Teaser
Amiqus ToolkitContent Type
News
28/11/2019
Summary
.suzes-btn { width: auto; padding: 10px 7px; border: 2px solid #ec6b01; border-radius: 5px; background: #ec6b01; color: #ffff !important; font-family: 'Proxima Nova W01'; font-weight: 700; margin: 2px; display: inline-block; } .suzes-btn:hover { background: #ffff; color: #ec6b01 !important; } Whenever you’re hiring for a studio or project there are some staple considerations How long you will need someone for; what employment model is most cost-effective; what level of experience is necessary; or whether anyone in your existing team can step up to the plate to name a few. The recruitment of key hires will have an enormous impact on your game, and this is particularly true of writers and narrative designers. With this in mind, where should studios start when recruiting for the story-tellers? Decide what your game needs Phil Harris, Narrative Designer at Deep Silver FISHLABS told us “The first thing to consider is what your product really requires, as the roles of writer and narrative designer are quite different. Although often the difference in these roles is poorly defined within the industry. A writer creates text within a game world, which can range from the description a player reads when they click on an icon, to the flowing conversational dialogue between two characters, or the description of a vast fortress in the game. A narrative designer is a more specialized role, directly involved in the creation of the game world. They create the ‘machinery’ that makes the world working with the designers, artists, developers and producers to understand what is possible and how they can adapt their ideas to fit within the technical limitations of the game engine. They also maintain the canon of the product, so if the product is revisited, consistency is maintained.” Get the timing right Writers are often recruited after the start of product development, with freelance and remote working being common employment models. Narrative Designers on the other hand are typically needed from the initial inception of a product as they are integral to the creation of the game. Colin Harvey, Senior Narrative Designer at Rebellion agrees - “Ideally and most fundamentally, get the Narrative Designer in at the beginning of the project. That way he or she can help shape the project and make sure everything is suitably integrated from the get-go. If you don’t have existing processes for creating story, be prepared to let the Narrative Designer help establish those.” However, as any experienced game developer knows, unforeseen issues mean it’s often necessary to deviate from the plan. Though your game vision is a cornerstone of any project, Harvey has some advice should things go wrong. “If for whatever reason you absolutely have to bring a Narrative Designer in part way through the project, be prepared to be flexible with the overall vision. The Narrative Designer will do his or her best to stitch together what you’ve already got, but there’s got to be some give and take to make the vision the best it possibly can be.” Ensure team integration Being able to bring elements together is a key competency to look for when hiring and you’ll need to decide how you are going to assess candidates for these attributes. A good games recruitment agency can provide some guidance here. Freelance Narrative Designer, Anthony Jauneaud, believes that a person-spec as well as a skills list is key, he says "A writer on a video game project should be a people's person. They should be able to communicate with coders, artists, designers, producers... this is crucial. Narration is information, so they should be updated with changes. See narration as a binder for your games, but also for your team.". Competency-based interview questions around examples of where your Designer has deployed soft-skills, such as influence, will help you pull out the capability of your candidate. It’s also a good idea to take up references about their style and approach so that you can get beneath the surface and find out how they are likely to function in the job. What kind of project are you working on? Ultimately the kind of game you want to create will heavily inform your choice of hire. Experience in the genre or style you’re developing will mean a writer or designer has proven their ability in line with your vision. That said, many studios enjoy a totally fresh approach so it’s worth assessing personal portfolios in addition to formal work experience to find out what someone is capable of, some of which hasn’t yet been discovered. As Harvey at Rebellion points out, it’s possible to pitch for a share in an increasingly competitive leisure market by challenging the status quo and experimenting with new ideas. “If you own your own IP, be prepared to think radically about it – are there fundamental things that need to be changed to get it to work? If possible build in development time to test story ideas, do table read-throughs, etc. and see what works and what doesn’t. Contemporary gameplayers have justifiably high expectations of narrative and will expect plotting and characterisation to be on a par with what they see in the cinema and on Netflix.” This approach can allow you to open up your usual games recruitment patterns and think about hiring someone who will bring you new ideas you didn’t expect. Some final words Harris of Deep Silver FISHLABS emphasises the critical nature of making the right hire and summarises with some practical advice. “The real importance of narrative design is player engagement. If the world doesn’t work beneath the surface, the spell you hope the player is under can be broken. If you are considering a product that is a quick and simple puzzle game with some sparkling text to engage the players, you want a writer. But if you plan to produce a game with a stronger story element like a third person action adventure, an MMORPG, a multi-media launch, or a series, you should probably consider hiring a narrative designer. Or, if the product is big enough, both”. Finally, Rob Yescombe, acclaimed Writer & Narrative Director (RIME, FARPOINT, THE INVISIBLE HOURS) concludes. "Narrative is half science, half art. Don't hire a scientist without soul, and don't hire an Artiste who can't explain their methods." This article written by Amiqus was first published in Develop magazine Amiqus can help you Are you looking to make a new hire and want some more advice? We specialise in games recruitment and would love to help you find that next brilliant member to join your team - get in touch. Or if you’re looking for an exciting new job in the games industry browse our latest jobs and apply today!
Teaser
Amiqus NewsContent Type
Blog
09/10/2019
Summary
"I work with at least two different languages in my current studio, but more and more I'm feeling I would need to learn more to make the next step in my career." If creativity is the beating heart of the games industry, then technology is its lifeblood and the ability to code continues to be a mainstay of the most desirable skills when a games studio is looking to hire. Without the contribution of the programmers there is no game, so from the array of software options what are some of the most desirable languages game developers choose and why? Even as we move through the fourth decade of games software development, the number one skill continues to be the 35+ year old language of C++. The majority of console and PC games still fundamentally rely on C++ and critically it underpins the most complex and demanding game engines available, such as Unreal. “Basically, nothing that can handle complexity runs as fast as C++” says Bjarne Stroustrup, creator of C++ back in 1979. Why has it not been usurped since then? Arguably the results that can be achieved with C++ have never been bettered. One of the beauties of C++ is that it is flexible, enabling you to write additional features in to an existing engine, game or tool-set at the lowest level. This provides the flexibility of a high-level language with the power, efficiency and level of control more associated with low-level languages such as assembly. As a core object oriented language, C++ has the power to apply hugely complex programming demands balanced with more efficiency and speed than any other high-level OOP language out there. It’s a win-win and these features make developers with C++ skills enormously attractive to hire. The power of C++ is not without price and mastery is highly aspirational If you’re not familiar with it, getting started in C++ can seem like an uphill climb - the power of C++ is not without price and mastery is highly aspirational. When making career choices it’s worth bearing in mind that some languages are easier than others. Being so intricate it’s challenging, no low-level systems are handled for you and the kaleidoscope of possibilities means precision is key. One benefit of learning C++ however is that many other languages follow similar principles, so once these skills are mastered transferring skills to other languages can feel much easier. C++ is not alone however, C# has continued to rise in demand from employers. Born of the same object oriented principles, inspired by the C and C++ family tree, C# began as Microsoft’s simple, modern, general purpose language for the .Net framework. When it comes to online and cloud technology, the presence of C++ and C# are pretty evenly matched, with the likes of Microsoft Azure utilising the agility and speed of its home language C#. Over the last few years demand for C# has grown exponentially as the basis of the Unity game engine. Unity combines the power to create games and critically, to take them cross-platform, uniting game development for PC, consoles, mobile devices and websites alike. You can play, preview, edit, test and debug your game with rapid iteration, and this comprehensive list of features makes Unity very attractive to game developers. It is capable of creating physically-based visual features with rich and immersive visual content and although it is yet to match the full power of C++, C# within Unity has become extremely attractive when hiring today. Not least because it is still relatively new so experienced developers are harder to find. Python has gained momentum because of its universality across staple tools and packages such as Max, Maya and Blender. It’s lighter and more readable syntax makes it much easier to pick up than the deeper languages and nimble scalability increases its usefulness for large and small scale development. Different developers will be attracted to different skills depending on their choices of mobile strategy Alongside the demand for cross-platform skills we also see studios opting for native mobile development specific to a given mobile platform, primarily Objective C for iOS and Java for Android. Native development requires unique expertise for that device and the benefit is that the full potential of the platform can be reached, driving greater user experience through larger and faster capabilities. On the non-native side, also attractive in mobile, are HTML5 skills for apps using standard web technologies which creates cross-platform mobile applications that work on multiple devices. These hybrid apps and games using an SDK are typically cheaper and faster to create than native. Different developers will be attracted to different skills depending on their choices of mobile strategy, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all. As you might expect from the aforementioned, C++ can also be utilised for mobile development. This is a common denominator enabling reuse of core code to port across platforms. Due to the high skills demanded within the industry getting in at entry-level can be a challenge and it’s no secret that software development requires a rigorous set of competencies. Most developers look for graduates with at least a 2:1 or a 1st Class degree and the deeper and more mathematical the computing aspect the higher the demand. However a good piece of advice is to keep focused on your capabilities and play not only to your strengths, but also what you enjoy. Experience and demonstration is always of huge value to the industry with or without a degree and cross training into new languages can make you more widely desirable, in particular within a smaller studio where the variety of tasks can be greater. The alternative to generalist skills is to consider not only your languages of choice but also a programming specialism. If in your current role you are already working with one of the most in-demand programming languages our advice is to keep evolving techniques, share your ideas and learn from other developers in the games community. There's nothing to stop you from learning other languages in your spare time and knowing the emerging languages in the industry will help to keep you current. If you’re worried about not having the most desirable skills then it’s up to you to ask for some training, to learn what you can to produce personal projects that demonstrate you can cross into other languages with ease. The key is to always stay open-minded to learning new things and to keep in touch with what’s going on in the wider industry as well as what’s happening within your own studio. Are you interested in learning new languages in a programmer job? Amiqus are experts in games recruitment and we want to use our industry knowledge to help you find a role that you love, whether that's in programming, animation or art. If our current jobs aren't exactly what you're looking for then sign up to our job alerts. Browse jobs by skill: C# jobs C++ jobs Core Tech Programmer jobs Engine Programmer jobs Gameplay Programmer jobs Graphics Programmer jobs UI Programmer jobs
Teaser
BlogsContent Type
News
07/10/2019
Summary
.suzes-btn { width: auto; padding: 10px 7px; border: 2px solid #ec6b01; border-radius: 5px; background: #ec6b01; color: #ffff !important; font-family: 'Proxima Nova W01'; font-weight: 700; margin: 2px; display: inline-block; } .suzes-btn:hover { background: #ffff; color: #ec6b01 !important; } What special skills do employers look for when hiring for roles on VR projects and how risky is it to skill up in those areas considering the longevity of VR is still unknown? The global VR & AR market was valued at around $3 billion in 2016 and in just one year it grew to $7 billion. The demand for VR & AR skills has followed this upward trend and will continue to as the industry grows to a projected of value of $92 billion by 2025. There is an entrepreneurial spirit in the space with many industry vets channelling their experience into setting up new VR & AR ventures. VR has been on the scene longer than AR but there is space for both to exist. A UK study found that 50% of respondents thought owning a VR device was fairly or very appealing. A virtual reality headset presents many uses – training for the military, treating PTSD, and helping sportsmen and women refine their techniques. And the needs that VR cannot meet are where AR comes in. With the ability to overlay virtual objects on the real-world environment, augmented reality has strong prospects for meeting navigation needs and propelling immersive learning in the classroom. On the surface of it, new skills do not appear necessary, core VR code- base is built on the most in-demand areas such as C+, C# and Unity. Art assets and environments created using Physics Based Rendering are also not unique to VR, but we are now seeing demand for candidates who have gained VR experience, either through employment or at University. Employers are starting to look for the context of deployment rather than skills alone – so effectively VR itself is becoming a skill. It’s early days and many specialist abilities needed to address the unique challenges of VR are still in formation. So what are employers looking for when hiring for gameplay jobs today? PROBLEM SOLVING A key ingredient is problem solving skills. Candidates with a leaning toward methodical, mathematical or experimental thought processes are of great interest to studios facing new challenges. The enhanced physicality of the gameplay interaction and multitude of visual configurations makes rendering images without blurring a major challenge. Achieving sufficient speed for a seamless VR experience increases demand both from an artistic and a technical perspective and optimising the efficiency of the code base is of critical importance. These features point to an evolving trend that the disciplines of creative and tech are growing closer together when it comes to VR. This new level of granularity in the interdependence of image and code has led to employers demanding stronger visual evidence in portfolios when hiring. Programming jobseekers can typically evidence their skills by showing source code excerpts, however when it comes to VR, studios want to see the impact of the code on the in-game visuals. On the art side, managers not only want to see the right quality models and artwork but how artists have technically integrated their assets into the game engine. Portfolios need to be comprehensive enough to demonstrate these fully rounded skills, showing an understanding of how they will cope with the additional demands of VR. SENSE SHIFTING As a game experience becomes more immersive, so the role of the senses shifts from the everyday. The VR headset reframes vision and removes real world touch so that the compensatory instincts kick in, particularly hearing. This means that audio, which has always played a key role in games, has an even deeper level of contribution to make to the VR experience. We have seen an increase in the demand for audio programmers in particular. Now that a player can turn toward or away from the source of a sound, the impact of even the smallest nuance in ambient sound will play a major role in sustaining the level of immersion. Once again a solid portfolio and showreel should demonstrate the level of detail and finesse VR requires and hirers seek standards above the ordinary. Another focus area is UI skills. The traditional thumb oriented handset is not available in VR and while this rewrites the design rulebook on menu access and selections, user interaction requires a higher level of intuitiveness to avoid confusion. Getting lost in virtual menus or physically knocking things over in reality is a no-no. Gameplay interactions have a new dimension of consequence – in fact pretty much every consideration in a ‘2D’ game is amplified exponentially in VR. To a large extent, the level of specialism a hirer is looking for depends on the size of the studio and what scope of project they’re working on. Some are looking for knowledge of a specific headset, others are happy with art or coding generalists, and some need the aforementioned tech- creative hybrid to bridge the two. DURABILITY OF VR One of the threats to growth that have been levelled at VR is that the level of immersion could potentially cut-out any interactions beyond the headset, making the VR experience an engaging but lonely pursuit. This has already been countered by the likes of vTime, developer of a VR social network that allows anyone, anywhere to spend quality time with family and friends in virtual reality. For vTime, VR has social connection at the core, aiming for participants to enhance people’s experiences of their relationships. In recent years the market has seen a continued rise in demand for VR skills both in and outside of games. This is reflected in the growth in VR titles being brought to market, but it’s worth noting that this has been a steady stream of releases rather than an explosion. Whatever the reason, if there is no ‘bubble’ to burst and market confidence grows gradually, the outlook from the commercial bedrock of VR looks strong. There is an entrepreneurial spirit in the space with many industry veterans channeling their experience into setting up new VR ventures. Despite the inevitable naysayers it remains an exciting, innovative space for a career in games. FIND A GAMES PROGRAMMER ROLE WITH AMIQUS Do you have a passion for games development? Whether you’re currently working in the industry or are curious about where a job in games development could take you, we’re here to help. Take a look at our latest job vacancies or sign up to receive personalised job alerts so that you don’t miss out on any of our great opportunities.
Teaser
Amiqus ToolkitContent Type
Blog
07/10/2019
Summary
What special skills do employers look for when hiring for roles on VR projects and how risky is it to skill up in those areas considering the longevity of VR is still unknown? The global VR & AR market was valued at around $3 billion in 2016 and in just one year it grew to $7 billion. The demand for VR & AR skills has followed this upward trend and will continue to as the industry grows to a projected of value of $92 billion by 2025. There is an entrepreneurial spirit in the space with many industry vets channelling their experience into setting up new VR & AR ventures. VR has been on the scene longer than AR but there is space for both to exist. A UK study found that 50% of respondents thought owning a VR device was fairly or very appealing. A virtual reality headset presents many uses – training for the military, treating PTSD, and helping sportsmen and women refine their techniques. And the needs that VR cannot meet are where AR comes in. With the ability to overlay virtual objects on the real-world environment, augmented reality has strong prospects for meeting navigation needs and propelling immersive learning in the classroom. On the surface of it, new skills do not appear necessary, core VR code- base is built on the most in-demand areas such as C+, C# and Unity. Art assets and environments created using Physics Based Rendering are also not unique to VR, but we are now seeing demand for candidates who have gained VR experience, either through employment or at University. Employers are starting to look for the context of deployment rather than skills alone – so effectively VR itself is becoming a skill. It’s early days and many specialist abilities needed to address the unique challenges of VR are still in formation. So what are employers looking for when hiring for gameplay jobs today? PROBLEM SOLVING A key ingredient is problem solving skills. Candidates with a leaning toward methodical, mathematical or experimental thought processes are of great interest to studios facing new challenges. The enhanced physicality of the gameplay interaction and multitude of visual configurations makes rendering images without blurring a major challenge. Achieving sufficient speed for a seamless VR experience increases demand both from an artistic and a technical perspective and optimising the efficiency of the code base is of critical importance. These features point to an evolving trend that the disciplines of creative and tech are growing closer together when it comes to VR. This new level of granularity in the interdependence of image and code has led to employers demanding stronger visual evidence in portfolios when hiring. Programming jobseekers can typically evidence their skills by showing source code excerpts, however when it comes to VR, studios want to see the impact of the code on the in-game visuals. On the art side, managers not only want to see the right quality models and artwork but how artists have technically integrated their assets into the game engine. Portfolios need to be comprehensive enough to demonstrate these fully rounded skills, showing an understanding of how they will cope with the additional demands of VR. SENSE SHIFTING As a game experience becomes more immersive, so the role of the senses shifts from the everyday. The VR headset reframes vision and removes real world touch so that the compensatory instincts kick in, particularly hearing. This means that audio, which has always played a key role in games, has an even deeper level of contribution to make to the VR experience. We have seen an increase in the demand for audio programmers in particular. Now that a player can turn toward or away from the source of a sound, the impact of even the smallest nuance in ambient sound will play a major role in sustaining the level of immersion. Once again a solid portfolio and showreel should demonstrate the level of detail and finesse VR requires and hirers seek standards above the ordinary. Another focus area is UI skills. The traditional thumb oriented handset is not available in VR and while this rewrites the design rulebook on menu access and selections, user interaction requires a higher level of intuitiveness to avoid confusion. Getting lost in virtual menus or physically knocking things over in reality is a no-no. Gameplay interactions have a new dimension of consequence – in fact pretty much every consideration in a ‘2D’ game is amplified exponentially in VR. To a large extent, the level of specialism a hirer is looking for depends on the size of the studio and what scope of project they’re working on. Some are looking for knowledge of a specific headset, others are happy with art or coding generalists, and some need the aforementioned tech- creative hybrid to bridge the two. DURABILITY OF VR One of the threats to growth that have been levelled at VR is that the level of immersion could potentially cut-out any interactions beyond the headset, making the VR experience an engaging but lonely pursuit. This has already been countered by the likes of vTime, developer of a VR social network that allows anyone, anywhere to spend quality time with family and friends in virtual reality. For vTime, VR has social connection at the core, aiming for participants to enhance people’s experiences of their relationships. In recent years the market has seen a continued rise in demand for VR skills both in and outside of games. This is reflected in the growth in VR titles being brought to market, but it’s worth noting that this has been a steady stream of releases rather than an explosion. Whatever the reason, if there is no ‘bubble’ to burst and market confidence grows gradually, the outlook from the commercial bedrock of VR looks strong. There is an entrepreneurial spirit in the space with many industry veterans channeling their experience into setting up new VR ventures. Despite the inevitable naysayers it remains an exciting, innovative space for a career in games. FIND A GAMES PROGRAMMER ROLE WITH AMIQUS Do you have a passion for games development? Whether you’re currently working in the industry or are curious about where a job in games development could take you, we’re here to help. Take a look at our latest job vacancies or sign up to receive personalised job alerts so that you don’t miss out on any of our great opportunities. Browse job by skill: C# jobs C++ jobs Core Tech Programmer jobs Engine Programmer jobs Gameplay Programmer jobs Graphics Programmer jobs UI Programmer jobs
Teaser
Amiqus ToolkitContent Type
Blog
06/02/2018
Summary
We ask industry movers and shakers...What will be the biggest opportunities of 2018? “With the success of the Switch and initiatives like PlayLink from Sony we’ll see audiences broaden with innovative ideas and the return of a few family favourites. People with experience in this field will find they have a surprising edge. At Kuju we continue rebuilding the studio with major news to announce in early 2018. Expanding whole teams across disciplines means welcoming many new faces to join our fantastic core team, particularly in Production and Code”. Brynley Gibson, Head of Studios, Curve Digital Entertainment “Virtual Reality will continue to grow throughout 2018 and we expect the biggest job opportunities to be in this area (of course!). We see constant demand for roles such as VFX, UI, Network and Graphics Programming because of the emerging technical challenges VR brings to development. As nDreams continues to grow we are always on the look-out for talented people!” Tamsin O'Luanaigh, Co Sec & Talent Director, nDreams “Big investment will continue into the teams behind digital distribution and monetization, hiring at all levels and from varied skills areas such as marketing, analytics, balancing and technical operations. 4k gaming (PS4 pro and Xbox1 X ) provides opportunity for talented Artists and Tech Artists who can bring graphical hyper-realism to life - anyone with skills in photo realistic artwork will be in high demand” Stig Strand Head of Recruitment Teams, Amiqus “Games engineering as a service is a massive growth area so at d3t we’re recruiting heavily. Many AAA studios are leveraging off-the-shelf game engines like Unity and Unreal. Skills for using these engines are really useful, but there’s a definite skill-gap in understanding how to optimize these engines and get the most bang for your buck. Additionally, Nintendo Switch has really gathered momentum so I predict a lot of opportunities in these areas for engineers with the right skills.” Andy Booth, Technical Director, d3t “At Outplay growing our marketing team with talented artists, player support specialists and data-driven UA and CRM Managers who focus on user experience will be key. They will collaborate further with Production so we can shift into a games as a service mentality”. Emma Purvey, HR Manager, Outplay Entertainment “The scale of AAA games continues to grow, especially with the emergence of the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro platforms. This will bring opportunities in every speciality of game development as teams expand in order to meet the emerging requirements. eSports is a new frontier, bringing fresh specialist positions. There will also always be a demand for specialist programmers – Codemasters are continually looking for candidates with skills in Physics, AI and Graphics”. Ian Flatt, Executive Producer, Codemasters
Teaser
Amiqus ToolkitContent Type
News
31/01/2018
Summary
As the world’s largest meet-up of games industry expertise there are 27,000 attendees and 500 sessions to choose from, so the possibility for making business connections is almost endless. We'll be there too - Team Amiqus will be on the UKie stand as usual, so come on over to 1023 (South Hall) and join us for coffee and to talk through your studios hiring needs. It's an exciting step for any business to attend this amazing event, and if you're looking for some first time tips then read on. Travelling to San Francisco costs, not just in terms of flights and hotels but also your time and energy spent outside of your business, is a biggie. Factor in the prep work before and follow-up afterward, and suddenly a week in California becomes just the tip of the iceberg on your time, finance and energy investment. Maximising the return on your investment is the key, and this takes preparation. A great start is to really think about why you are attending GDC in the first place. Who do you want to meet and why? The sheer scale of the event is a double edged sword – our advice is to accept up front that you can’t meet everyone you want to so you’re going to need to prioritise and target. Networking is all well and good, but if you are running your own studio and funding your own trip, you’ll want a detailed breakdown of your ‘why’ to pull out some objectives from who you meet. Whether you want to attract a publisher, soft-launch a game or shop for new partner relationship, all of these start with making the right industry contacts. Whoever is on your target list really focus your efforts on who you want to meet, where you are likely to find them and what you want from the meeting. At the same time be ready with what you are bringing of value to your new contact – it’s a two way street, so do your research and be clear what’s in it for them. To play Devil’s Advocate, ask yourself whether your objectives are achievable without travelling to California. Opting not to go could save yourself a lot of time and money but on the other hand, the convenience of having everyone under one roof could mean it takes a only few days to meet people it would otherwise take weeks of diary-tennis. Diarise key meetings, but don’t over-book GDC can be overwhelming even for seasoned attendees, so it helps to have a few key meetings booked before you go to anchor that day’s purpose. Logistics come in to play here so plan your routes to avoid walking (literally) miles back and to meeting points, so download the maps and get your bearings before you arrive. If you haven’t met before, be super-clear about how you will identify your target person - a bit of preparatory homework printing Linkedin pictures can really help here, or download the Linkedin app and use screenshots to help. Bear in mind that one of the benefits of almost the whole industry being in one place is the opportunity for chance meetings and discoveries, so allow plenty of gaps. Keeping too tight a schedule could prove unfeasible when you’re on the ground, especially if someone cancels or you run late. Make sure you have a way to contact someone directly if you need to reschedule. Make notes and don’t be shy It’s unrealistic to expect that you will remember everyone you meet so whether you type in to your iPad, use your camera phone or notate a business card, make notes as soon as the meeting is over to jog your memory. When you get back to the office a little reminder – such as ‘bought a coffee’ or ‘firm handshake’ – can really help you place them. Meeting new people is a huge part of GDC so while you’re on a roll don’t be shy about introducing yourself to some of the speakers and bigger names in the industry. You’ll often find they are generous with their time and can offer a nugget of insight in their sphere of expertise if you get them talking. Ready your tech for travel Whatever happens at GDC you will be spending a lot of time on your feet and walking round so travelling light, especially around your tech set-up is a key consideration. Some great advice I received was don’t wear new shoes! Filter down your devices to the essentials for the floor, and if possible leave larger items in the hotel-room. If you are demoing a game to new connections, watch out for things that could cramp your style such as a slow WiFi network. It’s a good idea to have a back-up options on your device such as videos or screen shots, just in case the wireless network lets you down. Go out each morning fully charged and keep a USA adapter on you so you can use any charge-stations while you’re out and about. Finally if you have stuck with a New Year mission to get in your 10,000 steps, don’t forget your FitBit - your bragging rights could soar that week. Don’t just be there, be seen to be there Even if you run an indie studio without the luxury of a marketing department, don’t let this stop you getting the message out that your studio will be at GDC. Content is a key driver in engagement and trust of any brand, and your studio is no exception. The contacts you’re making will be much more receptive if they have already ‘met’ your brand through social-media. Anyone who doesn’t know you will Google you, so run a check on what comes up and make sure you have a great online footprint and Linkedin is up to date. Social media will help you push your game, connect with your partners and can even attract talented people to come and work for you. Blog, Tweet, Snaphat, Pin or Insta what you’re up to. You can even stream to the world on Facebook Live! If you work this smartly social media doesn’t need to take up too much time. Before you go set up a stack of regular status updates using a tool like Buffer and pepper in some real-time posts form your device a couple of times a day – maybe set a reminder in your phone. Don’t forget to get seen by everyone interested in GDC by using the hashtags linked to that event #GDC17, or the people you are interested in. Before you go follow all your target contacts on Twitter, retweet and ‘like’ them now and again and keep up with what they’re posting about the event too. The balance is to avoid stalking, but be interested in what they have to say. Have fun Though the primary focus of GDC is the Conference there are lots of informal social meet-ups and parties going on throughout the week which are listed on the GDC website under Events. The local hotel bars are also full of delegates so if you’ve done a bit of research you might even be able to schedule in a breakfast meeting with some key contacts away from the melee of the show-hall. Don’t forget to reach out and connect to other studios in the same boat as you too. One must-stop visit would be 1023 (South Hall) to the UKIE stand who will be hosting a number of UK based studios. Whoever you meet and whatever your aims, enjoy this fantastic event and have a whole heap of fun!
Teaser
Amiqus ToolkitContent Type
Blog
15/09/2017
Summary
When a good job has been done on QA no-one notices, but when it goes wrong it can make headline news. Quality is part of the bedrock of a robust and reliable technical product whereas localisation quality facilitates enjoyment for your audience in any corner of the globe. A challenge in recent years has been the increasing use of an early-access launch. New hardware and the advent of VR have also added to the scope, but if anyone can bring a robust, structured approach to a moving feast of game development then a QA can. We spoke to studios to get their take on these far-reaching, highly specialised components of game development. Timing is key Ross McGhee is Marketing Manager at Pole To Win. As a leading provider of outsource services, McGhee has insight from a multi-company perspective;- "In our experience the approach very much varies from one client to another but the consensus is that whilst QA tends to be involved at a much earlier stage, Localisation QA’s involvement still comes in at too late a stage". McGhee is keen to expound the benefits of involving Localisation QA in the early stages of the design and development to ensure correct internationalisation. He told us:- "Championing Localisation QA best practises will maximise the impact of processes and eventually drive cost and time efficiencies down. Involving Localisation QA at an earlier stage will: Help the team gain advance knowledge of the game structure features, release schedule to scope the requirements Enable the team to rely on the Functional QA team’s expertise to identify suitable build/change list to start Localisation QA testing on (e.g. build stability) Enable the team to use QA test plans to help build the Localisation QA testing schedule and plan adequately" Richard Hylands, QA Lead agrees early approach is also needed from a software perspective;- "My approach is to integrate quality assurance into the development cycle as early as possible. QA should understand the design and features of what it is testing at concept rather than waiting until the hard work of creating the content has passed. The aim of this approach is to create software that is stable and also aligns with the design from day one. By doing this we can ensure there are no surprises later in the development cycle where defects can be very costly". Know your audience Olly Hart, QA Manager told us that social and mobile developer Outplay takes quality extremely seriously; "so do our players – our games are enjoyed all around the world!". Hart believes this is due to the extensive effort and time that the team put into testing and localising games for a number of different countries; "Outplay recognises that quality and localisation play a huge part in connecting with our audience around the globe, which is why we dedicate ourselves into making sure that our games are great right from the initial release". For Western developers, the five core languages that are used in commercial territories are known as ‘EFIGS’ which stands for English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. However these are very much considered the basics. "We aim to launch every game with localisation beyond standard EFIGS" says Hart, "and this requires co-ordination and effort. Our process begins with a large team of dedicated in-house testers, who form a part of the game teams. This close interaction with both the developers and other testers means that a high flow of information is maintained at all times – which is vital in such a fast paced environment". Hart also believes that for Outplay, the team’s diversity plays a huge part in testing, and that this naturally helps with localisation too. "Outplays multicultural team means that in the run up to any game launch, we have native speakers who can assist us in making our game easy to understand – no matter where you are or what language you speak. Getting our games ready in this fashion involves a lot of both manual and automated testing. These custom tools are developed alongside the game, so that when it comes time to test localisation, the team can work efficiently and without being hindered". Same process – different games Daniel Flanagan sheds light on how AAA developer Codemasters shapes the expansive and detailed process of QA and localisation on a large-scale;- "The core portion of the in-game text is normally completed for the Alpha milestone in English, at which point we would begin the translation of our target languages. Maintaining a consistency with the translations across title updates is key, so great care is paid to previous editions of the franchise – again, this also helps to retain the style and characteristics within each of our titles". Critical paths can vary under the QA umbrella depending on the feature being tested as Flanagan explains "Localisation QA starts once we have all of the localised assets available in game – all of our localisation testing is outsourced and so the testing window is not as broad as our main QA testing; first passes of the foreign languages are done in-house in order to catch any immediate issues with overlaps or truncation". Following a process doesn’t mean identical game experiences however as Flanagan points out:- "Each of our titles has a distinct style and feel to the presentation; we work hard with our localisation partners to ensure that these styles and the presentation as a whole is kept as close as possible and retains the highest level of quality. Maintaining a constant level of communication with all areas of development during the localisation process is a key factor to ensuring that we deliver the same level of quality across all languages". All the studios concurred that the bridge between the dev and QA teams is key to keep the overall product on track. Outsourcing provides access to specialist expertise, though relies on strong relationships and a full understanding of the game proposition as Flanagan explains;- "We have a select few trusted vendors that we work with for translations, VO recording and localisation QA testing. Working on specific franchises keeps the quality high and consistent, providing all territories with the same extremely high standards that we set ourselves". Indies and smaller studios Even though the scale might be smaller, for a game to reach it’s full potential QA and localisation is just as important for smaller developers. Ian Masters, Creative Director of Quiz Tix offers an SME perspective;- "As a small indie mobile dev Google Play's release management system has quickly become an essential part of our QA process. The ability to have alpha and beta users who receive pre-release updates automatically is brilliant but the best part is staged roll-outs. This allows us to push new features and release builds to a small portion of players first, often surfacing any issues before they ever reach 95% of players. It's impossible to ever guarantee a build is bug free so these two tools have helped immensely." Andrew Bennison, founder of Manchester based Prospect Games shared his view;- "Some indie developers consider that designing and making the game is far more fun than QA and localisation. Fast forward in time and this negligence will hurt your team in the long run as you scramble to fix old bugs and hastily implement poorly translated text". Bennison describes a learn from his early experiences with Unbox: Newbie's Adventure; "We populated the levels with characters, signposts and diaries full of fun text for players to read but we never considered at the time how much that would cost to translate - imagine our shock when we received quite a hefty quote! The best way to approach QA and localisation is to start both as early as possible" concludes Bennison;- "Ensure you have a pipeline for testing builds from day one and write text with localisation in mind". In an increasingly crowded games market, with so much choice the importance of player experience is greater than ever. Early integration, adherence to the game’s vision, robust processes and dialogue between the dev and QA teams are all key features of success. As Richard Hylands surmises;- "Quality Assurance is a high-value service and very much part of the whole development process". This article by Amiqus was originally published abridged in Develop Magazine September 2017 p38.