Games Business - Guest Lecture Synopses

GUEST LECTURE 1: Arthur Parsons, Traveller’s Tales [http://www.ttgames.com/]

Our first guest lecturer was Arthur Parsons, Games Designer from Traveller’s Tales. Arthur has been a lead designer at TT Games for twelve of his fifteen-year industry career, following three years testing at Psygnosis. His presentation focused on getting design placements within industry, as he himself does the interviews for TT Games and plays a part in hiring new design staff. He mentioned how the industry is traditionally quite migrational and internal, with lots of inter-company movement. Another important facet of his presentation was the importance of ‘selling yourself’ to the company, and how work experience is integral to getting your foot in the door.

He also discussed his attitude towards games design, with the tenets that ‘Creativity doesn’t have to stop for branding’ and ‘Evolution through osmosis’, taking elements of past successes and refining them. He said designers often didn’t need to know how something worked as much as why it worked, as there are specific technical staffs for those problems. He finished by discussing his experience in Q&A and offering Q&A as the best way for designers to break into the industry, as well as showing constant enthusiasm for prospective companies and their products.


GUEST LECTURE 2: Cameron Thompson, Angel’s Den [http://www.angelsden.co.uk/]

Our second guest lecturer was Cameron Thompson, Regional Director of Angels Den. Cameron had two decades of experience banking before becoming a private investor four years ago. He describes Angels Den as a ‘dating agency for entrepreneurs and investors’ and discussed the various different sources of finance and their pros and cons. The five sources he examined were; Family, Public Sector, Banks, Venture Capital and Angel Investors. He explained how investors look for simple explanations; ‘What do you do? Who are you? Why should I listen? How will this make money?’ and how a business plan is only usually the province of public sector and bank investment.

As his presentation was based around seeking investment and various forms of financial dealings, it was not particularly helpful until the later phases, which were based around presenting one’s self in interviews, from the importance of facial hair to pitching and presentations. It was established that honesty was the best policy in deals such as these, and how any vaguely-financial arrangement has similarities to a romantic relationship.


GUEST LECTURE 3: Nicholas Rathbone, Codemasters [http://www.codemasters.co.uk/]

Our third guest lecturer was Nicholas Rathbone, Games Designer from Codemasters. Nick graduated from Bolton University’s Games Programming course in 2008, and was hired by Climax Studios before moving to Codemasters. The focus of his presentation was ‘breaking into the industry’ by means of an interesting CV, exciting portfolio and well-researched interview technique. He also discussed the difference between applying directly to a company and using an agency, suggesting the former is better for both individual freedoms and for saving the prospective employer money.

The most interesting part of Nick’s presentation regarded life as a Games Designer; what was expected in the role and the perks, such as training and bonuses. The final part of Nick’s presentation was to break down the different roles within the industry and demonstrate how long it takes to ascend to each one, from entry-level positions to experienced, senior and finally lead in each field.


GUEST LECTURE 4: Thomas Hulvershorn, I-Play [http://www.iplay.com/]

Our fourth guest lecturer was Thomas Hulvershorn, head of Q&A at I-Play. I-Play was founded as Digital Bridges in 1998, making mobile phone games before being bought by Oberon Media in 2003 and becoming the world’s leading casual games company. I-Play maintains strong links with universities as student testing costs nothing and provides valuable work experience, and one of the best things demonstrated during this presentation was the use of project methodologies within industry.

He took great care to explain the casual games market and how design relates to Q&A within his chosen field, especially regarding the idea of application virulence, and the idea of using players’ social links as a currency in itself, essentially monetising the game without having outright micro-transactions. The most important part of Thomas’ presentation concerned the industry itself, as he said ‘testing can be used as an entry to industry, but it’s also a profession within itself’.


GUEST LECTURE 5: David Bramhall & Vicky Rowley, Sony Evo [http://www.evos.net/]

Our fifth guest lecture was taken by David Bramhall and Vicky Rowley, designer and HR representative respectively. They were visiting on behalf of the Sony North West Group, comprising Studio Liverpool, Evolution Studios and Bigbig. Dave’s part of the presentation explained how he’d joined the industry and how Sony’s studios were structured in terms of having leads for each field instead of general leadership.

Vicky’s part of the presentation dealt with applying for jobs within the games industry, stressing again the need to be smartly-presented but not overdressed, as well as being clear on my goals and my chosen role. She suggested that a portfolio be focussed on my chosen field, but still to demonstrate other skills. She added that Sony has a large training budget for ‘investment in staff’ and explained many perks of a job at Sony; pension, health insurance, equipment allowance to name just a few.


GUEST LECTURE 6: Peter Akrill, Codemasters [http://www.codemasters.co.uk/]

Our sixth guest lecture was Peter Akrill, Expert Programmer from Codemasters. Peter graduated from Bolton on the first iteration of the Games Programming course, and worked at Traveller’s Tales before moving to Codemasters. He recommended moving around within the industry for the sake of pay and experience, and described the industry as being mainly contacts, tight-knit but spread out. He described the makeup of a studio and the different kinds of roles and people to be found within it.

The most interesting part of Peter’s lecture was to do with staying healthy within the industry, from when to take breaks and the kind of hours we should work, to asking questions and keeping a slew of healthy snacks to hand. He also recommended preparing food in the office, doing exercises in the morning and keeping a active social life as ways to stay healthy within the games industry.