Hung Hoang's Student Game Developer Anti-Guide | Winter Spectacular 2020
This is what being a game developer looks like, right? Just like this?
Hello, I'm Hung, an organiser for LevelUp UK. LevelUp UK exists to help student game developers wake up motivated, determined and inspired to make games. As an organiser, I do all I can in my ability to help as many student game developers as possible to feel that inspiration.
In this piece, I'd like to present to you: things that I failed at. Ironic, given I’m trying to inspire student game developers, but hear me out.
Why tell you about my failures?
Failure is the mother of success.
Each person is different. With that notion, I believe that tips on "What to do" is not always effective in helping someone learn. Maybe it applies to some, but not others, and to varying degrees.
I went to a lot of "What to do'' presentations at university. While they do give good and tested advice, it doesn't always apply to me or my industry. If you think about it, it's pretty difficult to learn from other's success. Just because you memorised the history of how Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony came to be, doesn't mean you can replicate them.
However, "What not to do" on the other hand, is a much more helpful approach. It is so much easier to learn from the failures of others because what you learn is how to avoid failing in the same way.
That is why I want to present to you, not a guide, but an anti-guide to games development as a student. I will transport you to moments of my past, to see my mistakes and mistakes of others, so that you don't have to make the same mistakes to learn.
Mistake #1, Instant Work Gratification
I grew up with a close friend, who was taught the same thing I was: getting good grades means living a good life (It was a very typical asian upbringing). We believed it, we’d applaud and admire those with high grades, no matter what other faults they may have had. We believed this all the way into university because it worked up until then. More than that, we were conditioned to feel good when we got good grades. A sense of gratification.
In the words of Big Rigs, “You’re Winner”, but for how long?
I was dead set to get that feeling in university the same as school. During my first term I got an average of 90% on all my modules, and it felt good. My close friend was finishing their Masters in Games Production when I entered university for my undergraduate degree. I visited them during their last term at university. They told me stories of their university life, of when they met game developers and industry professionals, literally “the people we wanted to be when we grew up”. However, besides recalling these tales, we could not hang out much as my friend was just handed a big essay. Whilst I thought it prudent for them to finish their essay, my friend was not too sure. You see, a lot of the game developers they met keep repeating the advice: “Have a good portfolio”. My friend did not have much of a portfolio at this point, having followed the mantra we’ve been taught as children: get good grades. Time was spent studying rather than on practical work.
You would think that a Games Production university course would make sure that students have a decent portfolio upon graduation but--.
My close friend, having been conditioned to do so, finished the essay and obtained a Masters degree. A year later, they were still unable to get a job in games. I realised that both my friend and I were victims of what I now call “Instant Work Gratification”. The short-term good feeling when we got good grades. We never stepped back to look at the big picture, the long term plan.
For the rest of my first academic year, I did the very thing I would like you to take away from this article: I learned from another’s mistakes. I realised that I need to start working on a portfolio, having none at all, and so I did. At the end of my first year at university, I had a portfolio which landed me my first gig in the games industry.
P.S. Please be careful about the lessons you learnt from this story, it isn’t “Care about your course less” or “Make more games outside your course”. It simply is “Don’t let short-term gains cloud your long-term plan”.
Mistake #2, Compete at Interviews
I went to a couple generic ‘Interview Workshops’ at university. All of them told me the same thing. “Tell them your selling point”. “Treat it like you’re competing against other graduates because that is how interviewers will treat you”. “ You have to stand out”. Seems intuitive, right?
Please don’t street fight for your game dev job.
When I was applying for a placement year on my second year at university, I had already been working for a mobile games studio (the gig I landed in story #1!). I thought that experience would put me at quite an advantage at job interviews, and I can apply the advice given to me by these Interview workshops.
In one application, I got to the final round. The game studio invited me down, gave me a tour of their office and everything. Then came the interview. I will never forget the mistake I made. The interviewer asked “Why should we hire you?”, and I pulled out what I thought was my trump card, the fact that I worked for a mobile game studio and I can be a valuable employee if they were to port their game to mobile. Even as I answered, I felt hesitant, it wasn’t the kind of answer I would have naturally given. My breath grew weak mid-sentence, but I managed to finish it anyway as I recall the advice given to me in all those workshops.
Fast forward 4 weeks later, I received a call from the studio’s HR department. To my disappointment, I did not get the job. The studio was kind enough to give me feedback on why I didn’t get the job and surprise, surprise, it was because of that answer. They said my portfolio was great (yay, learning from the first mistake) and I seemed knowledgeable from the technical interview alone. However, that answer made me look cocky, and that was not a good fit on their team and its ethos. Looking back, I absolutely agree with them.
Maybe ‘standing out’ and ‘appearing competitively above others’ in an interview works in other industries where you have to stand and shout as a person. But, I have found that not to be the case for games, or tech industries in general. I don’t need to tell them what I’ve got, they can see that from my portfolio, CV and my answers in technical interviews. What interviewers want to see when they meet me face-to-face, is the kind of person I am. There’s no need to force yourself to be a competitive jerk.
Hammer Brothers are dicks, don’t be a Hammer Brother.
Mistake #3, Be a Dick
Ok, I never have, and never will, intentionally make this mistake. Especially after the lesson I learnt from Mistake #2. But I included this mistake because nearly every good talk specifically tailored to games included this advice, and for good reason. It doesn’t just apply to job interviews, it applies to everyday life. In fact, it’s so important that I’m going to break my rule for this anti-guide, and flip this into a “What to do” advice. Be a kind person. Go help people out if you have the ability to. Look out for one another. Stand up for what’s right.
The games industry right now is not always a warm and welcoming place. We have issues.
But, I have seen kindness. I have seen how it uplifts people. I have seen how it can make our industry a better place than it is today. So, I encourage you, whenever you can, be kind. I am still trying to live by this advice every day, and it has enriched my life with meaningful friendships and fulfilling purpose. It has gone past the point that it could be a mistake.
