Arthur Parsons is an experienced Games Designer at Travellers Tales, designing and working on such titles as Muppet RaceMania, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex and most recently, LEGO Harry Potter. As a part of TT Games effort to become more involved with junior and graduate designers, the University had set up a guest lecture with Arthur in order to give final year students an idea of how a design team operates and to also give advice on how to secure a place in the industry.
I attended this lecture and felt the talk not only included some vital advice on how to deal with interviews and portfolios, but it was also very exciting to hear an experienced designer give his take on both game graduates and the industry as a whole.
Advice was given on what to expect once post-graduates enter the industry, covering the roles of Designers, Programmers, Artists and Sound Engineers. An important item of discussion to keep in mind was that potential employees need to be realistic with their way of thinking- you may not necessarily end up working on your dream game, though by acting sensibly and loving the brand, its good experience and youll constantly learn new skills.
It was once again mentioned that Q&A is a fantastic way of starting off in industry, with Parsons sharing his own story as a games tester and how it lead him to where he is today. Advice was also given that students should act keen when it comes to the industry, contacting developers and requesting if its possible to tour the studio. Not only would this be an interesting trip to take, but also would be good to include on CVs as it gives us a first-hand look at how a design team operates.
Talk was also made on the subject of releasing titles on time and cutting content, with Parsons making us aware of the sometimes difficult partnership with publishers.
I felt the talk today was very motivating and I look forward to any further guest lectures the University has lined up.
http://www.ttgames.com/
I attended this lecture and felt the talk not only included some vital advice on how to deal with interviews and portfolios, but it was also very exciting to hear an experienced designer give his take on both game graduates and the industry as a whole.
Advice was given on what to expect once post-graduates enter the industry, covering the roles of Designers, Programmers, Artists and Sound Engineers. An important item of discussion to keep in mind was that potential employees need to be realistic with their way of thinking- you may not necessarily end up working on your dream game, though by acting sensibly and loving the brand, its good experience and youll constantly learn new skills.
It was once again mentioned that Q&A is a fantastic way of starting off in industry, with Parsons sharing his own story as a games tester and how it lead him to where he is today. Advice was also given that students should act keen when it comes to the industry, contacting developers and requesting if its possible to tour the studio. Not only would this be an interesting trip to take, but also would be good to include on CVs as it gives us a first-hand look at how a design team operates.
Talk was also made on the subject of releasing titles on time and cutting content, with Parsons making us aware of the sometimes difficult partnership with publishers.
I felt the talk today was very motivating and I look forward to any further guest lectures the University has lined up.
http://www.ttgames.com/
