What Game Companies Want From Graduates

simoniker writes "Game education site Game Career Guide has a new feature talking to recruiters from notable game companies like EA, Insomniac Games, and THQ. They discuss the best university courses and qualifications for getting hired to be a game developer. EA's Colleen McCreary comments on the rise of some TV-advertised mass market game schools: 'Our concern with for-profit institutions is that students may not learn the fundamental tools for understanding and solving complex issues... We are most likely to hire someone who has a BFA or MFA from a traditional art college and a BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science for our entry level artist and software engineer positions.'"

Comments

Re:They want experience on video games

[mypalmike]

If you're not already in the industry, you don't get into the industry.

1. This is not true for artists. If you can draw really well, you can usually get a job. You have to be top 5%, but entry level generally requires no specific game-artist background.
2. For programmers, your first step into the industry is often a game you've written in your spare time. Unlike many other jobs where there's a chicken/egg problem, in videogames, you can make your own egg.
3. For the designer/producer route, you generally need to be an obsessive game guru who gets hired into a playtester position. And you'll have to be driven, professional, and perhaps lucky to advance.
4. To be a game executive, you have to be good at shmoozing. These guys often come from entirely different industries where they were good at shmoozing. Could be soda, tennis equipment, whatever.

Left something out.

[joystickgenie]

Hold on a second the snippet above left out a very important line. Sure it quoted:

"We are most likely to hire someone who has a BFA or MFA from a traditional art college and a BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science for our entry level artist and software engineer positions."

But not the line right after:

On the other hand, Baker comments that although "the idea of 'Game Schools' is still a relatively new aspect to the industry" which leaves the answer to whether they provide enough relevant experience a little "unclear" she feels that "schools like Guildhall [at SMU] and Full Sail have merit."

Honestly with the Bias that many traditional school graduates have against these schools and the type of discussion that this type of article starts, this is a very important thing to leave out. The snippet that was pulled out implies a completely different perception of these schools by the industry then the article describes.

Re:So don't hire them.

[Archades54]

but then you leave out the demographic that cannot afford University but can afford vocational diploma's. in australia at least uni would cost you 20-50 grand, diploma's cost a few thousand. if you're from a disadvantaged background, you will miss out with your elitist attitude, even in uni degree's you will have people doing it simply for the $$$, and you can get quite a few people in the vocational diploma's that have just as much skill, drive and determination to become great artists, programmers etc.
A $50 000 course does not guarantee an increased affinity in the subject area, only that they have financial backing from themselves, their family, or scholarships.

Not to mention many people self-learn the various skills for the job's in IT.