HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT 103
6.4 TRAINING
Training is an essential element to making people successful in their positions.
After all, people can’t be expected to know everything. Although there is an im-
plied assumption that people have the ability to perform well on their assigned
tasks, they won’t always have the necessary tools to do so. For example, if some-
one is asked to step in to a lead position in the middle of development, he might
not be prepared to switch gears from content creation mode to management
mode. Although he may have the ability to make the shift, he might need some
coaching or training in basic people management skills such as conflict negotia-
tion or motivation.
Additionally, he will have to think about the game as a sum of its parts, in-
stead of just worrying about one aspect. An art lead, for example, needs to lead
the artists who are creating all the art content for the game—textures, models,
levels, cinematics, and so on. So it is important to take time out for training, as
such time will save money in the long run.
Some people are highly motivated self-trainers and have a clear picture of
the training and information they need. They know what classes and books will
be useful; they ask questions and gather information; and they are always recep-
tive to performance feedback and may even request it on a regular basis. More
guidance is needed to help some people determine their needs, but it is impor-
tant to figure out where they need training and fulfill those needs if possible.
KEEPING THE TEAM HAPPY
Melanie Cambron, Game Recruiter
For a multi-billion dollar industry, the game industry is still a very tightly knit
one. Developer rumors and reputations can spread like wildfire, which is why creat-
ing a healthy and positive work environment is key to attracting talent. Make sure
that your team feels they are in the loop on timelines, direction, and any major
changes in the game’s development so they’re not left wondering and left to express-
ing doubts to others in the industry about the company. Being kept in the dark on
their project’s status is a frequent complaint from disgruntled employees. It creates
bad morale and ill-will toward the company, leading to sometimes famously nega-
tive blog postings and unfavorable press. A major step toward fostering a positive
image that will attract the kind of top-notch talent you want is to simply keep your
team updated on all aspects of the game’s production.
104 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
Good employers take an active interested in developing their employees and
offering training opportunities.
Key areas where an employee might need further training are leadership,
communication, and technical skills. Anyone in a lead position will benefit from
training in all three of these areas, especially if they are new to the position.
Training programs for improving leadership and communication skills can be
difficult to find, but the local university may offer continuing education classes in
these areas. Technical training can be handled internally, if necessary, by tech-
nically proficient people on the team. Books and online classes also are good
training resources. In addition, several organizations, conferences, and websites
provide information, and even classes, on improving game development skills.
LEARNING TO WORK ON A TEAM
Tracy Fullerton, Assistant Professor
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinema-Television
is very good at training people to work collaboratively on creative projects.
Collaboration is a cornerstone of their filmmaking program and is deeply ingrained
in the production process they teach. In the Interactive Media Division of that
program, we have built on that tradition. The idea is not to make a huge project
your first time out, but rather you work on several small projects and prototypes
that revolve around different types of games. It is challenging, but the partici-
pants become very limber in understanding how games work. In the intermediate
classes, students work on larger projects that are team-based. On the advanced
projects, the teams are even larger, and each person works in a specialized area.
This process has a reality to it, in that as students get to the advanced projects,
they really have to start selling themselves to the person who is the producer or
director on the project in order to be chosen for the position. This methodology
also has a practical base, because when students get out in the real world, they need
some skills in pitching and speaking with others who may not be knowledgeable in
the specific language of game development. That’s one of the things emphasized in
the interactive program—this sense that students can work together and function
collaboratively so they don’t just walk out with a game they made all by themselves,
but rather walk out with a game made in collaboration with a number of other
people.
HIRING AND RETAINING TALENT 105
Game Development Resources
There are several valuable game development websites, organizations, and con-
ferences that provide a wealth of information. These professional organizations
are a great place to meet like-minded game developers, and conferences and
trade shows are always a great place to network.
Organizations
International Game Developers Association (IGDA)—www.igda.org: This
is an association dedicated to the game development community. They are also
one of the sponsors of the annual Game Developers Conference.
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS)—www.interactive.org:
This academy promotes common interests in an interactive entertainment. They
also host the annual D.I.C.E. Summit.
SIGGRAPH—www.siggraph.org: This association focuses on graphics in inter-
active entertainment. They host an annual conference every year for digital con-
tent creators.
Conferences and Trade Shows
Austin Game Developers Conference (Austin GDC)—www.austingdc.
net: This annual conference is held each September and features lectures,
roundtables, and tutorials presented by members of the game development
community.
Consumer Electronics Show (CES)—www.cesweb.org: This annual trade-
show showcases the latest consumer technologies.
D.I.C.E. Summit—www.interactive.org: D.I.C.E. is an annual summit focused
on the creative challenges of game development. It is hosted by the AIAS.
Game Developers Conference (GDC)—www.gdconf.com: This week-long
conference held each March features lectures, tutorials, and round tables pre-
sented by working members of the game development community. GDC also
features a job fair and vendor expo.
IGDA Leadership Forum—www.igda.org/leadership/: This annual confer-
ence focuses mainly on production and leadership in the game industry.
Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS)—www.sijm.ca: This annual
conference held each fall in Montreal focuses on game development.
Penny Arcade Expo (PAX)—www.pennyarcadeexpo.com: This annual confer-
ence was started by the writers of the comic strip “Penny Arcade.” The confer-
ence is geared towards game development professionals, students, and anyone
interested in video games.
106 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
General Game Industry Information
Blues News—www.bluesnews.com: Website that presents the latest industry
news, game reviews, and other information about games.
Develop—www.developmag.com: Game development magazine published in
Europe.
The Escapist—www.escapistmagazine.com: An online magazine that covers
gamers and gaming culture.
Gamasutra—www.gamasutra.com: Website with all kinds of game develop-
ment resources such as job postings, industry news, and articles about game
development.
GameDev.net—www.gamedev.net: Website containing technical articles
about game development, book reviews, forums, job postings, and other useful
information.
Game Development Search Engine—www.gdse.com: A great resource for
game development job postings and potential candidates.
Game Developer Magazine—www.gdmag.com: A magazine published in the
United States that features articles on game development. It also includes job
postings.
Game Rankings—www.gamerankings.com: Website that posts all the reviews
of a given game and determines an overall average based on these reviews.
Metacritic—www.metacritic.com: Website that posts and averages all the re-
views of a game.
Moby Games—www.mobygames.com: Website that collects and posts infor-
mation on game credits and other news about the game industry.
Next-Generation—www.next-gen.biz: Website with daily news and articles
pertaining to the game industry.
6.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY
Because people are the most valuable and most expensive resource on a game
development team, finding and retaining good talent is important. This task gets
more difficult as the game industry gets larger, as companies are working hard to
become the employer of choice for the best talent in the industry. This chapter
discussed how to hire, retain, and train talent and included information on how
to screen resumes, what questions to ask during an interview, and how to keep
talent happy and productive. The next chapter discusses how to build all these
talented individuals into a productive development team.
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.