Chapter Meeting: October 2002
“No's are fabulous!” Says Marc Mencher, “It's just a game of statistics, after so many no's there are bound to be a few yes'.” And take it from Marc; he would know how to get a job within the Interactive Entertainment Industry. He is, after all, the Game Recruiter. And you don't even have to take my word for it, he even wrote a book. Still not satisfied? Don't worry, there's more.
At the recent IGDA meeting, Marc Mencher gave a comprehensive overview on the book he has written, Get in the Game: “Careers in the Game Industry." It is a thorough and explicit guide for any person aspiring to be in the Interactive Entertainment Industry. And apparently it's going to be a lucrative industry. Marc assured us that projected sales for 2002 would be well over 10 billion dollars. So now we know there is money to be made, the question is how do you get a job? Or if you have been trying, why aren't you being hired?
“The most common mistakes usually reside in the resume.” Marc details how the aspiring artist can fall into 4 basic faults that will lessen their chances for employment.
4 Most Common Mistakes:
1. Generic Resumes: You cannot ship out one standardized resume to all companies. By catering your resume to the requirements of the employers, you help specify how you are going to be an asset to the company.
2. Not Listing Job Functions: Specify what you can do and any accomplishments you have gained from them. By putting your accomplishments, it helps show what you can distinguish your best traits are.
3. Giving Up Control: Just by you putting your resume on Gamasutra or any other job listing forums, you have relinquished control of what you want in a job. You need to be calling the companies, dealing with Human Resources and do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door. Showing your hunger for the position will only get you noticed in a positive light.
4. Bad Face to Face Interviews: Always do your research before you go on an interview. Do your homework about the companies history so when your interviewing it shows how much more knowledgeable you are, versus the common man.
So now lets say you are about to be hired and the question of salary comes up. In a perfect world people would make games for the love of games, but in our capitalistic society its all about numbers. So you should know how much your worth. “The asking price for an entry level position will be about $30 35,000 annually. But an experienced person can make from anywhere between $80 100,000 dollars annually.” Impressive numbers but then Marc lamented, “But the division between game artist and programmer are slowly fading. Artists need to be comprehensive in either Max's script editor or Maya's mel scripting.”And that isn't even the half of it. But, if you're serious about getting a job in games, you should probably pick up his book. He knows what it takes. Like I said, he is the Game Recruiter. But does that mean you should go to him or others like him who recruit people to work for companies? “Most likely not, for inexperienced artists, it would be nearly impossible for a recruiter to shop them around. Unless he is god's gift to videogames, any person fresh out of school is most likely not going to be needing a recruiter. Get two video game titles under your belt and then give me a call. A recruiter is going to need something to work with.”
After the presentation, we all retired back to Ole Ole, the finest Mexican bar that Ft. Lauderdale has to offer. At the bar I decided to get a little more personal with Marc Mencher, and asked him five questions the common gamer would like to know.
Alex: Since you are the Game Recruiter ( www.gamerecruiter.com ), what is your favorite game at the moment?
Marc: Halo, hands down. I'm a big fan of the FPS.
Alex: What would you say is the next up and coming genre in games?
Marc: Massive Multiplayer Online Rpg's, they're the way of the future for games. Online gaming is still a virtually untapped resource. But it can't be as straight forward, you're going to have to start mixing of genres. Like how blizzard did in WarCraft 3, a combination of a Role Playing Game and a Real Time Strategy.
Alex: If you weren't “the” Game Recruiter, what you be doing as an occupation?
Marc: I would like to be an executive producer.
Alex: What games are you playing right now?
Marc: Watch Maker and Tony Tough. (Turns out that Marc Mencher is the Executive Producer on both of these titles, so this turns out to be a humorous but still a shameless plug.)
Alex: Final Question, since we knew you were at the E3 last may, and attended the Will Wright/Yu Suzuki conference, who do you think would win in a fight? Will Wright or Yu Suzuki?
Marc: Oh Will Wright definitely. I have seen Yu Suzuki, and he needs everything catered for him. I'm sure Will Wright could figure out how to take out Yu Suzuki faster.
Well then, I guess there you have it. From breaking into the business to taking bets on celebrity video game designer death matches, Marc Mencher knows his industry.
IGDA South Florida Reporter
Alex Solarte
Parasytic Moon
