Thaddeus Sasser
Seattle, Washington, United States
4K followers
500+ connections
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Articles by Thaddeus
Contributions
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How can you maintain your passion for Game Design throughout your career?
Know why you make games. Most of the developers I know who are still doing this after many years do it because they want to. Passion can be a trap, as the unscrupulous may take advantage of it, but you don’t have to wear your heart on your sleeve like I do! I make games because as a child growing up so many of my best memories invoke games. From the arcade to dungeons and dragons to the earliest home consoles, I have warm memories. My goal is to give other people an escape from the traumas and difficulties of everyday life and give them a chance to do something they can’t do in real life; a way to experience things they’ve never seen; an opportunity to spark curiosity, passion, or interest in something they haven’t thought about before.
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What does a game designer do?
Useful tools: - a game engine, like Unreal or Unity. - mind mapping, like Miro - collaborative documentation, like Confluence or other wikis - defect and task tracking, like Jira or Hansoft - data manipulation, like Excel - source control, like Perforce or Git - image manipulation, like Photoshop or Gimp - AI tools, like ChatGPT or ElevenLab's voice tools - and many more, like search engines, Figma for UX, and so on.
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What does a game designer do?
The two most important skills for a game designer are the ability to critically analyze the market, the player, the player's motivations, and any competitive products, as well as the ability to communicate their results, determinations, and decisions and proselytize their ideas to the team. Both of these skills must be diligently worked on over many years of experience, learning how to apply the lessons learned to the game, depending on the specialization of the game designer.
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What does a game designer do?
A game designer is responsible for making sure the right design decisions are made. They are not responsible for having the best ideas, but they are responsible for recognizing the best ideas for the game and the player and helping to make sure they get incorporated into the game. Game designers don't sit in some high tower, throwing documents down to the peasants below. Rather, they are an integral part of a team of hard working very smart people, and they are responsible specifically for making sure the target audience is engaged with the game for as long as possible. Great ideas come from anywhere, and great game designers recognize this and embrace it.
Activity
Honors & Awards
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2010 "Designer of the Year"
Red Storm Entertainment
I am grateful to be the recipient of Red Storm Entertainment's 2010 "Designer of the Year" award.
Languages
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English
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Recommendations received
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Explore more posts
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Alexander Rehm
It is awful. Truly awful. Around 15% of Intel Corporation's staff (meaning over 15,000 people) are facing layoffs this year. I want to provide as much support as I can about this happening. I know that Intel is not a games studio, but the amount of support they are giving games studios is not to be under-estimated. When I worked at other games studios in the past, we had wonderful working relationships with them, getting support through driver optimisations, supporting technical tests, even offering to feature our games on their network and providing exclusive access to gamers to our closed alpha or closed beta tests. This kind of relationship was special. Regardless of which areas of Intel are going to feel layoffs, with 15% of the workforce, that will be felt everywhere in the organisation. Those of you who worked even remotely in gaming, please make use of my resources below: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/eWvkdYjk You can find over 6,000 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #intel #layoffs
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1 Comment -
Mayank Grover
Another big publisher set to fire 600 employees. This post is intended to support those who were recently laid off. Please share it within your community and tag studios and recruiters who are actively hiring. "We'll hear troubling news from the offices of Zynga, Gearbox, 2K, and even Rockstar—a far cry from earlier statements about layoffs from Take-Two's CEO." To combat, I am adding 5 resources below for all impacted professionals : 1) Our flagship Full-stack game programming bootcamp worth $11,000. We're giving course content out on 100% scholarship for anyone who's willing to transition into game programming or upskill in programming. (Mail: [email protected]) 2) Join our Discord Community and help professionals who are asking questions related to portfolio building, job seeking, interviews, and broadly their next career step. We have added help roles for programming, Unity, Unreal, DSA, Careers. Pick these roles and only get notified when someone asks questions related to your expertise. 3) Your team is hiring? Here's a list of 900+ professionals who were laid off recently: https://bit.ly/49Ah2vT Do them a favor by sharing this list with your 1st degree connections who're hiring. 4) We now have 14368 gamedev jobs from all over the world. https://lnkd.in/gerWUkc5 5) Become a volunteer: If you're a senior professional, you can mentor these professionals, conduct mock interviews, assess their portfolios and give feedback on what would work for them and what wouldn't. Join by adding your name here: https://lnkd.in/gwPhHen4 Get more out of Game Dev community on LinkedIn 🍄 Amir Satvat is back on LinkedIn with the OG list of resources. 💼 Caitlin Cooke is the fastest source of fresh jobs in the industry (yes, remote jobs too) 🎤 Follow Jordan Mazer for greatest tips and pointers around game jobs & interviews. 🔥 Hailey's feed will keep you updated with everything that's happening in the gaming world. 🔝 Connect with Arin Goldsmith and be part of her amazing #SocialSunday initiative. #games #gamedev #jobs #layoffs
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5 Comments -
Joshua Javaheri
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 received FOUR nominations for next month's 2024 'The Game Awards!' 🎮✨ 🎧 Best Audio Design – For the explosive soundscapes that immerse players in every battle. Every reload, explosion, and stealthy footstep wouldn’t be the same without the genius behind the audio. 👥 Best Multiplayer Game – Redefining the multiplayer experience yet again with modes that bring players together and keep them on their toes. If you’ve squad-ed up, you know the magic. 🔥 Best Action Game – Where adrenaline meets flawless execution. Black Ops 6 doesn’t just raise the bar—it rebuilds it. 💡 Innovation in Accessibility – For making sure everyone can jump into the action. This one’s about breaking barriers and ensuring the joy of gaming is universal (shoutout to Steve Saylor!) Huge congrats to the incredible teams at #RavenSoftware, #Treyarch, and our many partners who made this possible. #TheGameAwards #BlackOps6 #CallOfDuty #GamingCommunity #GameAwards2024 #AccessibilityInGaming
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3 Comments -
Alexander Rehm
So sorry to hear about layoffs at Modern Wolf, with 6 staff members being affected. The news broke last night, with my former CA colleague George Willard posting the news, as well as providing information about those also laid off to support re-hiring as quickly as possible. You can find that here: https://lnkd.in/eEXWSgNQ To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,900 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/etPj22BE 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 480 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #modernwolf
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1 Comment -
Anton Slashcev
Complaining won't get you hired. Sending hundreds of applications without a reply sucks, I get it. And job hunting in game development is tough in 2024. But hear me out: No one hires out of pity. People hire because you show value. Instead of complaining about the market, focus on creating value for others: • Share common best practices • Contribute to professional topics • Create useful solutions or courses • Make a tutorial on a complex issue Or go a step further: prepare a list of recommendations for the company you want to join and send it with your CV (and also share it publicly). How so, you might ask? Do something for others for FREE? Yes, absolutely. It's called "content marketing." You create value upfront, become more recognizable, and gain a reputation. And then you get hired easily because you provided value upfront. If you're willing to spend hundreds of hours on interviews, spend some time creating value for others. It'll pay off in the long run.
57
2 Comments -
Daniel Beahn
Hello Friends, Help. I would sincerely appreciate any help—share this with your network, comment and react to increase reach, and pass my resume along to any hiring managers you know looking for a Producer at any level between "Producer" through Senior, Lead, EP, or Production Director, as well as anyone looking for a Senior or leadership-level Customer Support manager. My resume is on my profile. Please have a look at my (or leave a new one!) LinkedIn Recommendations. I have encouraged many people over the past year to make this kind of post, and it seems it is my turn. Having urged others to post something like this, I understand why it needs to be made. Now that it is my turn, I find it difficult. Heartbreakingly, mind-bendingly hard. I was laid off on January 18th, 2023. The severance package is gone, the emergency fund is gone, and a nest egg I'd been saving for retirement but could dip into in case of emergency is almost gone. Very soon, I will have to choose between losing the house or cashing out my 401 (k) and losing everything I had set aside for retirement. I need a job. I have experience leading Customer Service teams as large as 1600 or so folks, doing project planning/production work with cross-functional teams as small as ten and as large as several hundred. I have a demonstrated capability to perform above expectations in people management and individual contributor roles. I'd love to stay in Baltimore if you have a remote role available or if you will let me work hybrid, even if it is two months onsite and two weeks back here. I will also relocate if needed. I'd hoped to stay where I am for at least another year and a half to two years so the teenagers could find their way out of the house. If there is no house, that's a more significant issue, so moving is now on the table. A quick search of my Gmail shows just over 800 "We've received your application" emails during that period. I stopped tracking applications in December of 2023. The mental health impact was too significant to keep monitoring the data, and my system for searching and applying for roles was a solid process by that point. I've had some great interviews over the past year—shoutouts to the team at Raven, Zwift, Blizzard's Overwatch team, and Epic. I've also had some interviews that were not so great. Wallace T. Katt and I both hope you have a fantastic week and thank you. #Help #JobHunt #Please #ThankYou #Layoffs #VideoGames
139
18 Comments -
Alexander Rehm
Horrible news last night with Humanoid Origin announcing shutting down the studio. "Despite efforts to shield the studio from broader challenges in the industry, an unexpected shortfall of funding left us unable to sustain operations", the message starts. You can read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/egmFZqqT To those impacted please check out the following resources: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 10 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/eGE2vzUt You can find over 5,900 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #humanoidorigin #layoffs
53
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Alexander Rehm
Horrible news today about layoffs at Traega Entertainment, with 19 employees being laid off. Game Director Tony Mann shared their details here, if you are in the market for some amazing talent: https://lnkd.in/eJDgas_5 To those affected, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 8 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,800 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/eYdxANFM 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #traega
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1 Comment -
Matt Barney
Mini Gear Grinder... not a crazy one, just a mini one... Candidates: when replying to Posts that have jobs listed, multiple companies / Games Studios, etc. within them. A comment of "I am interested" does not do you much good. A comment of "I am interested in the following role at XYZ company" is however helpful. Seeing so many of these & I love that you're interested in the roles posted, but which ones? Help the Recruiter or the people out that are putting the resources in front of you & let them know what you're interested in. ⚙ The job? Which one, we have 5+ listed. ⚙ The company? Which one, as some of these posts list 5+ organizations. ⚙ The person posting? Let's keep it PC / PG here people, I'm not advocating for weirdness 😝 I'm referring to a conversation or asking for help where you need it potentially. Don't be creepy, please do not be creepy! ⚙ The products they make? Etc., etc. Identify a bit deeper... Help them help you! 😁 Keep fighting the good fight everyone! Enjoy the weekend & wishing you best out there! #'s for the #'s #TheMattBarney #OneLove #TheMeatballs #GearGrinder #VideoGames #PirateRecruitersUniteUnderOneBanner
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36 Comments -
Carina Kom 🔜 GDC
TONIGHT AT 6:30 PM join us for an improvised version of PVP Circuit and help us rebuild our local community brick by brick. I still can't believe I get to work in the video game industry. My 6-year-old would laugh, and then cry once she realized what it means to work in the creative technology sector. That's why IMO everyone could use some levity during these unprecedented times. Join us for a fun evening to raise funds for the Trevor Project. Event link >>> https://lnkd.in/g7tBuP6d Frequently Asked Questions: What if I can't attend the event? - If you can't make it, please consider purchasing a ticket to help us raise money for charity or get one on behalf of someone impacted by layoffs. What if I want to join but can't justify the cost? - If you want to join but find the cost prohibitive, DM me and we'll make it happen (see point above). Do I have to pitch at the event? - No, you don't have to pitch if you prefer to observe. It’s a great way to see how it's done. Will there be another event like this? - We plan to host our community again, but I can't specify if this event will be the focus. #gamesindustry #event #comedy <3
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Benjamin J.
🎮 Want a job in the video game industry? 🎮 Begin with the end in mind.* ➡ When you drive to work do you just turn left or right based on how you feel that day? 😅 (I hope you left extra early that day) ➡ When you gather data for a project, do you grab monthly active users, popular breakfast items and breeds of dog? 🤐 (This report might be fun but your boss will not be happy) ➡ When you schedule a doctor appointment, do you call random numbers in the phone book? 🙃 The same applies to...well...applying for jobs. ❔ Do you look at the minimum requirements for a job or do you click easy apply on cool titles? (Although, I might as well shoot my shot for Game Director) ❔ Do you update your resume with your most relevant experience when you apply? What is your desired outcome? Work backwards and you'll see at least some of the steps in a path to get there. This is not easy to do, because there is no perfect way to be the best fit for a job. Everyone's journey is different. What steps have you taken to get to your goal or how have you been successful in your journey? *One possible end goal pictured #Letsgetyouhired #RecruiterAdvice
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14 Comments -
Kenn White, CSM, CSPO
"If there's anything I can do, just let me know..." 650 people at Xbox are being laid off and they're ALL going to get some version of this message on their comments and in their inboxes. It's a nice gesture, but often stated by people who aren't sure what they can do to help. More importantly, the problem with this passive approach is that it puts all the burden on the person needing the help right as they're already overburdened. You want to be helpful - so what can you actually do? Here's some immediately accessible ideas: 1 - When you see a friend or colleague post their announcement that they've been laid off, repost it with your own recommendation on your experiences working with this person. 2 - Reach out directly to the people you know who may have been impacted and just check in on them. Give them time and space to just talk if that's what they need. Just this simple act of kindness can do a lot. 3 - If you're in a position to introduce them to potential recruiters, ask what types of roles they're specifically interested in, if they're open to reloc and where, and what quick points they'd want people to know about them when you do reach out on their behalf. 4 - Offer to go over their resume with them and help update it. Offer to help them prep for mock interviews. 5 - If you're close with them, offer to help take care of family or pets or even apartment sit when they do get to go to interviews. Bring over a meal or just send one through a delivery service once in a while. Offer to help clean up or help with chores (when someone's going through a layoff, you'd be surprised how much an offer to help like this can alleviate mental load). 6 - Send them a game through Steam and play it with them. This can be a huge boost to morale for someone who can't justify spending money on games at a time they really need to be playing more. 7 - Offer to help pay for or directly tutor them in a skill or tool that could be useful for the job search. Maybe they have experience in Unity but not Unreal - time to show them your UE5 tips. The indie studio they're interested in wants them to know Notion or Blender. 8 - If you're in a position to do so, help them pay for a service that they could use, but have trouble affording right now, such as LinkedIn Premium, a GDC pass, a temp sub to Adobe, etc. 9 - Point them to communities like Amir Satvat's www.amirsatvat.com or Alexander Rehm or Building Better Games or our own Game Industry Coffee Chat. In addition to direct tools and listings, the communities built around these groups are filled with industry vets who can help with all of the previous ideas and then some. It's a tough landscape out there right now, but it's getting better all the time. None of us need to be going at it alone right now and certainly we each can do SOMETHING to help each other with a bit more than "If there's anything I can do, just let me know." #gameindustry #opentowork #helpinghand
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22 Comments -
Anton Slashcev
One of the biggest hiring mistakes: Assuming that work experience at a top company equals a top specialist. This isn't true. Top companies employ tens of thousands of people. Statistically, most are decent, but not exceptional, as HR often assumes. Small, successful startups are more interesting. They can't afford mediocrity. They need true talent to thrive. So, the likelihood of finding top-tier talent from a small startup is much higher than from a big company.
52
4 Comments -
Robin Alan Linn
The great joy of my career is that I get the privilege of talking to Artists at various stages of their careers. While I enjoy speaking to mature and experienced talent, I love speaking with emerging Artists; those at the beginning of their journey. Of late, those conversations have been the equivalent of hand holding and trying to give some sense of comfort. It's no secret that the various creative industries that many are looking to join are in a period of re-evaluating their headcount expectations. TBH I cannot remember a time when creative industries were not in a period of re-evaluating their headcount expectations. Is this the most challenging I have seen? No, it's close, but there have been more challenging times. Here's the deal though - at some point in your career you will look back at these challenging times and think of them as "The good old days". The distance time provides will expose the lessons you are learning now. You may hate feeling the way you may be feeling, but you're building muscle. You're building resilience, and you'll be needing that later in your career. Your career path is not going to get any easier, but you are going to get a lot stronger.
112
18 Comments -
Michael Fitch
Practice interviews can be incredibly valuable. Especially after you've been through something traumatic like a layoff or a toxic work environment. Find someone you know well, someone you trust; if you don't have anyone like that, reach out and find someone (www.amirsatvat.com has resources). It's important that you pick someone who can give you critique and someone you can hear it from. One of the things that we do in every interview, whether we're conscious of it or not, is to frame our own work in relation to the experiences we have had. There are a lot of potential pitfalls in that beyond the obvious bad-mouthing of people and companies. For example, I've interviewed a lot of senior production leaders over the last few years. Several of them have related situations where they were not able to get higher-level alignment among stakeholders - this is extremely common in game development. But, how you relate that experience makes a tremendous amount of difference. If you focus on how frustrating it was, how blocking the stakeholders were, how impossible it was to make progress because of that issue, that doesn't put you in the best light. As a production leader, I expect you to resolve issues like that. If, on the other hand, you focus on how you got the team to work around the blocking issue, how you got the stakeholders into alignment, how you forced accountability into leadership on the lack of alignment - now we're talking. Every story you tell in an interview gives the people you are talking to a window into what working with you is going to be like. If you're not aware of your own unconscious framings when you're telling these stories, you may be putting their focus on the wrong places. Practice telling those stories with people who have the right ear to call out the false notes that are coming up. Again, especially after a highly emotional event, you're likely bringing emotional contexts to your stories without even being aware of it. You wouldn't walk up to the mound at a baseball game without having practiced your pitch. Get your reps in on interviewing, and it will pay off.
13
3 Comments -
Ollie Jermey
I understand the challenges many face when trying to break into the games industry and find the right role. Before contacting a team member or recruiter, I recommend checking the job listings on the company's careers site to identify suitable positions. This approach not only demonstrates professionalism but also expedites the process. Simply reaching out to inquire about available roles may not be the most effective initial contact, as it can lead to a less fruitful conversation. For those interested, here is a link to all the current open roles at WB Games: https://lnkd.in/enp8Q8YN #GameIndustry #CareerOpportunities #Professionalism
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4 Comments -
James Gideon
This is the kind of crap we need to be fighting against. Pretty sure that 79 million would have covered a decent percentage of those workers livelihoods, but why do that when we can make our CEO even more staggeringly wealthy than he already is? 🙄🙄 This is a huge thing my studio Reboot Interactive LLC is and will be fighting against for as long as we draw breath. We have had enough of games designed by suits, Predatory business practices, and the industry treating us like disposable napkins. Microsoft Gaming laid off over 2,500 workers this year, but it still found enough spare change to give its CEO a $79 million bonus https://lnkd.in/eGVpFXA9 #indierevolution #gamedev #microsoft #greed #gamedeveloment #indiegames #AAA
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Amir Satvat
I am sorry to report that Flaming Fowl Studios (Gloomhaven) laid off over 20 staff yesterday, as reported by GamesIndustry.Biz. I appreciate everybody's reposts to get the word out and so employees there can know of and use our resources. Hopefully we can also get Games Org Support Posts going for them, which have proven to be highly effective in getting affected gamers into new jobs. To those gamers affected at Flaming Fowl Studios, we have a wealth of always-free community homes and resources to help you: 🔗 Please visit AMIRSATVAT.COM, our community's games jobs resources hub with 15 resources that will help you find work. These resources are free and updated regularly. 🔗 Please consider joining our Discord Server, with nearly 1,000 members in just 48 hours of existence, a live extension of our community resources: https://lnkd.in/e2tyvpWv 🔗 Resource 10 is our games org support posts. There you will find a template. If someone on your team can own populating that with information from individuals on your team, with their consent, I will get the finished product edited and out to the community, hitting 100,000 eyeballs. I have done 95 of these, working directly with games teams, and they are highly effective in increasing visibility. To our community: please do your part in making a difference. Some options include: -Spreading the word. Every reshare of this post is appreciated to raise visibility as to these situations. - Offer Support: While you certainly can do it through our community's resources (at amirsatvat.com we present 13 ways you can help), any advice lent, listening ear provided, or other support given is appreciated for those navigating these changes. You can also offer help on our new Discord server. - Join Our Movement: Become part of our network of volunteers at AMIRSATVAT.COM, providing support to our colleagues in the games industry. Together, our collective of over 85,000 people has enabled 1,800+ jobs and 31,000 community coaching conversations, and we're just getting started. More importantly, this network and its content seeks to provide a daily source of encouragement in this tough time.
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1 Comment -
Amber McAuley
As a games recruiter who has worked both externally and internally in this climate, some of my best advice to job seekers: Apply to LESS jobs. ⬇️ (Or rather, be very 💫 intentional 💫 with the jobs you do apply for). A few years back, I was unemployed for several months. It was rough. I can’t tell you how many cover letters I wrote, how many recruiters I spoke with, how many hours I spent interviewing for roles I didn’t get. Actively looking for work can be a full time job in itself - so just as you would in a job, it’s important to practice good time management and prioritization. ⌛📃 I know what it’s like to feel the panic of being out of work - and to be throwing out applications left, right and center. But volume isn’t everything. Are all the roles you’re applying to relevant?👀 🛑 Disclaimer 1: I'm not blind to the fact that everyone's circumstances and levels of privilege are different - you should of course be sensible / mindful of your own. It doesn't hurt to practice flexibility, be creative with your options, and to have the openness to consider paths you may not have considered before. 🛑 Disclaimer 2: This is also absolutely NOT to say you should only apply to jobs where you meet every piece of criteria listed. If you feel you can do the job, if you have transferable skills, if you’re eager to learn and think it’s worth a shot - go for it! 🌟 But it’s critical that, when possible, you’re focusing on the jobs that you truly want, and feel you can thrive in. TL;DR: Your time, energy and passion is precious. Harness it, and focus on the opportunities you're excited about. 💖 #gamesindustry #jobseekers #gamesjobs #recruiting
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1 Comment
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