Kevin Beardslee
Vice President of Game Design, NCSoft
VP Game Design at NCSoft
Sessions Advisory Board member
Kevin Beardslee is a senior game designer with credits on a host of game titles including World of Warcraft, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Diablo II, and StarCraft: Brood War. We asked Kevin to talk about hiring practices at game development firms. What skills are employers looking for in the game industry—and how are the requirements different for a game artist versus a game designer?
Game industry recruiters are not looking for cookie-cutter hires, and every company or studio has its own culture. But there are definitely some skills that are in demand across the industry.
Important skills for a Game Artist are as follows:
- A game artist can focus on multiple areas but should do just that, focus.
- We look for people who can model/texture/animate but not specifically people who can do all of those tasks. (Though having experience in different roles is always helpful, of course).
- An animator must have mastered the principles of animation (squash/stretch, anticipation, and so on.)
- Texture artists should be accomplished traditional artists and have a firm grasp on color and lighting. Texture artists should be familiar with modern day techniques such as color, specular, normal and height mapping, as well as have a firm understanding of UVs.
- Modelers should have good spatial skills and be able to reproduce a concept as a 3D model as well as be conscious of poly counts.
- We do not look for specific knowledge of any 3D package though it doesn't hurt to be familiar with them all and be a master of one.
I look at the field of game design as two different categories: Creative Design and Systems Design.
Most important skills for a Creative Designer would be:
- Good writing skills. A creative designer should be an accomplished writer and in turn should be an avid reader. Being a movie buff doesn't hurt, but having a large library of novels to draw from is a huge factor.
- Should have a firm understanding of Campbell's "The Hero's Journey" and use these principles to establish an intriguing storyline.
- An aptitude for creating interesting factions/races with strong tension.
- An aptitude for creating interesting missions/levels that appeal to people on both visual and creative levels.
- Level designers are almost a separate branch of Creative Designer and should have both artistic and design skills.
Most important skills for a Systems Designer (MMO slanted):
- Strong math skills for balancing game system such as combat or trade skills.
- Good knowledge of pen and paper game systems such as the D20 system in D&D.
- A good understanding of economics when designing game economies.
- A firm grasp of how to use Microsoft Excel.
- Should be an avid gamer and be able to reference systems from other games when designing a new system
- Should be familiar with the success of games current and past and be able to recognize which systems aided in their success.
For any job applicant, having work samples to show is key. How else will we know how talented you are? Here are some rules of the road for designers:
- All artists should have a portfolio of their work/reel.
- Designers should have short stories/quest scenarios exhibiting their skills as a writer.
- Level designers should have a level design on both paper/document format as well as a blocked out version in a 3D package (untextured is fine).
- System designers should be able to demonstrate a game system be it combat, trade skill, and so on, with equations and the rationale for why they designed it a specific way.
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