Intro
There is still a lot I have yet to learn about the games design industry, the more I learn about it the more I realise just how multifaceted this field can be. Outside of the technical and creative skills learnt during coursework there is still more practical knowledge that sometimes can only be gained through real experience working within this industry. Each alumni who has visited our class has offered not just their expertise, but also their experience. Personal stories, working habits, and advice. Sometimes I feel as though it is this information that is important, it is a realistic viewpoint of an industry that many of us hope to enter; an industry shaped by constant change, teamwork, and a shared passion for creating games.
The games design industry is not just a highly creative field full with passionate people, but also highly driven people who often have to navigate uncertain job markets, changing studio structures, and tight deadlines. This is what has stood out to me the most, how passion and perseverance is so important within this career path. Many of the alumni were sincere about some of these challenges, sharing their personal stories.
Better understanding these different perspectives has given me a clearer and more realistic understanding of what working in this field may require beyond simply the technical skills. The level of honesty and encouragement from the alumni was admirable and somehow has left me feeling more excited for the future despite having a better understanding of its challenges, because I now also have a better understanding of what positives lie ahead.
Life as a games designer
The first alumni to visit our class and personally one of the most eye opening was Jamie Blacknell. Graduating in 2021 he spoke openly about the challenges of getting into the games industry during covid,about how the whole field came to a halt, about how the competition increased, and about the opportunities that were limited. Now a developer with experience working in two different games studios Jamie shared with us both his achievements and his setbacks. After having secured a unity developer position in 2022 and going on to buy a house and get engaged, he was unexpectedly made redundant. A stark reminder of the instability within the games industry, especially when working at a marginally small company. His honesty and candour reinforced what I am now beginning to fully understand, resilience, networking, and passion can be just as important as technical skills within the industry. Jamie Blacknell also encouraged us to remain motivated even during challenging times by developing our portfolios and creating personal projects to stay connected to your workflow.
With more than 22,000 jobs within the industry vanishing since 2022 (A. Farough, M. Futter, 2024) it’s no wonder the current state of the market is competitive as it is. During covid the games industry seemed to be thriving, with everyone stuck inside their houses what else could they do. But this led to mass over spending from games companies which is still affecting the market now. What Jamie went through coming into the industry has only been getting progressively more difficult since covid. So what can I do to help better my chances of landing an industry role?
Jamie Blacknell also shared with us the fact that he wasn’t quite sure what role he wanted to work in going into the industry, being more of a ‘jack of all trades’. But he also shared how this can be useful if you’re going in with the right attitude. According to him a company is more likely to hire someone who they know is hardworking and a teamplayer even if they have slightly less proficiency than someone who is more experienced with a narrow mindset. Within the games industry almost every studio will have you working within a group, hence why being a teamplayer is so important to breakthrough into this industry. He emphasised how essential teamwork is, explaining to us that collaboration depends on your honesty; being able to share what you can and can’t do, communicating, and making an effort to understand your coworkers perspective.
He currently works at Play360.AI with GameCity, where his work is now going beyond just unity development onto more general programming using things such as javascript. This ability to learn and change portrays the value of flexibility within the games industry, especially as the industry is forever advancing. One of these advancements his company is actively employing into their workplace is the use of AI. I am fully aware that both me and my classmates approach AI with a sense of caution; admittedly also frustration due to its growing influence within creative industries. Despite this and keeping with the theme of adaptability that Jamie Blacknell emphasised it is increasingly more present within the games industry and may be a tool we have to learn to use, regardless of opinion.
Another alumni that left a strong impression on me was Olivia Gergory, a games artist specialising in concept art development. Games Art is one of my personal favourite sections of the games industry, it is something that strongly aligns with my own goals and aspirations making her insight that much more powerful. After graduation Olivia Gergory worked in a coffee shop using her spare time to work on her portfolio, saving up money to afford a private mentor that was a well established concept artist. This concept was something I probably would’ve never even been aware of if not for this talk. It is an approach I could see myself seriously considering after graduation, as it seems like a very practical and hands on way to actively improve your skill level.
Olivia Gregory’s time at the coffee shop also presented her with surprising opportunities. A casual conversation with one of her customers led to her landing one of her first creative jobs, producing the artwork for a boardgame for an environmental health officer. This example showed that maintaining professionalism whilst still expressing yourself and your interests can lead to unexpected places. Her story proves a lesson that many alumni have mentioned over the previous weeks; networking doesn’t have to be limited to formal events, but simply positive conversations with the right people.
Additionally Olivia Gregory’s journey into the industry highlights the importance of patience. Early career pathways are almost never simple, it is something that requires time, practice, and networking. Her drive to seek out professional feedback from established artists is admirable.
Olvia Gregory is now pursuing a masters in illustration whilst also having a range of smaller creative jobs on the side. Smaller positions like this can be a valuable gateway into the games industry, they allow developing artists to continue to develop their skills whilst also focusing on their studies or main job. One of these creative side jobs is actually being a mentor herself, supporting others to develop their portfolios and personal projects. Similar to the mentorship she received after finishing university.
Additionally Olivia Gregory is also employed at Chapel Art Studios. Serving as a creative programme coordinator for a charity. Before her masters she also spent a handful of months working for Westpier Studio, a gambling company where she finalised the artwork for slot machines. Whilst this type of work may not be what many of us imagine following university this type of experience offered legitimate gateways into the industry. Almost any professional opportunity has its own value, it gives you connections, broadens your experience, and contributes to getting more opportunities in the future.
Listening to the alumni speak so openly about their experiences within the industry has made me much more aware of how taxing pursuing a creative career such as this can be. Games design is not simply a career defined by creativity and passion but at times also instability. This is something that a lot of us want to be able to shrug off and ignore, to remain blissfully ignorant; but it is also so important to recognise. Tight deadlines, changes in studios, and the pressure to remain creative are all aspects of this industry some people may not expect going into it. Many of the alumni were honest about the unpredictability of the field, about how redundancies can happen at any point, and about how smaller studios in particular struggle with stability. Our last guest speaker Jade spoke to us about how she had recently been made redundant despite having a more senior role, this instability affects everyone within the industry not just people taking on beginner roles. Additionally with the rapid increase in the use of AI within the creative process even more instability is evident than before. As someone going into the industry I am more aware than ever that adaptability as mentioned previously is such a key role in progressing and essential to ‘surviving’ in the world of games design.
Despite the challenges what has stuck out to me most is the fact that every alumni has chosen to stay within the games design industry. Despite the challenges and setbacks many of them have faced working on games and is something they continue to chase, why? Simply put their passion and love for what they do outweighs many of the negatives. Seeing this has made me reflect upon my own motivation. I am more than aware that a career in games design might not always be easy or straight forwards, but I am also very aware for how i feel about this industry. It is something i truly care about, one of the only industries myself and im sure some of the alumni are certain that we truly passionate for. Games intertwine with almost every aspect of our lives, socially, recreationally, and now even professionally. Being aware of these challenges I hope to do everything in my power to ensure this is a career I am able to pursue, potential instability and all.
Portfolio
Many of the alumni who visited our class had advice regarding our portfolios, each of them drawing from their own personal experience and insight. Whilst some of the suggestions such as Olivias use of private mentoring were unique, a lot of the advice was very consistent. Hearing different perspectives from all the different specialties across the industry can be valuable, even if it’s coming from someone outside of your preferred role it is often still advice you should apply to your own work. Having personally been through the hiring process the alumni are able to provide us with realistic advice tailored to the games industry, this is something we may not be able to get without this opportunity. One thing that kept popping up was the importance of an online presence, having social media accounts dedicated to your work, business cards and sharing your personal projects publicly.
The aspect that surprised me the most was the emphasis on social media. Several of the alumni mentioned how a professional online presence can significantly increase the reach of your professional portfolio. This has encouraged me to create a dedicated art account where I can present my work more intentionally and professionally. Although I have had dedicated art accounts in the past, many of them do not have that industry focused and professional approach that I want to achieve.
Another important insight that came from these discussions was the importance of keeping your portfolio refined and intentional. A affective portfolio shouldn’t be a random collection of your favourite pieces and works but rather a collection of work from two or three projects that show you have the ability to develop an idea from start to finish. Honestly this concept rather surprised me, prior to this i thought that a good portfolio demonstrates simply the best work you have to offer. Knowing this now makes a great deal of sense, you can’t be throwing random artworks without meaning at an employer and expect them to fully understand what’s going on. This was something that was brought up also in the very first session of professional contexts with our lecturer Adam also putting emphasis on intentionally building our portfolio in this way.
Olivia expanded to us on the importance of intentions in how your portfolio is presented, she gave us advice tailored more towards concept art of characters and places. One thing mentioned was to keep related concept designs together often within the same artwork, showing different designs with marginal variations rather then spreading them across multiple pages without proper indication of the designs being connected. This is something I am personally guilty of doing in the past, even if an artwork is from the same project that does not mean that whoever is viewing your portfolio is aware of that unless clearly stated. She also recommended removing any pieces that are repetitive and dont show the full variety of your skill set, including different angles and designs of whatever you’re designing. This clearly shows your versatility, which is a key factor to being a concept artist.
Furthermore Olivia and many of the other alumni stressed the importance of showing your work within a gameworld. Properly displaying that a concept has progressed from an idea to being successfully within a gameworld reinforces your ability to work throughout the whole production process. This can simply be put as a short video after your designs, code, or models that clearly states what aspect of the work is yours. This method was something that actually aided Rhys Shepherd, who worked on his final year project ‘hacker ball!’ after graduating uni into a more polished product. Rhys shared with us how this approach actually personally helped him to land one of his first jobs after graduation.
A creative portfolio is so much more than a collection of good works; it must also be done in a way that displays your versatility, professionalism, and mostly your ability to take a concept from start to finish. Emphasis on having a social media presence and showing your work within a gameworld was something that repeatedly came up in these alumni talks for good reason. Because it works. Hearing these different perspective from people inside of the industry in and out of my preferred role has made me much more aware of how I may need to approach my portfolio going ahead. I am also now aware of how these techniques are not simply just advice, but fundamental aspects to getting hired within the current competitive nature of games design.
Plan
After hearing all of the advice from the alumni in the past few weeks I’ve started to think more seriously about how to progress in this industry moving forwards. I have already began making my own business cards so that I will have them in time for the final showcase, something I may have never considered without these talks. I now recognise the importance in networking, how it is not just something that only finance and business ‘bros’ use to gloat; as I may or may not have thought before.
Also deciding to create an additional personal project alongside my work next term. Doing this will ensure that I am able to leave university with two fully realised sets of designs, from initial sketches to finalised concepts. Going forwards this task feels a little daunting especially considering the overlap with my final major project, but doing this will give me more peace of mind in the long run and shouldn’t be too much extra work for myself as it is simply a personal project.
Doing all of this should ensure that I am on the right path to have everything in time for when I graduate, and also to start thinking about what it is that I want to do afterwards.
Conclusion:
Looking back at the past few weeks, what sticks with me is how much more demanding the games industry might be then I had realised. Listening to the alumni share their own stories has truly grounded my expectations, but somehow has also motivated me to try harder than ever before. Their personal stories and experiences are such valuable pieces of information. Now fully recognising that success in games design goes beyond simply technical skill, it is being able to work in a team, be honest when communicating, and endlessly practicing your chosen specialty.
Most importantly it is the passion and determination of each alumni that makes the games industry what it is. Regardless of challenges and growing concern over the industry as a whole we’re all here to do the same thing, work on something we wholeheartedly enjoy. Moving forwards i feel not only much more prepared, but also much more determined to pursue this career path with intention, realism, and surprisingly optimism.
A. Farough, M. Futter. (2024). The Game Industry’s Cataclysmic Layoffs: Where Do We Go from Here?. ACM Games: Research and Practice. Volume 2(Issue 1). [Online]. Available at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3651280
J. Cateridge. (2024). Tackling precarity and disadvantage: an analysis of mentoring provision within the UK’s creative industries. Creative Industries Journal. Volume 17(Issue 2). [Online]. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17510694.2024.2376311#abstractV.
Mattila, Y.Z. pang. (2023). The Current State of the Global Gaming Industry: Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369065639_The_Current_State_of_the_Global_Gaming_Industry_T