current with games and your skills, remind yourself about why you’re in the
game industry, be flexible, and soak up as much information as possible.
MEGA TIPS
1. Practice writing thorough game reviews. Be sure to address the good with
the bad. In particular, state how you would evolve the game title to address
these issues.
2. Even if you’re just building a small game among friends, always include
test plan information when soliciting feedback from players. What are
they looking for? Where would you like them to focus their attention?
As a designer, you’ll know which areas of your level or mission feel weak
to you. See if test players agree or disagree.