98 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
Interviewing Talent
After the resumes are screened and potential candidates are selected, most
companies do an initial phone interview before bringing the candidate in for
an on-site interview. The phone interview allows you to get an initial idea about
what the candidate is looking for. If he has unreasonable or different expecta-
tions about the salary, responsibilities, working conditions, and so on, the phone
interview is a good way to find out before spending additional time and money
pursuing this candidate.
Ask basic questions in the phone interview and try to get a feel for the person’s
personality, passion, and talent. Some interview questions include the following:
■
What type of position are you looking for?
■
What do you think the job responsibilities are for the position you’re apply-
ing for?
■
How are you suited for this position?
■
Why are you interested in leaving your current position?
■
What skills do you bring to our company? What skills will you develop by
working for us?
■
What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
■
What types of games do you play?
■
Have you played [Insert name of game developed by your company]? What
did you like about it? What would you change?
If the position requires relocation, ask the potential candidate if he is willing,
and what the timeframe is for his relocation if an offer is extended.
If the candidate is selected for an on-site interview, schedule multiple in-
terviews on the same day so the candidate can meet with as many potential
team members as possible. Make sure that the team understands how to prop-
erly interview people. If they don’t understand how to interview someone,
good candidates will be less than impressed by questions such as “Who’s your
favorite G.I. Joe character?” and “Who would win, Darth Vader or Sauron?”
Off-topic questions like these don’t give any information about the candidate’s
skills, background, or how he can apply his experience to your development
team. On the other hand, questions like this are useful for learning about a
candidate’s likes and dislikes, and are a good gauge for determining if he will
fit into the company culture. Just be sure that the entire interview is a good mix
of questions so you can really get a good picture of the candidate in the short
time you have with him.
Useful interview questions revolve around the applicant’s skills, previous
experiences, job expectations, and future career plans. The on-site interview is
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT 99
where you and the team can get firsthand information about his philosophies
on game development, how well he works with teams, and how well his skills fit
the position. Questions include many of the same ones asked during the phone
screening, plus more specific questions as necessary. For example, if you are
hiring a 3D modeler, the art lead needs to get specifics about the candidate’s
skill using 3D graphics software. An engineering candidate needs to be grilled
by the lead engineer on his coding skills and what programming languages he
knows.
Don’t shy away from asking the candidate to demonstrate his skills. For in-
stance, if you are hiring a scripter, ask potential candidates to bring some script-
ing samples to the job interview. Also, consider setting aside some time during
the interview to give him a mini-tutorial on the scripting tool used for your game
and see whether he can put together something simple in 30 minutes. Artists
should bring their portfolios, and engineers may be able to bring code samples,
as long as the samples are not confidential.
BENEFITS OF AN MBA
Lucien Parsons, Production Director
ZeniMax Online Studios
While the game industry has a lot of institutional knowledge about how to push
the limits of technology and what makes a game fun—there isn’t a lot of institutional
knowledge on how to run an organization effectively. This isn’t surprising, consider-
ing that the industry started with small teams and a sharp focus on building great
games, not on building company infrastructure. Consequently, as companies grew
there was no developed framework for them to manage multi-million dollar projects
with teams of 100 or more people. In recent years, the industry has recognized this
shortcoming and is actively working to correct this. This is where an MBA can be a
useful tool for a producer.
What makes the MBA valuable is exposure to examples of how other indus-
tries dealt with the issues that are now being encountered in the game industry.
At Wharton, we spent a lot of time studying cases demonstrating both the tra-
ditional methods of management and production and the maverick companies
that were successful using different methods. The other key advantage of having
a formal business background is the training in creating and analyzing multiple
frameworks—such as marketing plans, production methods, and management
100 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
Providing Feedback
After the candidate is interviewed, the team should provide feedback on whether
or not this person is a good fit for the position. As discussed earlier, the producer
rarely has the final say on who to hire for a position; this decision is normally
made by studio management, who will give careful consideration to the pro-
ducer and team’s feedback. Finding someone suitable is more likely if multiple
candidates are interviewed. However, you may have only one or two qualified
candidates at a time for a position, so feedback needs to be considered carefully
before an employment offer is extended.
The key thing to remember when providing feedback is to be specific about
what you liked and didn’t like. Saying someone is a “solid candidate” does not
give any information as to why this person should be hired. Specifics such as
“was able to come up with creative solutions for some common issues we face on
the team,” and “identified areas of improvement in our development process,”
provide more definition on what a person’s strengths are. Also, remember to be
objective in your appraisal of a candidate—really consider the talents and skills
he brings to the position, not whether he is a Star Trek fan, has a strange haircut,
or went to your rival university.
If you don’t think a candidate is suitable for a given position, don’t hesi-
tate to explain why. Again, provide specifics. You will need to tell others your
reasons—especially if they have a positive impression. If there are some red
flags about the candidate, but otherwise you think he is a possible fit, discuss
these red flags with others involved in the interviewing process to find out
whether they had these same reservations as well. Overall, it is good to get
everyone together to discuss their feedback on the candidate so the assessment
is well-rounded.
philosophies—which allows the graduate to recognize the common pitfalls and
traps that reoccur with every new business and industry—potentially, it’s accel-
erated experience. I consider MBA grads with a passion for the industry to be
strong candidates for production positions, even if they don’t have much game
experience, because I know that they have been exposed to multiple ways to
structure a team, manage a project, deal with personnel issues, and market a
product—all critical skills needed when creating a game. Certainly an MBA, by
itself, doesn’t make someone a good producer, or even a good manager, but it is
definitely an asset.
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT 101
6.3 RETAINING TALENT
Retaining good talent is a challenge for many companies, as people are always
looking for better opportunities or work situations, especially if they are not
happy in their current position. If you have talented people on your team you
want to keep, do what you can to fulfill their expectations and keep them happy.
You don’t have to cater to their every whim, but you do need to give them the
necessary resources to do their jobs, listen to their complaints, suggestions, and
ideas, and provide them an opportunity to grow with the company.
Surprisingly, money is not the primary motivator for most people; trust
and respect are. If given the choice, most people will choose to make less money
and work at a company where they are respected by their peers, listened to
WORKING WITH RECRUITERS
Melanie Cambron, Game Recruiter
Recruiters are most effective when you are looking for top-caliber talent, espe-
cially if this talent works for the competition. A recruiter can approach such a person
directly, which is much better form in a small industry.
The first step for working with a recruiter is to prepare a very detailed job descrip-
tion. The more information you can give the recruiter about the job and the team,
the better. Work environment? Team chemistry? Team dynamic? Shortcomings of
other candidates? Type of personality that would fit well? Type that wouldn’t? The
more specifics, the fewer candidates you will need to interview, and the faster the
recruiting process will be.
Armed with this information, the recruiter approaches possible candidates
and assesses their potential. The recruiter addresses all of the client’s and potential
candidate’s questions and expectations at the beginning of the process to reduce
any surprises on either side. The review process can be positively underway with
both parties feeling confident that the basics, such as relocation allowances, salary,
benefits, and immigration concerns, are already covered to everyone’s satisfaction.
The recruiter then coordinates the phone screening and face-to-face interviews and
checks references if necessary.
After a candidate is selected, the recruiter will facilitate the hiring process by
coordinating the offer, the relocation, and any visa issues. Finally, when the candi-
date is settled into his new position, the recruiter will follow up with both the candi-
date and the client to make sure they are satisfied.
102 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
by management, and trusted to make choices about their contributions, rather
than make more money in an environment where they are treated disrespect-
fully, ignored, and given no choices about their contributions. Money cer-
tainly helps retain talented people, but if they don’t have the other things, they
will start looking for a company that can provide for them, even if it means a
pay cut.
People also want to be rewarded for commitment, loyalty, and high-quality
work. Again, this does not necessarily translate into a monetary reward—although
bonuses are certainly appreciated—but instead is given in the form of more
responsibility, increased respect within the company (especially from manage-
ment), and higher profile assignments. If someone feels like his contributions are
not properly recognized, he will be become frustrated and eventually leave the
company. You should know which employees are surpassing expectations and re-
ally working hard to make the game the best it can be, so you can give them the
recognition they deserve. These people are the ones who will be your most loyal
team members and will serve as positive examples for how other people on the
team can expect to be treated if they demonstrate the same traits.
In addition to these intangible benefits, there are also some tangible benefits
that contribute to a more employee-friendly working environment: medical, den-
tal, eye care, vacation, 401k, stock options, paternity leave. A good benefits pack-
age goes a long way to show employees that the company values them. If you are
a small company, start out with a core list of benefits and add them as you grow.
Health club memberships: Encourage employees to be fit; fitness con-
tributes to better health and less sick time away from work.
Flexible work hours: Flexible work hours allow people to tailor their
work time so they can put in their best work—some people work better
early in the morning; others prefer working late into the night. To foster
collaboration among all team members, set core hours when people are
required to be in the office, and be sure to match or exceed those hours
yourself.
Hardware and software: People become frustrated if they are expected to
perform their tasks on hardware or software that is not suited to those tasks.
Free drinks and other snacks: Everyone enjoys small treats like these,
and they are something inexpensive the company can provide. Don’t forget
to provide healthy snacks and fruit juice.
Game competitions: Set aside some time around 5
P.M. for the team to
check out the competition. Playing games is a great team-building activity.
Of course, there are many other things that show employees they are valued.
Please see Chapter 7, “Teams,” for more examples.
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