The Games Game November 2008

Time to Start Building a Portfolio (November 2008)

Dear Tom,

I love videogames. I really love them. I'm a Spanish boy of 23 years old.This year I'll finish my studies (I'll be Electronic Engineer ), I'm working as councilman, I got a Master on Business and Administration and another Master on 3D Design with Maya, I play every game I can, I read all about videogames, from reviews to any Katie Salen book. And I want to design videogames. It doesn't matter if I got a small salary, a few holidays, if I must to get any entry level position, or get any different position available (QA, production, leveldesigner,...)

Here in Spain there is no way to learn games or videogames design, I can't get inside any course, any Master or something like that. Moreover, in Spain there are just a few companies making videogames. What can I do to get inside?

Thank you!

Carlos

Hi Carlos,

I touched on this general topic in my August 2004 column, but that correspondent didn't say what country he lives in. Spain being in Europe, your situation doesn't sound as bad as his.

You say you already have two masters' degrees, at age 23? That's fairly impressive. I think you don't need any more education. You can get more degrees if you want, but now it's time for you to buckle down and start building a portfolio. There may not be any universities or trade schools in Spain offering game design degrees, but so what? You're already educated sufficiently, and you may be overestimating the importance of game design degrees.

A degree on your résumé mainly tells employers that you have stick-to-itiveness. Clearly you already have that. Too many more degrees and your résumé will look like that of a perpetual student. With your existing degrees and a strong portfolio, your chances of getting hired are good.

I don't know how easy it is to move from one country to another within Europe, but there are numerous European game companies -- publishers and developers alike -- where you can apply. You say there are a few companies in Spain. You might not even have to move to another country. All you have to do is make yourself into an attractive candidate.

Get networking now. Check out the IGDA chapter in Madrid. Go to European game conferences. I've written several columns on networking. Just check the archive.

You should start working on mods and indie projects, some collaboratively and some solo, building a body of work you can show in your portfolio. Then you should be able to get that job. If all else fails, since you have an MBA, you can work towards starting your own company. But the portfolio-building work is still a necessary precursor, because you need a deep understanding of the process of building games.

To summarize, then: you don't need more degrees. You need to start working on games: mods, indie, solo designs. Start networking now. Seek work in Spain or elsewhere in Europe. If you can't get hired, fall back on your MBA learning and start working on a business plan for your own company.

Tom Sloper's game biz career began over twenty years ago at Western Technologies, where he designed LCD games and the Vectrex games "Spike" and "Bedlam". There followed stints at Sega Enterprises, Rudell Design, Atari Corporation, and Activision. In 12 years at Activision, Tom produced 36 unique game titles (plus innumerable ports and localizations), designed four games, and won five awards. Tom worked for several months in Activision's Japan operation, in Tokyo. He is perhaps best known for designing, managing and producing Activision's "Shanghai" line. He is currently consulting, writing, speaking, teaching, and developing original games. Find out more at Sloperama.

© 2008 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved.